HISTORY 


OF    THE 


COLONY  AND  ANCIENT  DOMINION 


OF 


VIRGINIA. 


BY 


CHARLES    CAMPBELL. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
J.    B.    LIPPINCOTT    AND     CO. 

1860. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  yea.r  1859,  by 
CHARLES  CAMPBELL, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Eastern 
District  of  Virginia. 


P  HE  FACE. 


ALTHOUGH  Virginia  must  be  content  with  a  secondary  and  unpre 
tending  rank  in  the  general  department  of  history,  yet  in  the  abund 
ance  and  the  interest  of  her  historical  materials,  she  may,  without 
presumption,  claim  pre-eminence  among  the  Anglo-American  colonies. 
While  developing  the  rich  resources  with  which  nature  has  so  munifi 
cently  endowed  her,  she  ought  not  to  neglect  her  past,  which  teaches 
so  many  useful  lessons,  and  carries  with  it  so  many  proud  recollections. 
Her  documentary  history,  lying,  much  of  it,  scattered  and  fragmentary, 
in  part  slumbering  in  the  dusty  oblivion  of  Transatlantic  archives, 
ought  to  be  collected  with  pious  care,  and  embalmed  in  the  perpetuity 
of  print. 

The  work  now  presented  to  the  reader  will  be  found  to  be  written 
in  conformity  with  the  following  maxim  of  Lord  Bacon:  "It  is  the 
office  of  history  to  represent  the  events  themselves,  together  with  the 
counsels,  and  to  leave  the  observations  and  conclusions  thereupon,  to 
the  liberty  and  faculty  of  every  man's  judgment." 

I  avail  myself  of  this  occasion  to  express  my  acknowledgments  to 
Hugh  B.  Grigsby,  Esq.,  (who  has  contributed  so  much  to  the  illustra 
tion  of  Virginia  history  by  his  own  writings,)  for  many  valuable 
suggestions,  and  for  having  undergone  the  trouble  of  revising  a  large 
part  of  the  manuscript  of  this  work. 

PETERSBURG,  VA.,  September  2d,  1859. 


Cxi) 


236 


SUMMARY  OF  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. — Early  Voyages  of  Discovery.     Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  Colony  of 

Virginia 17 

II. — Early  Life  and  Adventures  of  Captain  John  Smith. 80 

III. — Landing  at  Jamestown  and  Settlement  of  Virginia  proper. 

Wingfield,  President  of  Council.     Ratclift'e,  President 35 

IV. — Smith's  Explorations.     Smith,  President 55 

V. — Smith's  Adventures  with  the  Indians.      His  Administration  of 

the  Colony.     His  Departure.     His  Character  and  Writings..     70 

VI. — The  Indians  of  Virginia 85 

VII. — Sufferings  of  the  Colonists.  Wreck  of  the  Sea- Venture.  Mis 
cellaneous  Affairs.  Percy,  President.  Lord  Delaware,  Go 
vernor.  Percy,  Acting  Governor.  Sir  Thomas  Dale,  High 

Marshal.     Sir  Thomas  Gates,  Governor 92 

VIII. — Pocahontas  visits  England.     Her  Death.     Yeardley,  Deputy 

Governor 112 

IX. — Argall,  Governor.     His  Administration.     Powhatan's  Death..  124 

X.— Sir  Walter  Raleigh 132 

XI. — First    Assembly    of    Virginia.      Powell,    Deputy    Governor. 

Yeardley,  Governor 138 

XII. — Xegroes  imported  into  Virginia.     Yeardley,  Governor 143 

XIII. — London   Company.     George    Sandys,  Treasurer.     Wyat,  Go 
vernor 149 

XIV.— Tobacco 153 

XV.— East  India  School 158 

XVI.— Massacre  of  1022 160 

XVII. — Extermination  of  Indians 166 

XVIII. — Dissolution  of  Charter  of  Virginia  Company.     Earl  of  South 
ampton,  Nicholas  Ferrar,  and  Sir  Edwin  Sandys 169 

XIX. — Royal  Government  established  in  Virginia.     Yeardley,  Gover 
nor.     West,  Governor.     Pott,  Governor.     Sir  John  Harvey, 

Governor 179 

XX. — Maryland  settled.     Contest  between  Clayborne  and  Lord  Bal 
timore 187 

XXI. — Virginia  during  Harvey's  Administration.     He  is  recalled  and 

succeeded  by  Wyatt 193 

(xiii) 


XIV  SUMMARY   OF   CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXII. — Virginia  during  the  Civil  War  of  England.     Berkley,  Go 
vernor.     Kemp,  Governor 199 

XXIII. — Virginia  during  the  Commonwealth  of  England.     Bennet, 

Governor 210 

XXIV — Maryland  during  the  Protectorate 222 

XXV. — Virginia    during    the   Protectorate.      Digges,    Governor. 

Matthews,  Governor 233 

XXVI. — Virginia  under  Richard-Cromwell  and  during  the  Interreg 
num.     Berkley,  Governor 240 

XXVII. — Loyalty  of  Virginia.     Miscellaneous  Affairs.     Morrison, 

Governor.     Berkley,  Governor 249 

XXVIII. — Scarburgh's  Report  of  his  Proceedings  in  establishing  the 
Boundary  Line  between  Virginia  and  Maryland.  "The 
Bear  and  the  Cub,"  an  extract  from  the  Accomac  Re 
cords  259 

XXIX. — Miscellaneous  Affairs 263 

XXX.— Berkley's  Statistics  of  Virginia 271 

XXXI. — Threatened  Revolt 274 

XXXII. — Rev.  Morgan  Godwyn's  Account  of  the  Condition  of  the 

Church  in  Virginia 277 

XXXIII. — Indian  Disturbances.     Disaffection  of  Colonists 280 

XXXIV.— Bacon's  Rebellion 283 

XXXV. — Bacon's  Rebellion,  continued 293 

XXXVI. — Bacon's  Rebellion,  continued 308 

XXXVII.— Closing  Scenes  of  the  Rebellion ,. 313 

XXXVIII. — Punishment  of  the  Rebels.     Berkley's  death.     Succeeded 

by  Jeffreys 319 

XXXIX. — Chicheley,  Governor.     Culpepper,  Governor 326 

XL. — Statistics  of  Virginia 331 

XLI. — Effingham,  Governor.     Death  of  Beverley.     Effmghani's 

Corruption  and  Tyranny 335 

XLII. — William  and  Mary  proclaimed.     College  chartered.     An- 

dros,  Governor 343 

XLIII. — Condition  of  Virginia.     Powers  of  Governor.     Courts  and 

State  Officers.     Revenue 349 

XLIV. — Administration  of  Andros.     Nicholson  again  Governor....  356 
XLV. — Assembly  held  in  the  College.    Ceremony  of  Opening.     Go 
vernor's  Speech 364 

XLVI. — Church  Affairs.     Nicholson  recalled.     Huguenots 367 

XLVII.' — Rev.  Francis  Makemie.     Dissenters 371 

XL VIII. — Nott,  Lieutenant-Governor.    Earl  of  Orkney,  Governor-in- 

chief 375 

XLIX. — Spotswood,  Governor 378 

L. — Indian  School 384 

LI. — Spotswood's  Tramontane  Expedition 387 

LII. — Virginia   succours    South   Carolina.     Disputes    between 

Spotswood  and  the  Burgesses.     Blackboard 391 


SUMMARY    OF    CONTENTS.  XV 

CHAPTER    LIII. — Spotswood's  Administration   reviewed.     His   subsequent 

Career  and  Death.     His  Family 398 

LIV. — Drysdale,  Governor.     Kobert  Carter,  President 411 

LV.—Goocli's  Administration.     Carthagena  Expedition -114 

LVI. — Settlement  of  the  Valley.     John  Lewis 423 

LVII. — Ilev.  James  Blair.     Governor  Gooch  and  the  Dissenters. 

Morris.     Davies.     Whitefield 433 

LVIII. — Gooch   resigns.     Robinson,   President.     Lee,    President. 

Burwell,  President 444 

LIX. — Dinwiddie,  Governor.    Davies  and  the  Dissenters.    George 

Washington.     Fairfax 452 

LX. — Hostilities  with  the  French.    Death  of  Jumonville.    Wash 
ington  surrenders  at  Fort  Necessity 460 

LXI. — Dinwiddie's  Administration,  continued.     Braddock's  Ex 
pedition 409 

LXIL— Davies.     Waddell.     Washington 482 

LXIII. — Settlers  of  the  Valley.     Sandy  Creek  Expedition.     Din 
widdie  succeeded  by  President  Blair 488 

LXIV. — Fauquiev,  Governor.     Forbes  captures  Fort  Du  Quesne...   000 

LXV. — "The  Parsons'  Cause."     Patrick  Henry's  Speech 007 

LXVL— Patrick  Henry 510 

LXVII. — Rev.  Jonathan    Boucher's    Opinions    on    Slavei'y.      Re 
marks  026 

LXVIIL — Disputes  between  Colonies  and  Mother  Country.     Stamp 
Act.     Speaker  Robinson,  Randolph,  Bland,  Pendleton, 

Lee,  Wythe 030 

LXIX. — Stamp  Act   opposed.     Loan-Office    Scheme.     Robinson's 
Defalcation.     Stamp  Act  Repealed.     Offices  of  Speaker 

and  Treasurer  separated.     Family  of  Robinson 038 

LXX. — Bland's   Inquiry. — Death    of  Fauquier.     Persecution    of 

Baptists.    Blair's  tolerant  Spirit 049 

LXXI. — Botetourt,  Governor.     Parliamentary  Measures  resisted. 
Death    of    Botetourt.      Nelson,    President.     American 

Episcopate 050 

LXXII. — Rev.  Devereux  Jarratt , 063 

LXXI1I. — Duty  on  Tea.     Dunmore,  Governor.     Revolutionary  Pro 
ceedings  068 

LXXIV. — Dunmore's  Administration.     Revolutionary  Proceedings..  072 
LXXV. — Richard  Henry  Lee.     Congress  at  Philadelphia.     Patrick 

Henry.     Washington 077 

LXXVI. — Battle  of  Point  Pleasant.    General  Andrew  Lewis.    Corn 
stalk 082 

LXXVII. — Logan.     Kenton.    Girty.    Dunmore's  ambiguous  Conduct  090 

LXXVIII.— Daniel  Boone 090 

LXXIX. — Second  Virginia  Convention.     Henry's  Resolutions   and 

Speech 099 

LXXX.— Thomas  Jefferson  ...  ..  60P> 


xvi  SUMMARY    OF    CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  LXXXI. — Dunmore  removes  the  Gunpowder.     Revolutionary  Com 
motions.     Patrick   Henry  extorts  Compensation  for 

the  Powder  from  the  Governor GOT 

LXXXTL— The  Mecklenburg  Declaration 615 

LXXXIII. — Dunmore  retires  from  Williamsburg.    Washington  made 

Commander-in-chief. 618 

LXXXIY. Committee  of  Safety.    Carrington,  Head,  Cabell.    Death 

of  Peyton  Randolph.     The  Randolphs  of  Virginia...  624 
LXXXV.—  Dunmore's  War.     Battle  of  Great  Bridge.     Committee 

of  Safety  and  Colonel  Henry 632 

LXXXVI. — Dunmore's  War,  continued.     Colonel  Henry  resigns 639 

LXXXVII. — Convention  at  Williamsburg.  Declaration  of  Rights 
and  Constitution  of  Virginia.  Patrick  Henry,  Go 
vernor.  George  Mason 644 

LXXXVIII. — Declaration  of  Independence.     George  Wythe.    Benja 
min  Harrison,  Jr.,  of  Berkley.     Thomas  Nelson 652 

LXXXIX. — Richard  Henry   Lee.     Francis  Lightfoot  Lee.     Carter 

Braxton 659 

XC. — Dunmore  retires  from  Virginia.     Events  of  the  War  in 

the  North.    Death  of  General  Hugh  Mercer 664 

XCL-— Death  of  Richard  Bland.  The  Bland  Genealogy.  Peti 
tions  concerning  Church  Establishment.  Scheme  of 
Dictator.  Hampden  Sidney  College.  The  Virginia 

Navy 670 

XCII. — Examination  of  Charges  against  Richard  Henry  Lee. 

His  Honorable  Acquittal 681 

XCIII. — Events  of  the  War  in  the  North.  General  Clark's  Expe 
dition  to  the  Northwest 685 

XCIV. — Convention  Troops  removed  to  Charlottesville.  Church 
Establishment  abolished.  Events  of  the  War  in  the 
South.  Battle  of  King's  Mountain.  Jefferson,  Go 
vernor 693 

XCV. — Arthur    Lee.     Silas    Deane.      Dr.    Franklin.      James 

Madison 701 

XCVI. — Logan.     Leslie's    Invasion.     Removal    of    Convention 

Troops 706 

XCVIL—  Arnold's  Invasion 710 

XCVIIL— Battle  of  the  Cowpens  and  of  Guilford.     Phillips  and 

Arnold  invade  Virginia 715 

XCIX. — Cornwallis  and  La  Fayette  in  Virginia.  Nelson,  Go 
vernor 726 

C. — Capture    of    the   Patriot.     The   Barrens    and   Captain 

Starlins.     Battle  of  the  Barges 738 

CI. — Washington  in  the  North.  Cornwallis  occupies  York- 
town.  Battle  of  Eutaw  Springs.  Henry  Lee.  Wash 
ington  invests  Yorktown.  Cornwallis  surrenders 742 


HISTORY  OF  THE  COLONY 

AND 

ANCIENT  DOMINION  OF  VIRGINIA. 


CHAPTER    I. 


Early  Voyages  of  Discovery  —  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert  —  Walter  Raleigh  —  Expedi 
tion  of  Amadas  and  Barlow  —  They  land  on  Wocokon  Island  —  Return  to  Eng 
land  —  The  New  Country  named  Virginia  —  Grenville's  Expedition  —  Colony 
of  lloanoke  —  Lane,  Governor  —  The  Colony  abandoned  —  Tobacco  —  Grenville 
returns  to  Virginia  —  Leaves  a  small  Colony  at  Roanoke  —  Sir  Walter  Raleigh 
sends  out  another  Expedition  —  City  of  Raleigh  chartered  —  White,  Governor  — 
Roanoke  found  deserted  —  Virginia  Dare,  first  Child  born  in  the  Colony  — 
White  returns  for  Supplies  —  The  Armada  —  Raleigh  assigns  the  Colony  to  a 
Company  —  White  returns  to  Virginia  —  Finds  the  Colony  extinct  —  Death  of 
Sir  Richard  Greuville  —  Gosnold's  Voyage  to  New  England. 

THE  discoveries  attributed  by  legendary  story  to  Madoc,  the 
Welsh  prince,  have  afforded  a  theme  for  the  creations  of  poetry; 
those  of  the  Northmen  of  Iceland,  better  authenticated,  still 
engage  the  dim  researches  of  antiquarian  curiosity.  To  Co 
lumbus  belongs  the  glory  of  having  made  the  first  certain  dis 
covery  of  the  New  World,  in  the  year  1492  ;  but  it  was  the  good 
fortune  of  the  Cabots  to  be  the  first  who  actually  reached  the 
main  land.  In  1497,  John  Cabot,  a  Venetian  merchant,  who 
had  become  a  resident  of  Bristol  in  England,  with  his  son  Sebas 
tian,  a  native  of  that  city,  having  obtained  a  patent  from  Henry 
the  Seventh,  sailed  under  his  flag  and  discovered  the  main  con 
tinent  of  America,  amid  the  inhospitable  rigors  of  the  wintry 
North.  It  was  subsequent  to  this  that  Columbus,  in  his  third 
voyage,  set  his  foot  on  the  main  land  of  the  South.  In  the 

2  (17) 


18  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

following  year,  Sebastian  Cabot  again  crossed  the  Atlantic,  and 
coasted  from  the  fifty-eighth  degree  of  north  latitude,  along 
the  shores  of  the  United  States,  perhaps  as  far  as  to  the  southern 
boundary  of  Maryland.  Portuguese,  French,  and  Spanish  navi 
gators  now  visited  North  America. 

Dreadful  circumstances  attended  the  foundation  of  the  ancient 
St.  Augustine.  The  blood  of  six  hundred  French  Protestant 
refugees  has  sanctified  the  ground  at  the  mouth  of  St.  John's 
River,  where  they  were  murdered  unot  as  Frenchmen,  but  as 
heretics,"  by  the  ruthless  Adelantado  of  Florida,  Pedro  Menen- 
dez,  in  the  year  1565. 

In  the  summer  of  the  ensuing  year  he  sent  a  captain,  with 
thirty  soldiers  and  two  Dominican  monks,  uto  the  bay  of  Santa 
Maria,  which  is  in  the  latitude  of  thirty-seven  degrees,"  together 
with  the  Indian  brother  of  the  cacique,  or  chief  of  Axacan,  (who 
had  been  taken  thence  by  the  Dominicans,  and  baptized  at 
Mexico,  by  the  name  of  the  Viceroy  Don  Luis  de  Velasco,)  to 
settle  there,  and  undertake  the  conversion  of  the  natives.  But 
this  expedition  sailed  to  Spain  instead  of  landing. 

This  region  of  Axacan  comprised  the  lower  part  of  the  pre 
sent  State  of  North  Carolina.  The  Spanish  sound  of  the  word 
is  very  near  that  of  Wocokon,  the  name  of  the  place,  according 
to  its  English  pronunciation,  where  the  colony  sent  out  by  Raleigh 
subsequently  landed.* 

In  the  year  1570  Father  Segura  and  other  Jesuit  missionaries, 
accompanied  by  Don  Luis,  visited  Axacan,  but  wrere  treacher 
ously  cut  off  by  him.  In  the  same  year,  or  the  following,  the 
Spaniards  repaired  to  the  place  of  their  murder  and  avenged 
their  death. f 

In  1573  Pedro  Menendez  Morquez,  Governor  of  Florida,  ex 
plored  the  Bay  of  Santa  Maria,  "  which  is  three  leagues  wide, 

*  Memoir  on  the  first  discovery  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay.  Communicated  by 
Robert  Greenhow,  Esq.,  to  the  Virginia  Historical  Society,  May,  1848,  in  Early 
Voyages  to  America,  (edited  by  Conway  Robinson,  Esq.,  and  published  by  the 
Society,)  p.  486.  Mr.  Greenhow  cites  for  authority  the  Ensayo  Chronologico 
Para  la  Historia  de  la  Florida  of  Barcia,  (Cardenas.) 

f  MS.  letter  of  John  Gilmary  Shea,  Esq.,  author  of  "  History  of  the  Catholic 
Missions  among  the  Indian  Tribes  of  the  United  States,"  citing  Barcia  and  Ale- 
gambe. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  19 

and  is  entered  toward  the  northwest.  In  the  bay  are  many 
rivers  and  harbors  on  both  sides,  in  which  vessels  may  anchor. 
Within  its  entrance  on  the  south  the  depth  is  from  nine  to  thir 
teen  fathoms,  (about  five  feet  nine  inches  English,)  and  on  the 
north  side  from  five  to  seven;  at  two  leagues  from  it  in  the  sea, 
the  depth  is  the  same  on  the  north  and  the  south,  but  there  is 
more  sand  within.  In  the  channel  there  are  from  nine  to  thir 
teen  fathoms ;  in  the  bay  fifteen,  ten,  and  six  fathoms ;  and  in 
some  places  the  bottom  cannot  be  reached  with  the  lead."  Bar- 
cia  describes  the  voyage  of  Morquez  from  Santa  Helena  "  to  the 
Bay  of  Santa  Maria,  in  the  latitude  of  thirty-seven  degrees  and  a 
half,"*  and  makes  particular  mention  of  the  shoal  running  out 
from  what  is  now  Cape  Lookout,  and  that  near  Cape  Hatteras, 
the  latitude  and  distances  given  leaving  no  doubt  but  that  the 
Bay  of  Santa  Maria  is  the  same  with  the  Chesapeake,  f  Ten 
years  will  probably  include  the  period  of  these  early  Spanish 
visits  to  Axacan  and  the  Chesapeake;  and  these  explorations 
appear  to  have  been  unknown  to  the  English,  and  Spain  made 
no  claim  on  account  of  them.  Had  she  set  forth  any  title  to 
Virginia,  Gondomar  would  not  have  failed  to  urge  it,  and  James 
the  First  would  have  been,  probably,  ready  to  recognize  it. 

In  the  year  1578  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert  obtained  from  Queen 
Elizabeth  letters  patent,  authorizing  him  to  discover  and  colo 
nize  remote  heathen  countries  unpossessed  by  any  Christian 
prince.  After  one  or  two  unsuccessful  expeditions,  Sir  Hum 
phrey  again  set  sail  in  1583,  from  Plymouth,  with  a  fleet  of  five 
small  vessels.  The  largest  of  these,  the  bark  Raleigh,  was  com 
pelled  in  two  days  to  abandon  the  expedition,  on  account  of  an 
infectious  disease  that  broke  out  among  the  crew. 

After  Cabot's  discovery,  for  many  years  the  vessels  of  various 
flags  had  frequented  the  northern  part  of  America  for  the  pur 
pose  of  fishing,  and  when  Sir  Humphrey  reached  St.  John's 
Harbor,  the  thirty-six  fishing  vessels  found  there  at  first  refused 

*  "A  37  grades  y  medio."  Alegambe  says:  "Axaca  ab  aequatore  in  Boream 
erecta  37°." 

f  In  a  map  found  in  a  rare  work,  in  French,  dated  1676,  entitled  "Tourbe 
Ardante,"  shown  roe  by  Townsend  Ward,  Esq.,  Librarian  of  Pennsylvania  Hist. 
Society,  the  Chesapeake  is  called  St.  Mary's  Bay. 


20  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

him  admittance ;  but  upon  his  exhibiting  the  queen's  commission 
they  submitted.  He  then  entered  the  harbor,  landed,  and  took 
formal  possession  of  the  country  for  the  crown  of  England. 

As  far  as  time  would  admit,  some  survey  of  the  country  was 
made,  the  principal  object  of  which  was  the  discovery  of  mines 
and  minerals;  and  the  admiral  listened  with  credulity  to  the 
promises  of  silver.  The  company  being  dispersed  abroad,  some 
were  taken  sick  and  died ;  some  hid  themselves  in  the  woods,  and 
others  cut  one  of  the  vessels  out  of  the  harbor  and  carried  her 
off.  At  length  the  admiral,  having  collected  as  many  of  his  men 
as  could  be  found,  and  ordered  one  of  his  vessels  to  remain  and 
take  off  the  sick,  set  sail  with  three  vessels,  intending  to  visit 
Cape  Breton  and  the  Isle  of  Sable ;  but  one  of  his  vessels  being 
lost  on  a  sand-bank,  he  determined  to  return  to  England.  The 
Squirrel,  in  which  he  had  embarked  for  the  survey  of  the  coast, 
was  very  small  and  heavily  laden,  yet  this  intrepid  navigator 
persisted  in  remaining  on  board  of  her,  notwithstanding  the 
urgent  entreaties  of  his  friends  in  the  other  and  larger  vessel, 
the  Hind;  in  reply  to  which,  he  declared,  that  he  would  not  de 
sert  his  little  crew  on  the  homeward  voyage,  after  having  with 
them  passed  through  so  many  storms  and  perils.  And  after 
proceeding  three  hundred  leagues,  the  little  bark,  with  the  admi 
ral  and  all  her  crew,  was  lost  in  a  storm.  When  last  seen  by 
the  company  of  the  Hind,  Sir  Humphrey,  although  surrounded 
by  imminent  perils,  was  seated  composedly  on  the  deck  with  a 
book  in  his  hand,  and  as  often  as  they  approached  within  hear 
ing  was  heard  to  exclaim:  "Be  of  good  cheer,  my  friends;  it  is 
as  near  to  heaven  by  sea  as  by  land."  At  midnight  the  lights 
of  the  little  vessel  suddenly  disappeared,  and  she  was  seen  no 
more.  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert  was  descended  from  an  ancient 
family  in  Devonshire;  his  father  was  Otho  Gilbert,  Esq.,  of 
Greenway,  and  his  mother,  Catharine,  daughter  of  Sir  Philip 
Champernon,  of  Modbury.  He  was  educated  at  Oxford,  and 
became  distinguished  for  courage,  learning,  and  enterprise.  Ap 
pointed  colonel  in  Ireland,  he  displayed  singular  energy  and  ad 
dress.  In  the  year  1571  he  wras  a  member  of  the  House  of 
Commons  from  Compton,  his  native  place.  He  strenuously  de 
fended  the  queen's  prerogative  against  the  charge  of  monopoly, 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  21 

alleged  by  a  Puritan  member  against  an  exclusive  grant  made  to 
some  merchants.  He  was  the  author  of  several  publications  on 
cosmography  and  navigation.  Having  attracted  the  attention 
of  the  queen  in  his  boyhood,  she  at  length  knighted  him,  and 
gave  him  one  of  her  maids  of  honor  in  marriage.  When  he  was 
preparing  for  his  voyage  she  sent  him  a  golden  anchor  with  a 
large  pearl  at  the  peak,  which  he  ever  after  prized  as  a  singular 
honor.  Raleigh  accompanied  this  present,  which  was  sent  through 
his  hands  with  this  letter:  "I  have  sent  you  a  token  from  her 
majesty — an  anchor  guided  by  a  lady,  as  you  see;  and  farther, 
her  highness  willed  me  to  send  you  word  that  she  wished  you  as 
great  hap  and  safety  to  your  ship  as  if  herself  were  there  in 
person,  desiring  you  to  have  care  of  yourself  as  of  that  which 
she  tcndereth.  Farther,  she  commandeth  that  you  leave  your 
picture  with  me." 

Not  daunted  by  the  fate  of  his  heroic  kinsman,  Raleigh  ad 
hered  to  the  design  of  effecting  a  settlement  in  America,  and 
being  now  high  in  the  queen's  favor,  obtained  letters  patent  for 
that  purpose,  dated  March,  1584.  Aided  by  some  gentlemen 
and  merchants,  particularly  by  his  gallant  kinsman  Sir  Richard 
Grenville,  and  Mr.  William  Sanderson,  who  had  married  his 
niece,  Raleigh  succeeded  in  providing  two  small  vessels.  These 
were  put  under  the  command  of  Captains  Philip  Amadas  and 
Arthur  Barlow.  Barlow  had  already  served  with  distinction 
under  Raleigh  in  Ireland.  The  two  vessels  left  the  Thames  in 
April,  1584,  and  pursuing  the  old  circuitous  route  by  the  Cana 
ries,  reached  the  West  Indies.  After  a  short  stay  there  they 
sailed  north,  and  early  in  July,  as  they  approached  the  coast  of 
Florida,  the  mariners  were  regaled  with  the  odors  of  flowers 
wafted  from  the  fragrant  shore.  Amadas  and  Barlow,  proceed 
ing  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  farther,  landed  on  the  Island 
of  Wocokon,  in  the  stormy  region  of  Cape  Hatteras,  one  of  a 
long  series  of  narrow,  low,  sandy  islands — breakwaters  apparently 
designed  by  nature  to  defend  the  mainland  from  the  fury  of  the 
ocean.  The  English  took  possession  of  the  country  in  the  queen's 
name.  The  valleys  were  wooded  with  tall  cedars,  overrun  with 
vines  hung  in  graceful  festoons,  the  grapes  clustering  in  rich  pro 
fusion  on  the  ground  and  trailing  in  the  murmuring  surges  of  the 


22  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

sea.  For  two  days  no  inhabitant  was  seen ;  on  the  third  a  canoe 
with  three  men  approached,  one  of  whom  was  readily  persuaded 
to  come  on  board,  and  some  presents  gained  his  confidence. 
Going  away,  he  began  to  fish,  and  having  loaded  his  canoe,  re 
turned,  and  dividing  his  cargo  into  two  parts,  signified  that  one 
was  for  the  ship,  the  other  for  the  pinnace.  On  the  next  day 
they  were  visited  by  some  canoes,  in  which  were  forty  or  fifty 
men,  among  whom  was  Granganameo,  the  king's  brother.  The 
king  Wingina  himself  lay  at  his  chief  town,  six  miles  distant, 
confined  by  wounds  received  in  a  recent  battle.  At  this  town 
the  English  were  hospitably  entertained  by  Granganameo' s  wife. 
She  was  small,  pretty,  and  bashful,  clothed  in  a  leathern  mantle 
with  the  fur  turned  in;  her  long  dark  hair  restrained  by  a  band 
of  white  coral;  strings  of  beads  hung  from  her  ears  and  reached 
to  her  waist.  The  manners  of  the  natives  were  composed;  their 
disposition  seemed  gentle;  presents  and  traffic  soon  conciliated 
their  good  will.  The  country  was  called  Wingandacoa.*  The 
soil  was  productive;  the  air  mild  and  salubrious;  the  forests 
abounded  with  a  variety  of  sweet-smelling  trees,  and  oaks  supe 
rior  in  size  to  those  of  England.  Fruits,  melons,  nuts,  and 
esculent  roots  were  observed;  the  woods  were  stocked  with  game, 
and  the  waters  with  innumerable  fish  and  wild-fowl. 

After  having  discovered  the  Island  of  Roanoke  on  Albemarle 
Sound,  and  explored  as  much  of  the  interior  as  their  time  would 
permit,  Amadas  and  Barlow  sailed  homeward,  accompanied  by 
two  of  the  natives,  Manteo  and  Wanchese.  Queen  Elizabeth, 
charmed  with  the  glowing  descriptions  of  the  new  country,  which 
the  enthusiastic  adventurers  gave  her  on  their  return,  named  it, 
in  allusion  to  her  own  state  of  life,  VIRGINIA.  As  hitherto 
all  of  North  America  as  far  as  discovered  was  called  Florida,  so 
henceforth  all  that  part  of  it  lying  between  thirty-four  and  forty- 
five  degrees  of  north  latitude  came  to  be  styled  Virginia,  till 
gradually  by  diiferent  settlements  it  acquired  different  names. f 

Raleigh  was  shortly  after  returned  to  Parliament  from  the 
County  of  Devon,  and  about  the  same  time  knighted.  The  queen 

*  Wingan  signifies  "good." 

f  Smith's  History  of  Virginia,  i.  79.     Stith's  History  of  Virginia,  11. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  23 

granted  him  a  patent  to  license  the  vending  of  wines  throughout 
the  kingdom.  Such  a  monopoly  was  part  of  the  arbitrary  system 
of  that  day.  Nor  was  Sir  Walter  unconscious  of  its  injustice, 
for  when,  some  years  afterwards,  a  spirit  of  resistance  to  it 
showed  itself  in  the  House  of  Commons  and  a  member  was 
warmly  inveighing  against  it,  Sir  Walter  was  observed  to  blush. 
He  voted  afterwards  for  the  abolition  of  such  monopolies,  and  no 
one  could  have  made  a  more  munificent  use  of  such  emoluments 
than  he  did  in  his  efforts  to  effect  the  discovery  and  colonization 
of  Virginia.  He  fitted  out,  in  1585,  a  fleet  for  that  purpose,  and 
entrusted  the  command  to  his  relative,  Sir  Richard  Grenville. 
This  gallant  officer,  like  Cervantes,  shared  in  the  famous  battle  of 
Lepanto,  and  after  distinguishing  himself  by  his  conduct  during 
the  Irish  rebellion,  had  become  a  conspicuous  member  of  Parlia 
ment.  He  was  accompanied  by  Thomas  Cavendish,  afterwards 
renowned  as  a  circumnavigator  of  the  globe;  Thomas  Hariot,  a 
friend  of  Raleigh  and  a  profound  mathematician;  and  John 
Withe,  an  artist,  whose  pencil  supplied  materials  for  the  illustra 
tion  of  the  works  of  De  Bry  and  Beverley.  Late  in  June  the 
fleet  anchored  at  Wocokon,  but  that  situation  being  too  much  ex 
posed  to  the  dangers  of  the  sea,  they  proceeded  through  Ocra- 
cock  Inlet  to  the  Island  of  Roanoke,  (at  the  mouth  of  Albemarle 
Sound,)  which  they  selected  as  the  seat  of  the  colony.  The 
colonists,  one  hundred  and  eight  in  number,  were  landed  there. 
Mariteo,  who  had  returned  with  them,  had  already  been  sent 
from  Wocokon  to  announce  their  arrival  to  his  king,  Wingina. 
Grenville,  accompanied  by  Lane,  Hariot,  Cavendish  and  others, 
explored  the  coast  for  eighty  miles  southward,  to  the  town  of  Se- 
cotan,  in  the  present  County  of  Craven,  North  Carolina.  During 
this  excursion  the  Indians,  at  a  village  called  Aquascogoc,  stole 
a  silver  cup,  and  a  boat  being  dispatched  to  reclaim  it,  the  terri 
fied  inhabitants  fled  to  the  woods,  and  the  English,  regardless 
alike  of  prudence  and  humanity,  burned  the  town  and  destroyed 
the  standing  corn.  Grenville  in  a  short  time  re-embarked  for 
England  with  a  valuable  cargo  of  furs,  and  on  his  voyage  cap 
tured  a  rich  Spanish  prize. 

Lane  extended  his  discoveries  to  the  northward,  as  far  as  the 
town  of  Chesapeakes,  on  Elizabeth  River,  near  where  Norfolk 


24  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

stands,  and  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles  from  the  Island 
of  Roanoke.  The  Chowan  River  was  also  explored,  and  the 
Roanoke,  then  known  below  the  falls  as  the  Moratoc.  Lane, 
although  a  good  soldier,  seems  to  have  wanted  some  of  the  quali 
ties  indispensable  in  the  founder  of  a  new  plantation.  The  In 
dians  grew  more  hostile;  conspiracies  were  entered  into  for  the 
destruction  of  the  whites,  and  the  rash  and  bloody  measures  em 
ployed  to  defeat  their  machinations  aggravated  the  mischief. 
The  colonists,  filled  with  alarm,  became  impatient  to  escape  from 
a  scene  of  so  many  privations  and  so  much  danger.  Owing  to  a 
scarcity  of  provisions,  Lane  distributed  the  colonists  at  several 
places.  At  length  Captain  Stafford,  who  was  stationed  at  Croa- 
tan,  near  Cape  Lookout,  descried  twenty-three  sail,  which  proved 
to  be  Sir  Francis  Drake's  fleet.  He  was  returning  from  a  long 
cruise — belligerent,  privateering,  and  exploratory — arid,  in  obe 
dience  to  the  queen's  orders,  now  visited  the  Colony  of  Virginia 
to  render  any  necessary  succor.  Upon  learning  the  condition  of 
affairs,  he  agreed  to  furnish  Lane  with  vessels  and  supplies  suffi 
cient  to  complete  the  discovery  of  the  country  and  to  insure  a 
safe  return  home,  should  that  alternative  be  found  necessary. 
Just  at  this  time  a  violent  storm,  raging  for  four  days,  dispersed 
and  shattered  the  fleet,  and  drove  out  to  sea  the  vessels  that  had 
been  assigned  to  Lane.  The  tempest  at  length  subsiding,  Drake 
generously  offered  Lane  another  vessel  with  supplies.  But  the 
harbor  not  being  of  sufficient  depth  to  admit  the  vessel,  the  go 
vernor,  acquiescing  in  the  unanimous  desire  of  the  colonists,  re 
quested  permission  for  them  all  to  embark  in  the  fleet,  and  return 
to  England.  The  request  was  granted;  and  thus  ended  the  first 
actual  settlement  of  the  English  in  America. 

During  the  year  which  the  colony  had  passed  at  Roanoke, 
Withe  had  made  drawings  from  nature  illustrative  of  the  appear 
ance  and  habits  of  the  natives;  and  Harlot  had  accurately  ob 
served  the  soil  and  productions  of  the  country,  and  the  manners 
and  customs  of  the  natives,  an  account  of  which  he  afterwards 
published,  entitled,  "A  briefe  and  true  report  of  the  new  found 
land  of  Virginia."  He  (Lane)  and  some  others  of  the  colonists 
learned  from  the  Indians  the  use  of  a  narcotic  plant  called  by 
them  uppowoc;  by  the  English  tobacco.  The  natives  smoked  it; 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  25 

sprinkled  the  dust  of  it  on  their  fishing  weirs,  to  make  them  for 
tunate  ;  burned  it  in  sacrifices  to  appease  the  anger  of  the  gods, 
and  scattered  it  in  the  air  and  on  the  water  to  allay  the  fury  of 
the  tempest.  Lane  carried  some  tobacco  to  England,  supposed 
by  Camden  to  have  been  the  first  ever  introduced  into  that  king 
dom.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  by  his  example,  soon  rendered  the  use 
of  this  seductive  leaf  fashionable  at  court;  and  his  tobacco-box 
and  pipes  were  long  preserved  by  the  curiosity  of  antiquaries. 
It  is  related,  that  having  offered  Queen  Elizabeth  some  tobacco 
to  smoke,  after  two  or  three  whiffs  she  was  seized  with  a  nausea, 
upon  observing  which  some  of  the  Earl  of  Leicester's  faction 
whispered  that  Sir  Walter  had  certainly  poisoned  her.  But  her 
majesty  in  a  short  while  recovering,  made  the  Countess  of  Not 
tingham  and  all  her  maids  smoke  a  whole  pipe  out  among  them. 
It  is  also  said  that  Sir  Walter  made  a  wager  with  the  queen,  that 
he  could  calculate  the  weight  of  the  smoke  evaporated  from  a 
pipeful  of  tobacco.  This  he  easily  won  by  weighing  first  the  to 
bacco,  and  then  the  ashes,  when  the  queen  acknowledged  that  the 
difference  must  have  gone  off  in  smoke.  Upon  paying  the  wager, 
she  gayly  remarked,  that  "she  had  heard  of  many  workers  in  the 
fire  who  had  turned  their  gold  into  smoke,  but  that  Sir  Walter 
was  the  first  that  had  turned  his  smoke  into  gold."  Another 
familiar  anecdote  is,  that  a  country  servant  of  Raleigh's,  bringing 
him  a  tankard  of  ale  and  nutmeg  into  his  study  as  he  was  in 
tently  reading  and  smoking,  was  so  alarmed  at  seeing  clouds  of 
smoke  issuing  from  his  master's  mouth,  that,  throwing  the  ale  into 
his  face,  he  ran  down  stairs  crying  out  that  Sir  Walter  Avas  on  fire. 
Sir  Walter  Raleigh  never  visited  Virginia  himself,  although  it 
has  been  so  represented  by  several  writers.  Hariot's  "Report  of 
the  new  found  land"  was  translated  by  a  Frenchman  *  into  Latin, 
and  tjiis  translation  refers  to  those  "  qui  generosum  D.  Walterum 
Raleigh  in  earn  regionem  cornitati  sunt."  The  error  of  the  trans 
lator  in  employing  the  words  "comitati  sunt,"  has  been  pointed 
out  by  Stith,  and  that  error  probably  gave  rise  to  the  mistake 
which  has  been  handed  down  from  age  to  age,  and  is  still  preva 
lent.  A  few  days  after  Drake's  departure,  a  vessel  arrived  at 

*  De  Bry. 


26  HISTORY   OF   THE   COLONY  AND 

Roanoke  with  supplies  for  the  colony;  but  finding  it  abandoned, 
she  set  sail  for  England.  Within  a  fortnight  afterwards,  Sir 
Richard  Grenville,  with  three  relief  vessels  fitted  out  principally 
by  Raleigh,  arrived  off  Virginia ;  and,  unwilling  that  the  English 
should  lose  possession  of  the  country,  he  left  fifteen  men  on  the 
island,  with  provisions  for  two  years.  These  repeated  disappoint 
ments  did  not  abate  Raleigh's  indomitable  resolution.  During 
the  ensuing  year  he  sent  out  a  new  expedition  of  three  vessels  to 
establish  a  colony  chartered  by  the  title  of  "The  Governor  and 
Assistants  of  the  City  of  Raleigh  in  Virginia."  John  White  was 
sent  out  as  governor  with  twelve  counsellors,  and  they  were 
directed  to  plant  themselves  at  the  town  of  Chesapeakes,  on 
Elizabeth  River.  Reaching  Roanoke  near  the  end  of  July,  White 
found  the  colony  deserted,  the  bones  of  a  man  scattered  on  the 
beach,  the  fort  razed,  and  deer  couching  in  the  desolate  houses 
or  feeding  on  the  rank  vegetation  which  had  overgrown  the  floor 
and  crept  up  the  walls.  Raleigh's  judicious  order,  instructing 
White  to  establish  himself  on  the  banks  of  Elizabeth  River,  was  not 
carried  into  effect,  owing  to  the  refusal  of  Ferdinando,  the  naval- 
ofiicer,  to  co-operate  in  exploring  the  country  for  that  purpose. 

One  of  the  English  having  been  slain  by  the  savages,  a  party 
was  dispatched  to  avenge  his  death,  and  by  mistake  unfortunately 
killed  several  of  a  friendly  tribe.  Manteo,  by  Raleigh's  direc 
tion,  was  christened,  and  created  Lord  of  Roanoke  and  Dassa- 
monpeake.  On  the  eighteenth  of  August,  the  governor's  daughter, 
Eleanor,  wife  to  Ananias  Dare,  one  of  the  council,  gave  birth  to 
a  daughter,  the  first  Christian  child  born  in  the  country,  and 
hence  named  Virginia.  Dissensions  soon  arose  among  the  set 
tlers  ;  and,  although  not  in  want  of  stores,  some,  disappointed  in 
not  finding  the  new  country  a  paradise  of  indolent  felicity,  as 
they  had  fondly  anticipated,  demanded  permission  to  return 
home;  others  vehemently  opposed;  at  length  all  joined  in  re 
questing  White  to  sail  for  England,  and  to  return  thence  with 
supplies.  To  this  he  reluctantly  consented;  and  setting  sail  in 
August,  1587,  from  Roanoke,  where  he  left  eighty-nine  men, 
seventeen  women,  and  eleven  children,  he  arrived  in  England  on 
the  fifth  of  November. 

He  found  the  kingdom  wholly  engrossed  in  taking  measures  of 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  27 

defence  against  the  threatened  invasion  of  the  Spanish  Armada, 
and  Raleigh,  Grenville,  and  Lane  assisting  Elizabeth  in  her  coun 
cil  of  war — a  conjuncture  most  unpropitious  to  the  interests  of 
the  infant  colony.  Raleigh,  nevertheless,  found  time  even  in  this 
portentous  crisis  of  public  affairs  to  dispatch  White  with  supplies 
in  two  vessels.  But  these,  running  after  prizes,  encountered 
privateers,  and,  after  a  bloody  engagement,  one  of  them  was  so 
disabled  and  plundered  that  White  was  compelled  to  put  back  to 
England,  while  it  was  impossible  to  refit,  owing  to  the  urgency  of 
more  important  matters.  But,  even  after  the  destruction  of  the 
Armada,  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  found  it  impracticable  to  prosecute 
any  further  his  favorite  design  of  establishing  a  colony  in  Vir 
ginia  ;  and  in  1589  he  formed  a  company  of  merchants  and  adven 
turers,  and  assigned  to  it  his  proprietary  rights.  This  corporation 
included  among  its  members  Thomas  Smith,  a  wealthy  London 
merchant,  afterwards  knighted;  and  Richard  Hakluyt,  dean  of 
Westminster,  the  compiler  of  a  celebrated  collection  of  voyages. 
He  is  said  to  have  visited  Virginia,  and  Stith  gives  it  as  his 
opinion  that  he  must  have  come  over  in  one  of  the  last-mentioned 
abortive  expeditions.  Raleigh,  at  the  time  of  making  this  assign 
ment,  gave  a  hundred  pounds  for  propagating  Christianity  among 
the  natives  of  Virginia.  After  experiencing  a  long  series  of 
vexations,  difficulties,  and  disappointments,  he  had  expended  forty 
thousand  pounds  in  fruitless  efforts  for  planting  a  colony  in  Vir 
ginia.  At  length,  disengaged  from  this  enterprise,  he  indulged 
his  martial  genius,  and  bent  all  his  energies  against  the  colossal 
ambition  of  Spain,  who  now  aspired  to  overshadow  the  world. 

More  than  another  year  was  suffered  to  elapse  before  White 
returned  to  search  for  the  long-neglected  colony.  He  had  now 
been  absent  from  it  for  three  years,  and  felt  the  solicitude  not 
only  of  a  governor,  but  also  of  a  parent.  Upon  his  departure  from 
Roanoke  it  had  been  concerted  between  him  and  the  settlers,  that 
if  they  should  abandon  that  island  for  another  seat,  they  should 
carve  the  name  of  the  place  to  which  they  should  remove  on 
some  conspicuous  object;  and  if  they  should  go  away  in  distress, 
a  cross  should  be  carved  above  the  name.  Upon  his  arrival  at 
Roanoke,  White  found  not  one  of  the  colonists;  the  houses  had 
been  dismantled  and  a  fort  erected ;  goods  had  been  buried  in  the 


28  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

earth,  and  in  part  disinterred  and  scattered;  on  a  post  within  the 
fort  the  word  CROATAN  was  carved,  without  a  cross  above  it. 
The  weather  proving  stormy,  some  of  White's  company  were  lost 
by  the  capsizing  of  a  boat;  the  stock  of  provisions  grew  scanty; 
and  no  further  search  was  then  made.  Raleigh,  indeed,  sent  out 
parties  in  quest  of  them  at  five  different  times,  the  last  in  1602, 
at  his  own  charge;  but  not  one  of  them  made  any  search  for  the 
unfortunate  colonists.  None  of  them  were  ever  found;  and 
whether  they  perished  by  famine,  or  the  Indian  tomahawk,  was 
left  a  subject  of  sad  conjecture.  The  site  of  the  colony  was  un 
fortunate,  being  difficult  of  access,  and  near  the  stormy  Cape 
Hatteras,  whose  very  name  is  synonymous  with  peril  and  ship 
wreck.  Thus,  after  many  nobly  planned  but  unhappily  executed 
expeditions,  and  enormous  expense  of  treasure  and  life,  the  first 
plantation  of  Virginia  became  extinct. 

In  the  year  1591  Sir  Richard  Grenville  fell,  in  a  bloody  action 
with  a  Spanish  fleet  near  the  Azores.  Mortally  wounded,  he  was 
removed  on  board  one  of  the  enemy's  ships,  and  in  two  days  died. 
In  the  hour  of  his  death  he  said,  in  the  Spanish  language,  to 
those  around  him  :  "  Here  I,  Richard  Grenville,  die  with  a  joyous 
and  quiet  mind,  for  that  I  have  ended  my  life  as  a  true  soldier 
ought  to  do,  fighting  for  his  country,  queen,  religion,  and  honor, 
my  soul  willingly  departing  from  this  body,  leaving  behind  the 
lasting  fame  of  having  behaved  as  every  valiant  soldier  is  in  his 
duty  bound  to  do."  His  dying  words  may  recall  to  mind  the 
familiar  verses  of  Campbell's  Lochiel : — 

"  And  leaving  in  death  no  blot  on  my  name, 
Look  proudly  to  heaven  for  a  death-bed  of  fame." 

Sir  Richard  Grenville  was,  next  to  his  kinsman,  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh,  the  principal  person  concerned  in  the  first  settlement  of 
Yirginia. 

In  1602,  the  forty-third  and  last  year  of  the  reign  of  Queen 
Elizabeth,  Captain  Bartholomew  Gosnold,  deviating  from  the 
usual  oblique  route  by  the  Canaries  and  the  West  Indies,  made  a 
direct  voyage  in  a  small  bark  across  the  Atlantic,  and  in  seven 
weeks  reached  Massachusetts  Bay.  It  was  on  this  occasion  that 
Englishmen,  for  the  first  time,  landed  on  the  soil  of  New  Eng- 


ANCIENT  DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  29 

land.  Gosnold  returned  to  England  in  a  short  passage  of  five 
weeks.  In  these  early  voyages  the  heroism  of  the  navigators  is 
the  more  admirable  when  we  advert  to  the  extremely  diminutive 
size  of  their  vessels  and  the  comparative  imperfection  of  nautical 
science  at  that  day.  Encouraged  by  Gosnold's  success,  the 
mayor,  aldermen,  and  merchants  of  Bristol  sent  out  an  expedi 
tion  under  Captain  Pring,  in  the  same  direction,  in  1603,  the 
year  of  the  accession  of  James  I.  to  the  throne.  During  the 
same  year  a  bark  was  dispatched  from  London  under  Captain 
Bartholomew  Gilbert,  who  fell  in  with  the  coast  in  latitude  37°, 
and,  as  some  authors  say,  ran  up  into  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  where 
the  captain  and  four  of  his  men  were  slain  by  the  Indians. 

In  1605  Captain  Weymouth  came  over  under  the  auspices  of 
Henry,  Earl  of  Southampton,  and  Lord  Thomas  Arundel. 


CHAPTER    II. 


Early  Life  and  Adventures  of  Captain  John  Smith  —  Born  at  Willoughby  —  At 
Thirteen  Years  of  Age  undertakes  to  go  to  Sea  —  At  Fifteen  Apprentice  to  a 
Merchant  —  Visits  France  —  Studies  the  Military  Art  —  Serves  in  the  Low 
Countries  —  Repairs  to  Scotland  —  Returns  to  Willoughby  —  Studies  and  Exer 
cises  —  Adventures  in  France  —  Embarks  for  Italy  —  Thrown  into  the  Sea  —  His 
Escape  —  Joins  the  Austrians  in  the  Wars  with  the  Turks  —  His  Gallantry  — 
Combat  with  Three  Turks  —  Made  Prisoner  at  Rottenton  —  His  Sufferings  and 
Escape  —  Voyages  and  Travels  —  Returns  to  England. 

IN  1606  measures  were  taken  in  England  for  planting  another 
colony;  but  preliminary  to  a  relation  of  the  settlement  of  Vir 
ginia  proper,  it  is  necessary  to  give  some  history  of  Captain  John 
Smith,  "the  father  of  the  colony."  He  was  born  at  Willoughby, 
in  Lincolnshire,  England,  in  1579,  being  descended  on  his 
father's  side  from  an  ancient  family  of  Crudley,  in  Lancashire; 
on  his  mother's,  from  the  Rickands  at  Great  Heck,  in  York 
shire.  After  having  been  some  time  a  scholar  at  the  free  schools  of 
Alford  and  Louth,  when  aged  thirteen,  his  mind  being  bent  upon 
bold  adventures,  he  sold  his  satchel,  books,  and  all  he  had,  in 
tending  to  go  privately  to  sea;  but  his  father's  death  occurring 
just  then  prevented  the  execution  of  that  scheme.  Having  some 
time  before  lost  his  mother,  he  was  now  left  an  orphan,  with,  a 
competent  hereditary  estate,  which,  being  too  young  to  receive, 
he  little  regarded.  At  fifteen  he  was  bound  apprentice  to 
Thomas  Sendall,  of  Lynn,  the  greatest  merchant  of  all  those 
parts  ;  but  in  a  short  time,  disgusted  with  the  monotony  of  that 
life,  he  quit  it,  and  accompanied  a  son  of  Lord  Willoughby  to 
France.  Within  a  month  or  six  weeks,  he  was  dismissed,  his 
service  being  needless,  with  an  allowance  of  money  to  take  him 
back  to  England;  but  he  determined  not  to  return.  At  Paris, 
meeting  with  a  Scottish  gentleman,  David  Hume,  he  received 
from  him  an  additional  supply  of  money  and  letters,  which  might 
recommend  him  to  the  favor  of  James  the  Sixth  of  Scotland. 
(30) 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  31 

Young  Smith,  proceeding  to  Rouen,  and  finding  his  money  nearly 
all  gone,  made  his  way  to  Havre  de  Grace,  and  there  began  to 
learn  the  military  art,  during  the  reign  of  the  warlike  Henry 
the  Fourth.  From  France  the  adventurer  went  to  the  Low 
Countries,  where  he  served  for  four  years  under  the  standard  of 
the  patriot  army  against  Spain,  in  the  war  that  eventuated  in 
their  independence.  Embarking  thence  for  Scotland,  with  the 
letters  of  recommendation  previously  given  to  him,  and  after 
suffering  shipwreck  and  illness,  Smith  at  length  reached  Scot 
land,  where  he  was  hospitably  entertained  "by  those  honest  Scots 
at  Kipweth  and  Broxmouth,"  but  finding  himself  without  money 
or  means  to  make  himself  a  courtier,  he  returned  to  his  native 
place,  Willoughby.  Here  he  soon  grew  weary  of  much  company; 
and  indulging  a  romantic  taste,  retired  into  a  forest,  and  in  its 
recesses,  near  a  pretty  brook,  he  built  for  himself  a  pavilion  of 
boughs,  where  he  studied  Machiavel's  Art  of  War,  and  Marcus 
Aurelius,  and  amused  his  leisure  by  riding,  throwing  the  lance, 
and  hunting.  His  principal  food  was  venison,  which  he  thus 
provided  for  himself,  like  Shakespeare,  with  but  little  regard  for 
the  game-laws ;  and  whatever  else  he  needed  was  brought  to  him 
by  his  servant.  The  country  people  wondered  at  the  hermit; 
and  his  friends  persuaded  an  Italian  gentleman,  rider  to  the  Earl 
of  Lincoln,  to  visit  him  in  his  retreat ;  and  thus  he  was  induced 
to  return  to  the  world,  and  after  spending  a  short  time  with  this 
new  acquaintance  at  Tattersall's,  Smith  now  repaired  a  second 
time  to  the  Low  Countries.  Having  made  himself  sufficiently 
master  of  horsemanship,  and  the  use  of  arms  and  the  rudiments 
of  war,  he  resolved  to  go  and  try  his  fortunes  against  the  Turks, 
having  long  witnessed  with  pain  the  spectacle  of  so  many  Chris 
tians  engaged  in  slaughtering  one  another. 

Proceeding  to  St.  Valery,  in  France,  by  collusion  between  the 
master  of  the  vessel  and  some  French  gallants,  his  trunks  were 
plundered  there  in  the  night,  and  he  was  forced  to  sell  his  cloak 
to  pay  for  his  passage.  The  other  passengers  expressed  their  in 
dignation  against  this  villany,  and  one  of  them,  a  French  soldier, 
generously  supplied  his  immediate  necessities,  and  invited  Smith 
to  accompany  him  to  his  home  in  Normandy.  Here  he  was 
kindly  welcomed  by  his  companion  and  the  Prior  of  the  ancient 


32  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

abbey  of  St.  Stephen,  (where  repose  the  remains  of  William  the 
Conqueror,)  and  others;  and  the  story  of  his  misfortunes  reach 
ing  the  ears  of  some  noble  lords  and  ladies,  they  replenished  his 
purse;  and  he  might  have  enjoyed  their  hospitality  as  long  as  he 
pleased,  but  this  suited  not  his  restless,  energetic  and  indepen 
dent  spirit.  Wandering  now  from  port  to  port  in  quest  of  a 
man-of-war,  he  experienced  some  extraordinary  turns  of  fortune. 
Passing  one  day  through  a  forest,  his  money  being  spent,  worn 
out  with  distress  of  mind,  and  cold,  he  threw  himself  on  the 
ground,  at  the  side  of  a  fountain  of  water,  under  a  tree,  scarce 
hoping  ever  to  rise  again.  A  farmer  finding  him  in  this  condi 
tion,  relieved  his  necessities,  and  enabled  him  to  pursue  his  jour 
ney.  Not  long  afterwards,  meeting  in  a  grove  one  of  the  gallants 
who  had  robbed  him,  without  a  word  on  either  side,  they  drew 
their  swords,  and  fought  in  view  of  the  inmates  of  a  neighboring 
antique  ruinous  tower.  In  a  short  while  the  Frenchman  fell,  and, 
making  confessions  and  excuses,  Smith,  although  himself  wounded, 
spared  his  life.  Directing  his  course  now  to  the  residence  of  "  the 
Earl  of  Ployer,"  with  whom  he  had  become  acquainted  while  in 
the  French  service,  he  was  by  him  better  refurnished  than  ever. 
After  visiting  many  parts  of  France  and  Navarre,  he  came  to 
Marseilles,  where  he  embarked  for  Italy,  in  a  vessel  carrying  a 
motley  crowd  of  pilgrims  of  divers  nations,  bound  for  Rome. 
The  winds  proving  unfavorable,  the  vessel  was  obliged  to  put  in 
at  Toulon,  and  sailing  thence  the  weather  grew  so  stormy  that 
they  anchored  close  to  the  Isle  of  St.  Mary,  opposite  Nice,  in 
Savoy.  Here  the  unfeeling  provincials  and  superstitious  pilgrims 
showered  imprecations  on  Smith's  head,  stigmatizing  him  as  a 
Huguenot,  and  his  nation  as  all  pirates,  and  Queen  Elizabeth  as 
a  heretic;  and,  protesting  that  they  should  never  have  fair 
weather  as  long  as  he  was  on  board,  they  cast  him  into  the  sea 
to  propitiate  heaven.  However,  he  swam  to  the  Islet  of  St. 
Mary,  which  he  found  inhabited  by  a  few  cattle  and  goats.  On 
the  next  day  he  was  taken  up  by  a  privateering  French  ship,  the 
captain  of  which,  named  La  Roche,  proving  to  be  a  neighbor  and 
friend  of  the  Earl  of  Ployer,  entertained  him  kindly.  With  him, 
Smith  visited  Alexandria  in  Egypt,  Scanderoon,  the  Archipelago, 
and  coast  of  Greece.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Adriatic  Sea,  a  Ve- 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  33 

netian  argosy,  richly  laden,  was  captured  and  plundered,  after  a 
desperate  action,  in  which  Smith  appears  to  have  participated. 
He  landed  in  Piedmont  with  five  hundred  sequins  and  a  box  of 
jewels,  worth  about  as  much  more — his  share  of  the  prize.  Em 
barking  for  Leghorn,  he  travelled  in  Italy,  and  here  met  with 
his  friends,  Lord  Willoughby  and  his  brother,  both  severely 
wounded  in  a  recent  bloody  fray.  Going  to  Rome,  Smith  sur 
veyed  the  wonders  of  the  Imperial  City,  and  saw  the  Pope,  with 
the  cardinals,  ascend  the  holy  staircase,  and  say  mass  in  the 
Church  of  St.  John  de  Lateran.  Leaving  Rome,  he  made  the 
tour  of  Italy,  and  embarking  at  Venice,  crossed  over  to  the  wild 
regions  of  Albania  and  Dalmatia.  Passing  through  sterile  Scla- 
vonia,  he  found  his  way  to  Gratz,  in  Styria,  the  residence  of  the 
Archduke  Ferdinand,  afterwards  Emperor  of  Germany.  Here 
he  met  with  an  Englishman  and  an  Irish  Jesuit,  by  whose  assist 
ance  he  was  enabled  to  join  a  regiment  of  artillery,  commanded 
by  Count  M eldritch,  whom  he  accompanied  to  Vienna,  and 
thence  to  the  seat  of  war.  At  this  time,  1601,  there  was  a  bloody 
war  going  on  between  Germany  and  the  Turks,  and  the  latter 
had  gained  many  signal  advantages,  and  the  Crescent,  flushed 
with  victory,  was  rapidly  encroaching  upon  the  confines  of  Chris 
tendom.  Canissia  having  just  fallen,  it  was  at  the  siege  of  Olym- 
pach,  beleaguered  by  the  Turks,  that  Smith  first  had  an  oppor 
tunity  of  displaying  the  resources  of  his  military  genius,  for 
which  he  was  put  in  command  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  horse. 

That  siege  being  raised,  after  some  interval  of  suspended  hos 
tilities,  the  Christian  forces,  in  their  turn,  besieged  Stowle  Wes- 
senburg,  which  soon  fell  into  their  hands.  Mahomet  the  Third, 
hearing  of  this  disaster,  dispatched  a  formidable  army  to  re 
trieve  or  avenge  it ;  and  in  the  bloody  battle  that  ensued  on  the 
plains  of  Girke,  Smith  had  a  horse  shot  under  him,  and  was 
badly  wounded.  At  the  siege  of  Regal  he  encountered  and  slew, 
in  a  tournament,  three  several  Turkish  champions,  Turbashaw, 
Grualgo,  and  Bonny  Mulgro.  For  these  exploits  he  was  honored 
with  a  triumphal  procession,  in  which  the  three  Turks'  heads 
were  borne  on  lances.  A  horse  richly  caparisoned  was  presented 
to  him,  with  a  cimeter  and  belt  worth  three  hundred  ducats ;  and 
he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  major. 

3 


34  ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA. 

In  the  blopdy  battle  of  Rottenton,  lie  was  wounded  and  made 
prisoner.  With  such  of  the  prisoners  as  escaped  massacre,  he 
was  sold  into  slavery  at  Axiopolis,  and  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
Bashaw  Bogall,  who  sent  him,  by  way  of  Adrianople,  to  Constan 
tinople,  a  present  to  his  youthful  mistress,  Charatza  Tragabig- 
zanda.  Captivated  with  her  prisoner,  she  treated  him  tenderly; 
and  to  prevent  his  being  sold  again,  sent  him  to  remain  for  a 
time  with  her  brother,  the  Tymour  Bashaw  of  Nalbritz,  in  Tar- 
tary,  who  occupied  a  stone  castle  near  the  Sea  of  Azof.  Imme 
diately  on  Smith's  arrival,  his  head  was  shaved,  an  iron  collar 
riveted  on  his  neck,  and  he  was  clothed  in  hair-cloth.  Here  long 
he  suffered  cruel  bondage ;  at  length  one  day,  while  threshing  in 
a  barn,  the  Bashaw  having  beaten  and  reviled  him,  he  turned 
and  slew  him  on  the  spot,  with  the  threshing  bat ;  then  put  on 
his  clothes,  hid  his  body  in  the  straw,  filled  a  sack  with  corn, 
closed  the  doors,  mounted  the  Bashaw's  horse,  and  rode  off. 
After  wandering  for  some  days,  he  fell  in  with  a  highway,  and 
observing  that  the  roads  leading  toward  Russia  were  indicated 
by  a  cross,  he  followed  that  sign,  and  in  sixteen  days  reached 
Ecopolis,  a  Russian  frontier  post  on  the  Don.  The  governor 
there  took  off  his  irons,  and  he  was  kindly  treated  by  him  and 
his  wife,  the  lady  Callamata.  Traversing  Russia  and  Poland,  he 
returned  to  Transylvania  in  December,  1603,  where  he  met  many 
friends,  and  enjoyed  so  much  happiness  that  nothing  less  than 
his  desire  to  revisit  his  native  country  could  have  torn  him  away. 

Proceeding  through  Hungary,  Moravia,  and  Bohemia,  he  went 
to  Leipsic,  where  he  found  Prince  Sigismund,  who  gave  him  fif 
teen  hundred  golden  ducats  to  repair  his  losses.  Travelling 
through  Germany,  France,  and  Spain,  from  Gibraltar  he  sailed 
for  Tangier,  in  Africa,  and  to  the  City  of  Morocco.  Taking 
passage  in  a  French  man-of-war,  he  was  present  in  a  terrible  sea- 
fight  with  two  Spanish  ships;  and  after  touching  at  Santa  Cruz, 
Cape  Goa,  and  Mogadore,  he  finally  returned  to  England  in 
1604.* 


*  "The  True  Travels,  Adventures,  and  Observations  of  Captain  John  Smith," 
in  his  History  of  Virginia.  Hillard's  Life  of  Smith,  in  Sparks'  American  Bio 
graphy.  Simms'  Life  of  Smith. 


CHAPTER    III. 

16OG-16O8. 

Gosnold,  Smith,  and  others  set  on  foot  another  Expedition — James  I.  issues  Let 
ters  Patent — Instructions  for  Government  of  the  Colony — Charter  granted  to 
London  Company  for  First  Colony  of  Virginia — Sir  Thomas  Smith,  Treasurer 
— Government  of  the  Colony — Three  Vessels  under  Newport  sail  for  Virginia 
— The  Voyage — Enter  Chesapeake  Bay — Ascend  the  James  River — The  Eng 
lish  entertained  by  the  Chief  of  the  Quiqoughcohanocks — Landing  at  James 
town — Wingfield,  President — Smith  excluded  from  the  Council — Newport  and 
Smith  explore  the  James  to  the  Falls — Powhatan — Jamestown  assaulted  by 
Indians — Smith's  Voyages  up  the  Chickahominy — Murmurs  against  him — 
Again  explores  the  Chickahominy — Made  prisoner — Carried  captive  through 
the  country — Taken  to  Werowocomoco — Rescued  by  Pocahontas — Returns  to 
Jamestown — Fire  there — Rev.  Mr.  Hunt — Rage  for  Gold-hunting — Newport 
visits  Powhatan — Newport's  Departure — Affairs  at  Jamestown. 

BARTHOLOMEW  GOSXOLD  was  the  prime  mover,  and  Captain 
John  Smith  the  chief  actor,  in  the  settlement  of  Virginia.  Gos 
nold,  who  had  already,  in  1602,  made  a  voyage  to  the  northern 
parts  of  Virginia,  afterwards  called  New  England,  for  many  years 
fruitlessly  labored  to  set  on  foot  an  expedition  for  effecting  an 
actual  settlement.  At  length  he  was  reinforced  in  his  efforts  by 
Captain  Smith;  Edward  Maria  Wingfield,  a  merchant;  Robert 
Hunt,  a  clergyman,  and  others;  and  by  their  united  exertions 
certain  of  the  nobility,  gentry,  and  merchants,  became  interested 
in  the  project,  and  King  James  the  First,  who,  as  has  been  before 
mentioned,  had,  in  1603,  succeeded  Elizabeth,  was  induced  to  lend 
it  his  countenance.  April  10th,  1606,  letters  patent  were  issued, 
authorizing  the  establishment  of  two  colonies  in  Virginia  and 
other  parts  of  America.  All  the  country  from  34°  to  45°  of 
north  latitude,  then  known  as  Virginia,  was  divided  into  two 
colonies,  the  First  or  Southern,  and  the  Second  or  Northern. 

The  plantation  of  the  Southern  colony  was  intrusted  to  Sir 
Thomas  Gates  and  Sir  George  Somers,  knights;  Richard  Hack- 
luyt,  clerk,  prebendary  of  Westminster;  Edward  Maria  Wing- 
field,  and  others,  mostly  resident  in  London.  This  company  was 

(35)  ' 


00  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

authorized  to  plant  a  colony  wherever  they  might  choose  between 
34°  and  41°  of  north  latitude;  and  the  king  vested  in  them  a 
right  of  property  in  the  land  extending  along  the  sea-coast  fifty 
statute  miles  on  each  side  of  the  place  of  their  first  plantation, 
and  reaching  into  the  interior  one  hundred  miles  from  the  sea- 
coast,  together  with  all  islands  within  one  hundred  miles  of  their 
shores.  The  Second,  or  Northern  colony  of  Virginia,  was  in  like 
manner  intrusted  to  Thomas  Hanham,  and  others,  mostly  resi 
dents  of  Bristol,  Exeter,  and  Plymouth.  These  were  authorized 
to  plant  a  colony  wherever  they  might  choose  between  38°  and 
45°  of  north  latitude,  and  he  gave  to  them  a  territory  of  similar 
limits  and  extent  to  that  given  to  the  first  colony.  lie  provided, 
however,  that  the  plantation  of  whichever  of  the  said  two  colo 
nies  should  be  last  effected,  should  not  be  within  one  hundred 
miles  of  the  other  that  might  be  first  established.  The  company 
of  the  Southern  colony  came  to  be  distinguished  as  the  London 
company,  and  the  other  as  the  Plymouth  company.  But  event 
ually  these  names  were  dropped;  and  the  name  of  Virginia, 
which  had  been  at  first  common  to  the  two  colonies,  was  appro 
priated  to  the  Southern  colony  only ;  while  the  Northern  colony 
was  now  called  New  England.* 

In  the  charter  granted  to  Sir  Thomas  Gates  and  his  associates, 
it  was  provided  that  the  colony  should  have  a  council  of  its  own, 
subject  to  a  superior  council  in  England.  The  subordinate  coun 
cil  was  authorized  to  search  for  and  dig  mines,  coin  money,  carry 
over  adventurers,  and  repel  intruders.  The  president  and  council 
were  authorized  to  levy  duties  on  foreign  commodities;  the  colo 
nists  were  invested  with  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  English 
subjects,  and  the  lands  granted  to  settlers  in  free  and  common 
soccage.f 

On  the  20th  of  November,  1606,  instructions  were  given  by 
the  crown  for  the  government  of  the  two  colonies,  directing  that 
the  council  in  England  should  be  appointed  by  the  crown;  the 
local  council  by  the  superior  one  in  England;  the  local  one  to 


*  See  charter  in  Stith's  Hist,  of  Va.,  Appendix;   "Notes  as  to  the  Limits  of 
Virginia,"  by  Littleton  Waller  Tazewell,  in  Va.  Hist.  Register,  No.  1. 
•j-  Hening's  Statutes  at  Large,  i.  57. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  37 

choose  a  president  annually  from  its  own  body;  the  Christian 
religion  to  be  preached ;  lands  to  descend  as  in  England ;  trial 
by  jury  secured  in  criminal  causes ;  and  the  council  empowered 
to  determine  all  civil  actions ;  all  produce  and  goods  imported  to 
be  stored  in  magazines ;  a  clerk  and  treasurer,  or  cape-merchant, 
to  be  appointed  for  the  colony.  The  stockholders,  styled  adven 
turers,  were  authorized  to  organize  a  company  for  the  manage 
ment  of  the  business  of  the  colony,  and  to  superintend  the  pro 
ceedings  of  the  local  council.  The  colonists  were  enjoined  to 
treat  the  natives  kindly,  and  to  endeavor  by  all  means  to  convert 
them  to  Christianity.*  Sir  Thomas  Smith  was  appointed  trea 
surer  of  the  company,  and  the  chief  management  of  their  affairs 
intrusted  to  him.  He  was  an  eminent  London  merchant ;  had 
been  chief  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  assignees;  was  about  this 
time  governor  of  the  East  India  Company,  and  had  been  ambas 
sador  to  Russia. f 

The  frame  of  government  thus  provided  for  the  new  colony  was 
cumbrous  and  complicated,  the  legislative  and  administrative 
powers  being  so  distributed  between  the  local  council,  the  crown, 
and  the  company,  as  to  involve  the  danger  of  delays,  uncertainty, 
conflict,  and  irresponsibility.  By  the  words  of  the  charter  the 
colonists  were  invested  with  the  rights  of  Englishmen;  yet,  as  far 
as  political  rights  were  concerned,  there  being  no  security  pro 
vided  by  which  they  could  be  vindicated,  they  might  often  prove 
to  be  of  no  more  real  value  than  the  parchment  on  which  they 
were  written.  However,  the  government  of  such  an  infant  colony 
must,  of  necessity,  have  been  for  the  most  part  arbitrary;  the 
political  rights  of  the  colonists  must,  for  a  time,  have  lain  in 
abeyance.  Their  civil  rights  were  protected  in  criminal  causes 
by  the  trial  by  jury,  and  lands  were  to  be  held  by  a  free  tenure. 

At  length  three  vessels  were  fitted  out  for  the  expedition,  one 
of  twenty  tons,  one  of  forty,  the  third  of  one  hundred  tons,  and 
they  were  put  under  the  command  of  Captain  Christopher  New 
port,  a  navigator  experienced  in  voyages  to  the  New  World. 
Orders  being  put  on  board  inclosed  in  a  sealed  box,  not  to  be 
opened  until  their  arrival  in  Virginia,  they  set  sail  from  Black- 

*  Hen.  67  ;  Stith,  30,  and  in  Appendix.  f  Stitli,  42. 


38  HISTORY   OF    THE   COLONY  AND 

wall  on  the  19th  of  December,  1606.  For  six  weeks  they  were 
detained  by  headwinds  and  stormy  weather  in  the  Downs,  within 
view  of  the  English  coast,  and  during  this  interval,  disorder, 
threatening  a  mutiny,  prevailed  among  the  adventurers.  How 
ever,  it  was  suppressed  by  the  interposition  of  the  clergyman, 
Kobert  Hunt.  The  winds  at  length  proving  favorable,  the  little 
fleet  proceeded  along  the  old  route  by  the  Canaries,  which  they 
reached  about  the  twenty-first  of  April,  and  on  the  twenty-sixth 
sailed  for  the  West  Indies,  upon  arriving  at  which  it  appears 
that  Captain  Smith  was  actually  in  command  of  the  expedition, 
for,*  writing  afterwards  in  1629,  he  says:  "Because  I  have 
ranged  and  lived  among  those  islands,  what  my  authors  cannot 
tell  me,  I  think  it  no  great  error  in  helping  them  to  tell  it  myself. 
In  this  little  Isle  of  Mevis,  more  than  twenty  years  ago,  I  have 
remained  a  good  time  together,  to  wood  and  water,  and  refresh 
my  men."  This  isle  was,  on  this  occasion,  the  scene  of  a  re 
markable  incident  in  his  life,  and  one  which  appears  to  have 
escaped  the  notice  of  our  historians.  "Such  factions  here  we 
had  as  commonly  attend  such  voyages,  that  a  pair  of  gallows  was 
made ;  but  Captain  Smith,  for  whom  they  were  intended,  could 
not  be  persuaded  to  use  them.  But  not  any  of  the  inventors  but 
their  lives  by  justice  fell  into  his  power  to  determine  of  at  his 
pleasure,  whom,  with  much  mercy,  he  favored,  that  most  basely 
and  unjustly  would  have  betrayed  him." 

After  passing  three  weeks  in  the  West  Indies  they  sailed  in 
quest  of  Roanoke  Island,  and  having  exceeded  their  reckoning 
three  days  without  finding  land,  the  crew  grew  impatient,  and 
Ratcliffe,  captain  of  the  pinnace,  proposed  to  steer  back  for 
England. 

At  this  conjuncture  a  violent  storm,  compelling  them  to  scud 
all  night  under  bare  poles,  providentially  drove  them  into  the 
mouth  of  Chesapeake  Bay.  The  first  land  that  they  came  in 
sight  of,  April  26th,  1607,  they  called  Cape  Henry,  in  honor  of 
the  Prince  of  Wales,  eldest  son  of  King  James,  as  the  opposite 
point,  Cape  Charles,  was  named  after  the  king's  second  son,  then 
Duke  of  York,  afterwards  Charles  the  First.  A  party  of  twenty 

*  Smith's  Hist,  of  Va.,  ii.  276. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  39 

or  thirty,  with  Newport,  landing  here,  found  a  variety  of  pretty 
flowers  and  goodly  trees.  While  recreating  themselves  on  the 
shore  they  were  attacked  by  five  of  the  savages,  who  came  creep 
ing  upon  all-fours  from  the  hills  like  bears,  and  with  their  arrows 
wounded  two,  but  retired  at  the  discharge  of  muskets.* 

That  night  the  sealed  box  was  opened,  when  it  appeared  that 
the  members  of  council  appointed  were — Bartholomew  Gosnold, 
John  Smith,  Edward  Maria  Wingfield,  Christopher  Newport, 
John  Ratcliffe,  John  Martin  and  George  Kendall.  They  were 
instructed  to  elect,  out  of  their  own  number,  a  president  for  .one 
year;  he  and  the  council  together  were  invested  with  the  govern 
ment  ;  affairs  of  moment  wrere  to  be  examined  by  a  jury,  but  de 
termined  by  the  council. 

Seventeen  days  were  spent  in  quest  of  a  place  for  the  settle 
ment.  A  point  on  the  western  side  of  the  mouth  of  the  Chesa 
peake  Bay  they  named  Point  Comfort,  because  they  found  a  good 
harbor  there,  which,  after  the  recent  storm,  put  them  in  good 
comfort.  Landing  there,  April  30th,  they  saw  five  Indians,  who 
were  at  first  alarmed;  but  seeing  the  captain  lay  his  hand  upon 
his  heart,  they  came  boldly  up  and  invited  the  strangers  to 
Kecoughtan,  now  Hampton,  their  town,  where  they  were  enter 
tained  with  corn-bread,  tobacco  and  pipes,  and  a  dance.  May 
4th,  the  explorers  were  kindly  received  by  the  Paspaheghs. 
The  chief  of  a  neighboring  tribe  sent  a  guide  to  conduct  the 
English  strangers  to  his  habitation.  Percy  calls  them  the  Rap- 
pahannas;  but  as  no  such  tribe  is  mentioned  by  Smith  as  being 
near  the  James  River,  they  were  probably  the  Quiqoughco- 
hanocks,  who  dwelled  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  about  ten 
miles  above  Jamestown.'}"  Upon  the  arrival  of  the  English  this 
chief  stood  on  the  bank  of  the  river  to  meet  them,  when  they 
landed,  "with  all  his  train,"  says  Percy,  "as  goodly  men  as  any 
I  have  seen  of  savages,  or  Christians,  the  Werowance  [chief] 
coming  before  them,  playing  on  a  flute  made  of  a  reed,  with  a 

*  Narrative  (in  Purchas'  Pilgrims,  iv.  1G85,)  by  George  Percy,  brother  of  the 
Eai-1  of  Northumberland,  and  one  of  the  first  expedition.  See  Hillard's  Life  of 
Smith  in  Sparks'  Amer.  Biog.,  211  and  214  in  note.  (Hillard  in  the  main  fol 
lows  Stith.)  Smith's  Newes  from  Virginia. 

f  Smith,  i.  140-41. 


40  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

crown  of  deer's  hair,  colored  red,  in  fashion  of  a  rose,  fastened 
about  his  knot  of  hair,  and  a  great  plate  of  copper  on  the  other 
side  of  his  head,  with  two  long  feathers,  in  fashion  of  a  pair  of 
horns,  placed  in  the  midst  of  his  crown.  His  body  was  painted 
all  with  crimson,  with  a  chain  of  beads  about  his  neck ;  his  face 
painted  blue,  besprinkled  with  silver  ore,  as  we  thought ;  his  cars 
all  behung  with  bracelets  of  pearl,  and  in  either  ear  a  bird's  claw 
through  it,  beset  with  fine  copper  or  gold.  He  entertained  us  in 
so  modest  a  proud  fashion,  as  though  he  had  been  a  prince  of 
civil  government,  holding  his  countenance  without  laughter,  or 
any  such  ill  behavior.  He  caused  his  mat  to  be  spread  on  the 
ground,  where  he  sate  down  with  a  great  majesty,  taking  a  pipe 
of  tobacco,  the  rest  of  his  company  standing  about  him.  After 
he  had  rested  awhile  he  rose,  and  made  signs  to  us  to  come  to  his 
town :  he  went  foremost,  and  all  the  rest  of  his  people  and  our 
selves  followed  him  up  a  steep  hill,  where  his  palace  was  settled. 
We  passed  through  the  woods  in  fine  paths  having  most  pleasant 
springs,  which  issued  from  the  mountains  [hills.]  We  also  went 
through  the  goodliest  corn-fields  that  ever  were  seen  in  any 
country.  When  we  came  to  Rappohanna  town,  he  entertained 
us  in  good  humanity."  While  this  hospitable,  unsophisticated 
chief  was  piping  a  welcome  to  the  English  strangers,  how  little 
did  he  anticipate  the  tragic  scenes  of  war  and  blood  which  wrere 
so  soon  to  ensue ! 

On  the  8th  of  May  the  English  went  farther  up  the  river  to 
the  country  of  the  Appomattocks,  who  came  forth  to  meet  them 
in  a  most  warlike  manner,  with  bows  and  arrows,  and  formidable 
war-clubs ;  but  the  whites,  making  signs  of  peace,  were  suffered  to 
land  unmolested.*  At  length  they  selected  for  the  site  of  the 
colony  a  peninsula  lying  on  the  north  side  of  the  James  River, 
and  about  forty  miles  from  its  mouth.  The  western  end  of  this 
peninsula,  where  it  is  connected  by  a  little  isthmus  with  the  main 
land,  was  the  spot  pitched  upon  for  the  erection  of  a  town,  which 
was  named,  in  honor  of  the  king,  Jamestown.  Some  contention 
occurred  between  Wingfield  and  Gosnold  in  regard  to  the  selec 
tion  of  this  place,  Gosnold  objecting  to  it.  Smith  conceived  it  a 

*  Percy's  Narrative. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  41 

fit  place  for  a  great  city.  Gosnold  exhibited  in  this  matter  the 
better  judgment.  The  situation,  eligible  in  some  points,  was  ex 
tremely  unhealthy,  being  low  and  exposed  to  the  malaria  of  ex 
tensive  marshes  covered  with  water  at  high-tide.  The  bank  of 
the  river  there  is  marked  by  no  striking  or  picturesque  feature. 
According  to  the  terms  of  the  charter,  the  territory  now  appro 
priated  to  the  colony  comprised  a  square  of  a  base  of  one  hundred 
miles,  and  including  an  area  of  ten  thousand  square  miles,  of 
which  Jamestown  was  the  centre,  so  to  speak. 

The  settlers  landed  at  Jamestown  on  the  13th  day  of  May, 
1607.  This  was  the  first  permanent  settlement  effected  by  the 
English  in  North  America,  after  the  lapse  of  one  hundred  and 
ten  years  from  the  discovery  of  the  continent  by  the  Cabots,  and 
twenty-two  years  after  the  first  attempt  to  colonize  it,  made 
under  the  auspices  of  Walter  Raleigh.  Upon  landing,  the  coun 
cil  took  the  oath  of  office ;  Edward  Maria  Wingfield  was  elected 
president,  and  Thomas  Studley,  cape-merchant  or  treasurer  of 
the  colony.*  Smith  wras  excluded  from  the  council  upon  some 
false  pretences.  Dean  Swift  says:  "When  a  great  genius 
appears  in  the  world,  the  dunces  are  all  in  confederacy  against 
him." 

All  hands  now  fell  to  work,  the  council  planning  a  fort,  the 
rest  clearing  ground  for  pitching  tents,  preparing  clapboard  for 
freighting  the  vessels,  laying  off  gardens,  and  making  fishing- 
nets.  The  Indians  frequently  visited  them  in  a  friendly  way. 
The  president's  overweening  jealousy  would  allow  no  military  ex 
ercise  or  fortification,  save  the  boughs  of  trees  thrown  together 
in  a  semicircle  by  the  energy  of  Captain  Kendall. 

On  the  fourth  of  June,  Newport,  Smith,  and  twenty  others  were 
dispatched  to  discover  the  head  of  the  river  on  which  they  were 
seated,  called  by  the  Indians,  Powhatan,  and  by  the  English,  the 
James.  The  natives  everywhere  received  them  kindly,  dancing, 
and  feasting  them  with  bread,  fish,  strawberries,  and  mulberries, 
for  which  Newport  requited  them  with  bells,  pins,  needles,  and 
looking-glasses,  which  so  pleased  them  that  they  followed  the 
strangers  from  place  to  place.  In  six  days  they  reached  a  town 

*  Stith,  46. 


42  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

called  Powhatan,  one  of  the  seats  of  the  great  chief  of  that  name, 
whom  they  found  there.  It  consisted  of  twelve  wigwams,  plea 
santly  situated  on  a  bold  range  of  hills  overlooking  the  river, 
with  three  islets  in  front,  and  many  corn-fields  around.  This  pic 
turesque  spot  lies  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river,  about  a  mile 
below  the  falls,  and  still  retains  the  same  name. 

On  the  day  of  their  arrival,  the  tenth  of  June,  the  party  visited 
the  falls,  and  again  on  the  day  following,  Whitsunday,  when  they 
erected  a  cross  there  to  indicate  the  farthest  point  of  discovery. 
Newport,  in  return  for  Powhatan's  hospitality,  presented  him 
with  a  gown  and  a  hatchet.  Upon  their  return,  the  Indians  first 
gave  occasion  for  distrust  at  Weyanoke,  within  twenty  miles  of 
Jamestown.  Arriving  there  on  the  next  day,  June  the  twentieth, 
they  found  that  a  boy  had  been  killed,  and  seventeen  men,  in 
cluding  the  greater  part  of  the  council,  had  been  wounded  by 
the  savages;  that  during  the  assault  a  cross-bar  shot  from  one 
of  the  vessels  had  struck  down  a  bough  of  a  tree  among  them 
and  made  them  retire,  but  for  which  all  the  settlers  there  would 
probably  have  been  massacred,  as  they  were  at  the  time  of  the 
attack  planting  corn  in  security,  and  without  arms.  Wing-field 
now  consented  that  the  fort  should  be  palisaded,  cannon  mounted, 
and  the  men  armed  and  exercised.  The  attacks  and  ambuscades 
of  the  natives  were  frequent,  and  the  English,  by  their  careless 
straggling,  were  often  wounded,  while  the  fleet-footed  savages 
easily  escaped. 

Thus  the  colonists  endured  continual  hardships,  guarding  the 
workmen  by  day  and  keeping  watch  by  night.  Six  weeks  being 
passed  in  this  way,  Newport  was  now  about  to  return  to  Eng 
land.  Ever  since  their  departure  from  the  Canaries,  save  for  a 
while  in  the  West  Indies,  Smith  had  been  in  a  sort  of  duress 
upon  the  false  and  scandalous  charges  of  some  of  the  principal 
men  in  the  expedition,  who,  envying  his  superiority,  gave  out 
that  he  intended  to  usurp  the  command,  murder  the  council,  and 
make  himself  king;  that  his  confederates  were  distributed  in  the 
three  vessels ;  and  that  divers  of  them,  who  had  revealed  it,  would 
confirm  it.  Upon  these  accusations  Smith  had  been  arrested, 
and  had  now  lain  for  several  months  under  the  cloud  of  these 
suspicions.  Upon  the  eve  of  Newport's  departure,  Smith's  accu- 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  43 

sers  affecting  through,  pity  to  refer  his  case  to  the  council  in  Eng 
land,  rather  than  overwhelm  him  on  the  spot  by  an  exposure  of 
his  criminal  designs,  he  defied  their  malice,  defeated  their  base 
machinations,  and  so  bore  himself  throughout  the  whole  affair, 
that  all  saw  his  innocence  and  the  malignity  of  his  enemies. 
The  very  witnesses  suborned  to  accuse  him  charged  his  enemies 
with  subornation  of  perjury.  Kendall,  the  ringleader  of  them, 
was  adjudged  to  pay  him  two  hundred  pounds  in  damages,  which 
Smith  contributed  to  the  common  stock  of  the  colony.  During 
these  disputes  Hunt,  the  chaplain,  used  his  exertions  to  recon 
cile  the  parties,  and  at  his  instance  Smith  was  admitted  into  the 
council  on  the  twentieth  day  of  June,  and  on  the  next  day  they 
all  received  the  communion.  The  Indians  now  sued  for  peace, 
and  two  days  after  Newport  weighed  anchor,  leaving  at  James 
town  one  hundred  settlers,  with  provisions  sufficient,  as  was  sup 
posed,  for  more  than  three  months.* 

Not  long  after  his  departure  a  fatal  sickness  began  to  prevail 
at  Jamestown,  engendered  by  the  insalubrity  of  the  place,  the 
exposure  of  the  settlers,  and  the  scarcity  and  bad  quality  of  their 
food.  Hitherto  they  had  procured  provisions  from  the  vessels, 
but  now,  for  some  time,  the  daily  allowance  of  each  man  was  a 
pint  of  damaged  wheat  or  barley.  "Our  drink  was  water,  and 
our  lodgings  castles  in  the  air."  By  September  fifty  of  them, 
being  one-half  of  the  colony,  died;  the  rest  made  out  to  subsist 
upon  sturgeon  and  crabs.  Among  the  victims  of  disease  was 
Bartholomew  Gosnold,  the  projector  of  the  expedition,  whose 
name  is  well  worthy  to  be  ranked  with  Smith  and  Raleigh.  The 
sick,  during  this  calamitous  season,  received  the  faithful  atten 
tions  of  Thomas  Wotton,  surgeon-general. 

Wingfield,  the  president,  after  engrossing,  as  it  was  alleged, 
the  public  store  of  provisions  to  his  own  use,  attempted  to  escape 
from  the  colony  in  the  pinnace,  and  return  to  England.  This 
baseness  roused  the  indignation  even  of  the  emaciated  survivors, 
and  they  deposed  him,  and  appointed  Captain  John  Ratcliffe  in 


*  Smith,  i.  153;    Newes  from  Virginia;    Anderson's  History  of  the  Colonial 
Church,  i.  217. 


44  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

his  place,  and  displaced  Kendall,  a  confederate  of  Wingfield, 
from  the  council. 

In  a  manuscript  journal  of  these  early  incidents,  written  by 
Wingfield  himself,  and  preserved  in  the  Lambeth  Library,  he 
undertakes  to  exculpate  himself  from  the  charge  of  engrossing 
the  common  store  in  the  following  terms:  "As  I  understand, 
by  report,  I  am  much  charged  with  starving  the  colony;  I  did 
always  give  every  man  his  allowance  faithfully,  both  of  corn,  oil, 
aquavitoe,  etc.,  as  was  by  the  council  proportioned;  neither  was 
it  bettered  after  my  time,  until  toward  the  end  of  March  a  bis 
cuit  was  allowed  to  every  workingman  for  his  breakfast,  by 
means  of  the  provision  brought  us  by  Captain  Newport,  as  will 
appear  hereafter.  It  is  further  said  I  did  much  banquet  and 
riot;  I  never  had  but  one  squirrel  roasted,  whereof  I  gave  a  part 
to  Mr.  Ratcliffe,  then  sick ;  yet  was  that  squirrel  given  me.  I 
did  never  heat  a  flesh-pot  but  when  the  common-pot  was  so  used 
likewise ;  yet  how  often  Mr.  Presidents  and  the  councillors  have, 
night  and  day,  been  endangered  to  break  their  backs,  so  laden 
with  swans,  geese,  ducks,  etc.  How  many  times  their  flesh-pots 
have  swelled,  many  hungry  eyes  did  behold,  to  their  great  long 
ing;  and  what  great  thieves  and  thieving  there  hath  been  in 
common  store  since  my  time,  I  doubt  not  but  is  already  made 
known  to  his  majesty's  council  for  Virginia." 

At  length  their  stores  were  almost  exhausted,  the  small  quan 
tity  of  wine  remaining  being  reserved  for  the  communion-table; 
the  sturgeon  gone,  all  further  effort  abadoned  in  despair,  and  an 
attack  from  the  savages  each  moment  expected.  At  this  hopeless 
conjuncture,  a  benignant  Providence  put  it  into  the  hearts  of  the 
Indians  to  supply  the  famished  sufferers  writh  an  abundance  of 
fruits  and  provision.  Mankind,  in  trying  scenes,  render  an  in 
voluntary  homage  to  superior  genius.  Ratcliffe,  the  new  presi 
dent,  and  Martin,  finding  themselves  incompetent  and  unpopular, 
intrusted  the  helm  of  affairs  to  Smith,  who,  acting  as  cape-mer 
chant,  set  the  colonists  to  work,  some  to  mow,  others  to  build 
houses  and  thatch  them,  he  himself  always  performing  the 
heaviest  task.  In  a  short  time  habitations  were  provided  for  the 
greater  part  of  the  survivors,  and  a  church  was  built.  Smith 
next  embarked  in  a  shallop  to  go  in  quest  of  supplies.  Igno 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  45 

ranee  of  the  Indian  language,  the  want  of  sails  for  the  boat, 
and  of  clothing  for  the  men  and  their  small  force,  were  dis 
couraging  impediments,  but  they  did  not  dishearten  him.  With 
a  crew  of  six  or  seven  he  went  down  the  river  to  Kecoughtan,  a 
town  of  eighteen  cabins.  Here  he  replied  to  a  scornful  defiance, 
by  a  volley  of  musketry  and  capturing  their  okee — an  idol  stuffed 
with  moss,  and  painted  and  adorned  with  copper  chains — so  ter 
rified  them,  that  they  quickly  brought  him  a  supply  of  venison, 
wild-fowl,  and  bread.  Having  procured  a  supply  of  corn,  on  his 
return  he  discovered  the  town  and  county  of  Warrasqueake, 
where  he  procured  a  further  supply.  After  this,  in  several  jour 
neys,  he  explored  the  borders  of  the  Chickahominy  River.  Dur 
ing  his  absence,  Wingfield  and  Kendall,  leaguing  with  the  sailors 
and  others,  seized  the  pinnace  in  order  to  escape  to  England;  but 
Smith,  returning  unexpectedly,  opened  so  hot  a  fire  upon  them  as 
compelled  them  to  stay  or  sink.  For  this  offence  Kendall  was 
tried  by  a  jury,  convicted,  and  shot.*  Not  long  after,  Ratcliffe 
and  Captain  Gabriel  Archer  made  a  similar  attempt,  and  it  was 
foiled  by  Smith's  vigilance  and  resolution. 

At  the  approach  of  winter  the  rivers  of  Virginia  abounded 
with  wild-fowl,  and  the  English  now  were  well  supplied  with 
bread,  peas,  persimmons,  fish,  and  game.  But  this  plenty  did  not 
last  long;  for  what  Smith  carefully  provided  the  colonists  care 
lessly  wasted.  The  idlers  at  Jamestown,  including  some  of  the 
council,  now  began  to  mutter  complaints  against  Smith  for  not 
having  discovered  the  source  of  the  Chickahominy,  it  being  sup 
posed  that  the  South  Sea  or  Pacific  Ocean  lay  not  far  distant, 
and  that  a  communication  with  it  would  be  found  by  some  river 
running  from  the  northwest.  The  Chickahominy  flowed  in  that 
direction,  and  hence  the  solicitude  of  these  Jamestown  cosmo- 
graphers  to  trace  that  river  to  its  head.  To  allay  this  dissatis 
faction  of  the  council,  Smith  made  another  voyage  up  that  river, 
and  proceeded  until  it  became  necessary,  in  order  to  pass,  to  cut 
away  a  large  tree  which  had  fallen  across  the  stream.  When  at 
last  the  barge  could  advance  no  farther,  he  returned  eight  miles 
and  moored  her  in  a  wide  bay  out  of  danger,  and  leaving  orders 

*  Newes  from  Va.,  7. 


46  HISTOHY    OF   THE   COLONY  AND 

to  his  men  not  to  venture  on  shore  until  his  return,  accompanied 
by  two  of  his  men  and  two  Indian  guides,  and  leaving  seven  men 
in  the  barge,  he  went  still  higher  up  in  a  canoe  to  the  distance  of 
twenty  miles.  In  a  short  time  after  he  had  parted  from  the  barge 
the  men  left  in  her  went  ashore,  and  one  of  them,  George  Cassen, 
was  surprised  and  killed.  Smith,  in  the  mean  while,  not  suspect 
ing  this  disaster,  reached  the  marshy  ground  toward  the  head  of 
the  river,  "the  slashes,"  and  went  out  with  his  gun  to  provide 
food  for  the  party,  and  took  with  him  one  of  the  Indians.  Dur 
ing  his  excursion  his  two  men,  Robinson  and  Emry,  were  slain ; 
and  he  himself  was  attacked  by  a  numerous  party  of  Indians,  two 
of  whom  he  killed  with  a  pistol.  He  protected  himself  from  their 
arrows  by  making  a  shield  of  his  guide,  binding  him  fast  by  the 
arm  with  one  of  his  garters.  Many  arrows  pierced  his  clothes, 
and  some  slightly  wounded  him.  Endeavoring  to  reach  the  canoe, 
and  walking  backward  with  his  eye  still  fixed  on  his  pursuers,  he 
sunk  to  his  waist  in  an  oozy  creek,  and  his  savage  with  him. 
Nevertheless  the  Indians  were  afraid  to  approach,  until,  being 
now  half-dead  with  cold,  he  threw  away  his  arms,  when  they  drew 
him  forth,  and  led  him  to  the  fire  where  his  two  companions  were 
lying  dead.  Here  the  Indians  chafed  his  benumbed  limbs,  and 
having  restored  the  vital  heat,  Smith  inquired  for  their  chief,  and 
they  pointed  him  to  Opcchancanough,  the  great  chief  of  Pamun- 
key.  Smith  presented  him  a  mariner's  compass;  the  vibrations 
of  the  mysterious  needle  astonished  the  untutored  sons  of  the 
forest.  In  a  short  time  they  bound  the  prisoner  to  a  tree,  and 
were  about  to  shoot  him  to  death,  when  Opechancanough  holding 
up  the  compass,  they  all  laid  down  their  bows  and  arrows.  Then 
marching  in  Indian  file  they  led  the  captive  guarded,  by  fifteen 
men,  about  six  miles,  to  Orapakes,  a  hunting  town  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  Chickahominy  swamp,  and  about  twelve  miles  north 
east  from  the  falls  of  James  River  (Richmond.)  At  this  town, 
consisting  of  thirty  or  forty  houses,  built  like  arbors  and  covered 
with  mats,  the  women  and  children  came  forth  to  meet  them, 
staring  in  amazement  at  Smith.  Opechancanough  and  his  fol 
lowers  performed  their  military  exercises,  and  joined  in  the  war- 
dance.  Smith  was  confined  in  a  long  house  under  a  guard,  and 
an  enormous  quantity  of  bread  and  venison  was  set  before  him, 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  47 

as  if  to  fatten  him  for  sacrifice,  or  because  they  supposed  that  a 
superior  being  required  a  proportionately  larger  supply  of  food. 
An  Indian  who  had  received  some  toys  from  Smith  at  Jamestown, 
now,  in  return,  brought  him  a  warm  garment  of  fur — a  pleasing 
instance  of  gratitude,  a  sentiment  often  found  even  in  the  breast 
of  a  savage.  Another  Indian,  whose  son  had  been  mortally 
wounded  by  Smith,  made  an  attempt  to  kill  him  in  revenge,  and 
was  only  prevented  by  the  interposition  of  his  guards. 

Opechancanough  meditating  an  assault  upon  Jamestown,  un 
dertook  to  entice  Smith  to  join  him  by  offers  of  life,  liberty,  land, 
and  w^omen.  Being  allowed  to  send  a  message  to  Jamestown,  he 
wrote  a  note  on  a  leaf  of  a  book,  giving  information  of  the  in 
tended  assault,  and  directing  what  means  should  be  employed  to 
strike  terror  into  the  messengers,  and  what  presents  should  be 
sent  back  by  them.  Three  men  dispatched  with  the  note  returned 
with  an  answer  and  the  presents,  in  three  days,  notwithstanding 
the  rigor  of  the  season;  it  being  the  midst  of  the  winter  of  1607, 
remarkable  for  its  extraordinary  severity,  and  the  ground  being 
covered  with  snow.  Opechancanough  and  his  people  looked 
upon  their  captive  as  some  supernatural  being,  and  were  filled 
with  new  wonder  on  seeing  how  the  "paper  could  speak."  Aban 
doning  the  design  of  attacking  Jamestown,  they  conducted  Smith 
through  the  country  of  the  Youghtanunds,  Mattapanients,  Pa- 
yankctanks,  Nantaughtacunds,  and  Onawmanients,  on  the  banks 
of  the  Rappahannock,  and  Potomac.  Thence  he  wTas  taken  to 
Pamaunkee,  at  the  junction  of  the  Matapony  and  Pamunkey — 
the  residence  of  Opechancanough.  Here,  for  three  days,  they 
engaged  in  their  horrid  orgies  and  incantations,  with  a  view  to 
divine  their  prisoner's  secret  designs  whether  friendly  or  hostile. 
They  also  showed  him  a  bag  of  gunpowder,  which  they  were 
reserving  till  the  next  spring,  when  they  intended  to  sow  it  in 
the  ground,  as  they  were  desirous  of  propagating  so  useful  an 
article. 

Smith  was  hospitably  entertained  by  Opitchapan,  (Opechanca- 
nough's  brother,)  who  dwelt  a  little  above,  on  the  Pamunkey. 
Finally,  the  captive  was  taken  to  Werowocomoco,  probably  sig 
nifying  chief  place  of  council,  a  favorite  seat  of  Powhatan,  on 
the  York  River,  then  called  the  Pamaunkee  or  Pamunkey.  They 


48  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

found  this  chief  in  his  rude  palace,  reclining  before  the  fire,  on  a 
sort  of  throne,  resembling  a  bedstead,  covered  with  mats,  his 
head  adorned  with  feathers  and  his  neck  with  beads,  and 
wearing  a  long  robe  of  raccoon  skins.  At  his  head  sate  a 
young  female,  and  another  at  his  feet;  while,  on  each  side  of 
the  wigwam,  sate  the  men  in  rows,  on  mats;  and  behind  them 
as  many  young  women,  their  heads  and  shoulders  painted  red, 
some  with  their  heads  decorated  with  the  snowy  down  of  birds, 
and  all  with  strings  of  white  beads  falling  over  their  shoulders. 
On  Smith's  entrance  they  all  raised  a  terrific  yell;  the  queen 
of  Appomattock  brought  him  water  to  wash,  and  another,  a 
bunch  of  feathers  for  a  towel.  After  feasting  him,  a  long  con 
sultation  was  held.  That  ended,  two  large  stones  were  brought, 
and  the  one  laid  upon  the  other,  before  Powhatan ;  then  as  many 
as  could  lay  hold,  seizing  Smith,  dragged  him  to  the  stones,  and 
laying  his  head  on  them,  snatched  up  their  war-clubs,  and,  bran 
dishing  them  in  the  air,  were  about  to  slay  him,  when  Pocahontas, 
Powhatan's  favorite  daughter,  a  girl  of  only  twelve  or  thirteen 
years  of  age,*  finding  all  her  entreaties  unavailing,  flew,  and,  at 
the  hazard  of  her  life,  clasped  the  captive's  head  in  her  arms,  and 
laid  her  own  upon  his.  The  stern  heart  of  Powhatan  was  touched 
— he  relented,  and  consented  that  Smith  might  live. 

Werowocomoco,  the  scene  of  this  celebrated  rescue,  lies  on  the 
north  side  of  York  River,  in  the  County  of  Gloucester,  about 
twenty-five  miles  below  the  fork  of  the  river,  and  on  a  bay  into 
which  three  creeks  empty,  f  This  is  Timber-neck  Bay,  on  the 
east  bank  of  which  stands  a  remarkable  old  stone  chimney,  tra 
ditionally  known  as  " Powhatan's  chimney,"  and  its  site  corre 
sponds  exactly  with  the  royal  house  of  that  chief,  as  laid  down  on 
Smith's  Map  of  Virginia.  Werowocomoco  is  only  a  few  miles 
distant  from  the  historic  field  of  Yorktown,  which  is  lower  down 
the  river,  and  on  the  opposite  side.  The  lapse  of  time  will  con 
tinually  heighten  the  interesting  associations  of  Werowocomoco, 
and  in  ages  of  the  distant  future  the  pensive  traveller  will  linger 


*  Smith,  ii.  30.     In  Newes  from  Va.,  Smith  calls  her  "a  child  of  ten  years 
old."     This  was  a  mistake. 

f  Stith,  53;  Newes  from  Virginia,  11. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  49 

at  the  spot  graced  with  the  lovely  charms  of  nature,  and  endeared 
bj  recollections  of  the  tender  heroism  of  Pocahontas. 

Within  tAVO  days  after  Smith's  rescue,  Powhatan  suffered  him 
to  return  to  Jamestown,  on  condition  of  sending  him  two  great 
guns  and  a  grindstone,  for  which  he  promised  to  give  him  the 
country  of  Capahowosick,  and  forever  esteem  him  as  his  own 
favorite  son  Nantaquoud.  Smith,  accompanied  by  Indian  guides, 
quartered  at  night  in  some  old  hunting  cabins  of  Paspahegh,  and 
reached  Jamestown  on  the  next  morning  about  sunrise.  During 
the  journey,  as  ever  since  his  capture,  he  had  expected  at  almost 
every  moment  to  be  put  to  death.  Returning,  after  an  absence 
of  seven  weeks,  he  was  joyfully  welcomed  back  by  all  except 
Archer  and  two  or  three  of  his  confederates.  Archer,  who  had 
been  illegally  admitted  into  the  council,  had  the  insolent  audacity 
to  indict  Smith,  upon  a  chapter  of  Leviticus,  for  the  death  of  his 
two  men  slain  by  the  Indians  on  the  Chickahominy.  He  was 
tried  on  the  day  of  his  return,  and  sentenced  to  be  hanged  on  the 
next  day,  or  the  day  after  the  next,  when  Newport's  opportune 
arrival  on  the  very  night  after  Smith's  return,  providentially 
saved  him  from  this  ignominious  fate.  Wingfield  attributes  the 
saving  of  his  life  likewise  to  Newport,  who  released  him  from  the 
pinnace,  where  he  was  in  duress.* 

Smith  now  treated  his  Indian  guides  kindly,  and  showing  Raw- 
hunt,  a  favorite  servant  of  Powhatan,  two  pieces  of  cannon  and 
a  grindstone,  gave  him  leave  to  carry  them  home  to  his  master. 
A  cannon  was  then  loaded  with  stones,  and  discharged  among 
the  boughs  of  a  tree  huno;  with  icicles,  when  the  Indians  fled  in 

CD  o  ' 

terror,  but  upon  being  persuaded  to  return,  they  received  pre 
sents  for  Powhatan,  his  wives  and  children,  and  departed. 

At  the  time  of  Smith's  return  to  Jamestown,  he  found  the 
number  of  the  colonists  reduced  to  forty.  Of  the  one  hundred 
original  settlers, f  seventy-eight  are  classified  as  follows:  fifty- 
four  gentlemen,  four  carpenters,  twelve  laborers,  a  blacksmith,  a 


*  Anderson's  History  of  the  Colonial  Church,  i.  221,  referring  to  Wingfield's 
MS.  Journal. 

f  List  of  the  first  planters,  Smith,  i.  153. 

4 


50  HISTORY    OF   TEE   COLONY   AND 

sailor,  a  barber,  a  bricklayer,  a  mason,  a  tailor,  a  drummer,  and 
a  "chirurgeon."  Of  the  gentlemen,  the  greater  part  were  indo 
lent,  dissolute  reprobates,  of  good  families ;  and  they  found  them 
selves  not  in  a  golden  El  Dorado,  as  they  had  fondly  anticipated, 
but  in  a  remote  wilderness,  encompassed  by  want,  exposure, 
fatigue,  disease,  and  danger. 

The  return  of  Smith,  and  his  report  of  the  plenty  that  he  had 
witnessed  at  Werowocomoco,  and  of  the  generous  clemency  of 
Powhatan,  and  especially  of  the  love  of  Pocahontas,  revived  the 
drooping  hopes  of  the  survivors  at  Jamestown.  The  arrival  of 
Newport  at  the  same  juncture  with  stores  and  a  number  of  addi 
tional  settlers,  being  part  of  the  first  supply  sent  out  from  Eng 
land  by  the  treasurer  and  council,  was  joyfully  welcomed.  Po 
cahontas  too,  with  her  tawny  train  of  attendants,  frequently 
visited  Jamestown,  with  presents  of  bread,  and  venison,  and  rac 
coons,  sent  by  Powhatan  for  Smith  and  Newport.  However,  the 
improvident  traffic  allowed  between  Newport's  mariners  and  the 
natives,  soon  extremely  enhanced  the  price  of  provisions,  and  the 
too  protracted  detention  of  his  vessel  made  great  inroads  upon 
the  public  store.  Newport,  not  long  after  his  arrival,  accom 
panied  by  Smith,  Scrivener,  newly  arrived,  and  made  one  of  the 
council,  and  thirty  or  forty  picked  men,  visited  Powhatan  at  We 
rowocomoco.  Upon  their  arrival,  Smith  landed  with  a  party  of 
men,  and  after  crossing  several  creeks  on  bridges  of  poles  and 
bark,  (for  it  appears  that  he  had  mistaken  the  right  landing 
place,  having  probably  passed  up  a  little  beyond  the  mouth  of 
Timberneck  Bay,)  they  were  met  and  escorted  to  the  town  by 
Opechancanough,  Nantaquaus,  Powhatan's  son,  and  two  hundred 
warriors.  Powhatan  was  found  seated  on  his  bedstead  throne  of 
mats,  with  his  buckskin  pillow  or  cushion,  embroidered  with  beads. 
More  than  forty  trays  of  bread  stood  without,  in  rows  on  each 
side  of  the  door.  Four  or  five  hundred  Indians  were  present. 
Newport  landed  on  the  next  day,  and  some  days  were  past  in 
feasting,  and  dancing,  and  trading,  in  which  last  Powhatan  ex 
hibited  a  curious  mixture  of  huckstering  cunning,  and  regal  pride. 
Smith  gave  him  a  suit  of  red  cloth,  a  white  greyhound,  and  a 
hat.  Charmed  with  some  blue  beads,  for  one  or  two  pounds  of 
them  he  gave  in  exchange  two  or  three  hundred  bushels  of  corn. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  51 

Newport  presented  him  a  boy  named  Thomas  Salvage,  in  return 
for  an  Indian  named  Namontack.     Smith  acted  as  interpreter. 

The  English  next  visited  Opechancanough,  at  his  seat,  Pamun- 
key.  The  blue  beads  came  to  be  in  great  request,  and  none 
dared  to  wear  them  save  the  chiefs  and  their  families.  Having 
procured  a  further  supply  of  corn  at  this  place,  Newport  and  his 
party  returned  to  Jamestown,  which  was  now  destroyed  by  an 
accidental  fire.  Originating  in  the  public  storehouse,  the  flames 
spread  rapidly  over  the  cabins,  thatched  with  reeds,  consuming 
even  the  palisades,  some  eight  or  ten  yards  distant.  Arms,  ap 
parel,  bedding,  and  much  of  their  private  provision,  were  con 
sumed,  as  was  also  a  temporary  church,  which  had  been  erected. 
"  The  minister,  Hunt,  lost  all  his  library,  and  all  that  he  had  but 
the  clothes  on  his  back ;  yet  none  ever  heard  him  repine  at  his 
loss.  Upon  any  alarm  he  was  as  ready  for  defence  as  any,  and 
till  he  could  not  speak,  he  never  ceased  to  his  utmost  to  animate 
us  constantly  to  persist;  whose  soul,  questionless,  is  with  God."H 
As  no  further  mention  is  made  of  him  at  Jamestown,  it  is  pro 
bable  that  he  did  not  live  long  after  this  fire.  Dr.  Hawks,  how 
ever,  conjectures  that  he  survived  long  enough  to  officiate  in  the 
first  marriage  in  Virginia,  which  took  place  in  the  year  1608. f 
He  appears  to  have  resided  in  the  County  of  Kent,  England, 
where,  in  January,  1594,  he  was  appointed  to  the  vicarage  of 
Reculver,  which  he  resigned  in  1602.  But  he  probably  still  con 
tinued  to  reside  there,  or  to  consider  that  his  home,  until  he  em 
barked  for  Virginia,  because  when  in  the  Downs,  which  are  oppo 
site  to  Kent,  he  was  only  twenty  miles  "from  his  habitation." 
Of  his  appointment  as  chaplain  to  the  expedition,  Wingfield,  in 
his  journal  referred  to  before,  gives  the  following  account:  "For 
my  first  work,  (which  was  to  make  a  right  choice  of  a  spiritual 
pastor,)  I  appeal  to  the  remembrance  of  my  Lord  of  Canterbury's 
Grace,  who  gave  me  very  gracious  audience  in  my  request.  And 
the  world  knoweth  whom  I  took  with  me,  truly  a  man,  in  my 
opinion,  not  any  way  to  be  touched  with  the  rebellious  humor  of 
a  papist  spirit,  nor  blemished  with  the  least  suspicion  of  a  fac- 

*  Purchas,  iv.  1710,  cited  in  Anderson's  History  Col.  Church,  i.  222. 
f  Hawks'  Contributions,  22. 


52  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

tious  schismatic."  My  Lord  of  Canterbury  was  that  persecuting 
prelate,  Archbishop  Bancroft,  who  persecuted  the  Puritan  dis 
senters  till  they  desired  to  come  over  to  Virginia  to  get  out  of 
his  reach,  and  which  they  were  prohibited  from  doing  by  a  royal 
proclamation,  issued  at  his  instance.  Rev.  Robert  Hunt,  by  all 
the  notices  of  him  that  are  given,  appears  to  have  been  a  pious, 
disinterested,  resolute,  and  exemplary  man. 

When  the  English  first  settled  at  Jamestown,  their  place  of 
worship  consisted  of  an  awning,  or  old  sail,  suspended  between 
three  or  four  trees,  to  protect  them  from  the  sun;  the  area 
covered  by  it  was  inclosed  by  wooden  rails;  the  seats  were  un- 
hewed  trees,  till  plank  was  cut ;  the  pulpit  was  a  wooden  cross- 
piece  nailed  to  two  neighboring  trees.  In  inclement  weather  an 
old  decayed  tent  served  for  the  place  of  worship.  After  awhile, 
by  the  zeal  of  the  minister  Hunt,  and  the  assistance  of  Newport's 
seamen,  a  homely  structure  like  a  barn  was  erected,  "set  upon 
crachets,  covered  with  rafts,  sedge,  and  earth,"  as  likewise  were 
the  sides,  the  best  of  the  houses  being  constructed  after  the  same 
fashion,  and  the  greater  part  of  them  worse  than  the  church,  so 
that  they  were  but  a  poor  defence  against  wind  or  rain.  Never 
theless,  the  service  was  read  daily,  morning  and  evening,  and  on 
Sunday  two  sermons  were  preached,  and  the  communion  cele 
brated  every  three  months,  till  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hunt  died.  After 
which  prayers  were  still  said  daily,  and  a  homily  read  on  Sunday, 
and  so  it  continued  until  the  arrival  of  other  preachers  some  two 
or  three  years  afterwards.  The  salary  allowed  Mr.  Hunt  ap 
pears  to  have  been  <£500  a  year,  appropriated  by  the  council  of 
the  Virginia  Company  in  England,  consented  to  by  the  council  in 
Virginia,  and  confirmed  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  in 
1605,  to  Richard  Hackluyt,  Prebend  of  Westminster,  who,  by 
his  authority,  sent  out  Mr.  Hunt,  "an  honest,  religious,  and 
courageous  divine,  during  whose  life  our  factions  were  oft  quali 
fied,  our  wants  and  greatest  extremities  so  comforted,  that  they 
seemed  easy  in  comparison  of  what  we  endured  after  his  me 
morable  death."* 


*  Captain  John  Smith's  "Advertisements  for  the  Unexperienced  Planters  of 
New  England,  or  anywhere,"  etc.     A  rare  pamphlet,  written  at  the  house  of  Sir 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  53 

The  stock  of  provisions  running  low,  the  colonists  at  James 
town  were  reduced  to  a  diet  of  meal  and  water,  and  this,  together 
with  their  exposure  to  cold,  after  the  loss  of  their  habitations, 
cut  off  upwards  of  one-half  of  them.  Their  condition  was  made 
still  worse  by  a  rage  for  gold  that  now  seized  them.  "There 
was  no  talk,  no  hope,  no  work,  but  dig  gold,  wash  gold,  refine 
gold,  load  gold."  Smith,  not  indulging  in  these  empty  dreams 
of  imaginary  wealth,  laughed  at  their  infatuation  in  loading 
"such  a  drunken  ship  with  gilded  dust." 

Captain  Newport,  after  a  delay  of  three  months  and  a  half, 
being  now  ready  to  sail  for  England,  and  the  planters  having  no 
use  for  parliaments,  places,  petitions,  admirals,  recorders,  inter 
preters,  chronologers,  courts  of  plea,  nor  justices  of  the  peace, 
sent  Master  Wingfield  and  Captain  Archer  home  with  him,  so 
that  they,  who  had  ingrossed  all  those  titles  to  themselves,  might 
seek  some  better  place  of  employment.  Newport  carried  with 
him  twenty  turkeys,  which  had  been  presented  to  him  by  Pow- 
hatan,  who  had  demanded  and  received  twenty  swords  in  return 
for  them.  This  fowl,  peculiar  to  America,  had  been  many  years 
before  carried  to  England  by  some  of  the  early  discoverers  of 
North  America.* 

After  Newport's  departure,  Ratcliffe,  the  president,  lived  in 
ease,  peculating  on  the  public  store.  The  spring  now  approach 
ing,  Smith  and  Scrivener  undertook  to  rebuild  Jamestown,  repair 
the  palisades,  fell  trees,  prepare  the  fields,  plant  and  erect 
another  church.  While  thus  engaged  they  were  joyfully  sur 
prised  by  the  arrival  of  the  Phoenix,  commanded  by  Captain 
Nelson,  who  had  left  England  with  Newport,  about  the  end 
of  the  year  1607,  and  after  coming  within  sight  of  Cape 
Henry,  had  been  driven  oif  to  the  West  Indies.  He  brought 
with  him  the  remainder  of  the  first  supply,  which  comprised  one 
hundred  and  twenty  settlers.  Having  found  provisions  in  the 
West  Indies,  and  having  economically  husbanded  his  own,  he  im- 

Humphrey  Mildmay,  in  the  Parish  of  Danbery,  Essex  County,  England,  dedi 
cated  to  the  excellent  Archbishop  Abbot,  and  published  in  1631.  Cited  in 
Anderson's  History  of  Col.  Church,  ii.  747. 

*  Grahame's  Col.  Hist.  U.  S.,  Amer.  ed.,  i.  28,  in  note. 


54  ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA. 

parted  them  generously  to  the  colony,  so  that  now  there  was 
accumulated  a  store  sufficient  for  half  a  year. 

Powhatan  having  effected  so  advantageous  an  exchange  with 
Newport,  afterwards  sent  Smith  twenty  turkeys,  but  receiving  no 
swords  in  return,  he  was  highly  offended,  and  ordered  his  people 
to  take  them  by  fraud  or  force,  and  they  accordingly  attempted 
to  seize  them  at  the  gates  of  Jamestown.  The  president  and 
Martin,  who  now  ruled,  remained  inactive,  under  pretence  of 
orders  from  England  not  to  offend  the  natives;  but  some  of 
them  happening  to  meddle  with  Smith,  he  handled  them  so 
roughly,  by  whipping  and  imprisonment,  as  to  repress  their 
insolence. 

Pocahontas,  in  beauty  of  feature,  expression,  and  form,  far 
surpassed  any  of  the  natives;  and  in  intelligence  and  spirit  "was 
the  nonpareil  of  her  country."  Powhatan,  hearing  that  some  of 
his  people  were  kept  prisoners  at  Jamestown,  sent  her,  with  Raw- 
hunt,  (who  was  as  remarkable  for  his  personal  deformity,  but 
shrewd  and  crafty,)  with  presents  of  a  deer  and  some  bread  to  sue 
for  their  ransom.  Smith  released  the  prisoners,  and  Pocahontas 
was  dismissed  with  presents.  Thus  the  scheme  of  Powhatan  to 
destroy  the  English  with  their  own  swords,  was  happily  frus 
trated. 

The  Phoenix  was  freighted  with  a  cargo  of  cedar,  and  the  un 
serviceable,  gold-hunting  Captain  Martin,  concluded  to  return 
with  her  to  England.  Of  the  120  settlers  brought  by  Newport 
and  Nelson,  there  were  33  gentlemen,  21  laborers,  (some  of  them 
only  footmen,)  6  tailors,  2  apothecaries,  2  jewellers,  2  gold-re 
finers,  2  goldsmiths,  a  gunsmith,  a  perfumer,  a  surgeon,  a  cooper, 
a  tobacco-pipe  maker,  and  a  blacksmith.* 

*  Smith,  i.  170. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

1608. 

Smith's  First  Exploring  Voyage  up  the  Chesapeake  Bay — Smith's  Isles — Acco- 
mac — Tangier  Islands — Wighcocomoco — Watkins'  Point- — Keale's  Hill — Point 
Ployer  —  Watts'  Islands  < — Cuskarawaok  River  —  The  Patapsco — Potomac  — 
Quiyough — Stingray  Island — Smith  returns  to  Jamestown — His  Second  Voyage 
up  Chesapeake  Bay — The  Massawomeks — The  Indians  on  the  River  Tock- 
•\vogh — Sasquesahannocks — Peregrine's  Mount — Willoughby  River — The  Pa- 
tuxent — The  Rappahannock — The  Pianketank — Elizabeth  River — Nansemond 
River — Return  to  Jamestown — The  Hudson  River  Discovered — Smith,  Presi 
dent — Affairs  at  Jamestown — Newport  arrives  with  Second  Supply — His 
Instructions — The  First  English  Women  in  Virginia — Smith  visits  Werowoco- 
moco — Entertained  by  Pocahontas — His  Interview  with  Powhatan — Corona 
tion  of  Powhatan — Newport  Explores  the  Monacan  Country — Smith's  Disci 
pline — Affairs  at  Jamestown — Newport's  Return — Smith's  Letter  to  the  Council 
• — The  First  Marriage  in  Virginia — Smith  again  visits  Powhatan. 

Ox  the  second  day  of  June,  1608,  Smith,  with  a  company  of 
fourteen,  consisting  of  seven  gentlemen  (including  Dr.  Walter 
Russel,  who  had  recently  arrived,)  and  seven  soldiers,  left  James 
town,  for  the  purpose  of  exploring  the  Chesapeake  Bay.  The 
party  embarked  in  an  open  barge  of  less  than  three  tons,  and 
dropping  down  the  James  River,  parted  with  the  Phoenix  off  Cape 
Henry,  and  crossing  over  thence  to  the  Eastern  Shore,  discovered 
and  named,  after  their  commander,  "Smith's  Isles."  At  Cape 
Charles  they  met  some  grim,  athletic  savages,  with  bone-headed 
spears  in  their  hands,  who  directed  them  to  the  dwelling-place  of 
the  Werowance  of  Accomac,  who  was  found  courteous  and 
friendly,  and  the  handsomest  native  that  they  had  yet  seen. 
His  country  pleasant,  fertile,  and  intersected  by  creeks,  affording 
good  harbors  for  small  craft.  The  people  spoke  the  language  of 
Powhatan.  Smith  pursuing  his  voyage,  came  upon  some  unin 
habited  isles,  which  were  then  named  after  Dr.  Russel,  surgeon 
of  the  party,  but  now  are  known  as  the  Tangier  Islands.  Search 
ing  there  for  fresh  water,  they  fell  in  with  the  River  Wighco- 
moco,  now  called  Pocomoke;  the  northern  point  was  named 

(55) 


56  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY    AND 

Watkins'  Point,  and  a  hill  on  the  south  side  of  Pocomoke  Bay, 
Keale's  Hill,  after  two  of  the  soldiers  in  the  barge.  Leaving 
that  river  they  came  to  a  high  promontory  called  Point  Ployer, 
in  honor  of  a  French  nobleman,  the  former  friend  of  Smith. 
There  they  discovered  a  pond  of  hot  water.  In  a  thunder-storm 
the  barge's  mast  and  sail  were  blown  overboard,  and  the  ex 
plorers,  narrowly  escaping  from  the  fury  of  the  elements,  found 
it  necessary  to  remain  for  two  days  on  an  island,  which  they 
named  Limbo,  but  it  is  now  known  as  one  of  Watts'  Islands. 
Repairing  the  sails  with  their  shirts,  they  visited  a  river  on  the 
Eastern  Shore  called  Cuskarawaok,  and  now,  by  a  singular  trans 
position  of  names,  called  Wighcocomoco.  Here  the  Indians  ran 
along  the  banks  in  wild  amazement,  some  climbing  to  the  tops 
of  trees  and  shooting  their  arrows  at  the  strangers.  On  the  fol 
lowing  day  a  volley  of  musquetry  dispersed  the  savages,  and  the 
English  found  some  cabins,  in  which  they  left  pieces  of  copper, 
beads,  bells  and  looking-glasses.  On  the  ensuing  day  a  great 
number  of  Indians,  men,  women,  and  children,  thronged  around 
Smith  and  his  companions  with  many  expressions  of  friendship. 
These  savages  were  of  the  tribes  Nause,  Sarapinagh,  Arseek,  and 
Nantaquak,  of  all  others  the  most  expert  in  trade.  They  were 
of  small  stature  like  the  people  of  Wighcocomoco ;  wore  the  finest 
furs,  and  manufactured  a  great  deal  of  Roenoke,  or  Indian 
money,  made  out  of  shells.  The  Eastern  Shore  of  the  bay  was 
found  low  and  well  wooded ;  the  Western  well  watered,  but  hilly 
and  barren ;  the  valleys  fruitful,  thickly  wooded,  and  abounding 
in  deer,  wolves,  bears,  and  other  wild  animals.  A  navigable 
stream  was  called  Bolus,  from  a  parti-colored  gum-like  clay  found 
on  its  banks,  it  is  now  known  as  the  Patapsco. 

The  party  having  been  about  a  fortnight  voyaging  in  an  open 
boat,  fatigued  at  the  oar,  and  subsisting  on  mouldy  bread,  now 
importuned  Smith  to  return  to  Jamestown.  He  at  first  refused, 
but  shortly  after,  the  sickness  of  his  men,  and  the  unfavorable 
weather,  compelled  him  reluctantly  to  turn  back,  where  the  bay 
was  about  nine  miles  wide  and  nine  or  ten  fathoms  deep.  On 
the  sixteenth  of  June  they  fell  in  with  the  mouth  of  the  Patawo- 
meke,  or  Potomac,  where  it  appeared  to  be  seven  miles  wide;  and 
the  tranquil  magnificence  of  that  majestic  river  reanimated  their 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  57 

drooping  spirits,  and  the  sick  having  now  recovered,  they  agreed 
to  explore  it. 

About  thirty  miles  above  the  mouth,  near  the  future  birth 
place  of  Washington,  two  Indians  conducted  them  up  a  small 
creek,  toward  Nominy,  where  the  banks  swarmed  with  thousands 
of  the  natives,  who,  with  their  painted  bodies  and  hideous  yells, 
seemed  so  many  infernal  demons.  Their  noisy  threats  were  soon 
silenced  by  the  glancing  of  the  English  bullets  on  the  water  and 
the  report  of  the  muskets  re-echoing  in  the  forests,  and  the 
astonished  red  men  dropped  their  bows  and  arrows,  and,  hostages 
being  exchanged,  received  the  whites  kindly.  Toward  the  head 
of  the  river  they  met  some  canoes  laden  with  bear,  deer,  and 
other  game,  which  the  Indians  shared  with  the  English. 

On  their  return  down  the  river,  Japazaws,  chief  of  Potomac, 
having  furnished  them  with  guides  to  conduct  them  up  the  River 
Quiyough,  at  the  mouth  of  which  he  lived,  (supposed  by  Stith* 
to  be  Potomac  Creek,)  in  quest  of  Matchqueon,  a  mine,  which 
they  had  heard  of,  the  party  left  the  Indian  hostages  in  the 
barge,  secured  by  a  small  chain,  which  they  were  to  have  for  their 
reward.  The  mine  turned  out  to  be  worthless,  containing  only  a 
sort  of  antimony,  used  by  the  natives  to  paint  themselves  and 
their  idols,  and  which  gave  them  the  appearance  of  blackamoors 
powdered  with  silver-dust.  The  credulous  Newport  had  taken 
some  bags  of  it  to  England  as  containing  silver.  The  wild  ani 
mals  observed  were  the  beaver,  otter,  mink,  marten,  and  bear; 
of  fish  they  met  with  great  numbers,  sometimes  lying  in  such 
schools  near  the  surface  that,  in  absence  of  nets,  they  undertook 
to  catch  them  with  a  frying-pan ;  but,  plenty  as  they  were,  they 
were  not  to  be  caught  with  frying-pans.  The  barge  running 
aground  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rappahannock,  Smith  amused  him 
self  "spearing"  them  with  his  sword,  and  in  taking  one  from  its 
point  it  stung  him  in  the  wrist.  In  a  little  while  the  symptoms 
proved  so  alarming  that  his  companions  concluded  his  death  to 
be  at  hand,  and  sorrowfully  prepared  his  grave  in  a  neighboring 
island  by  his  directions.  But  by  Dr.  Russel's  judicious  treat 
ment  the  patient  quickly  recovered,  and  supped  that  evening 

*  Stith,  65. 


58  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

upon  the  offending  fish.  This  incident  gave  its  name  to  Stingray 
Island.  The  fish  was  of  the  ray  species,  much  like  a  thornback, 
but  with  a  long  tail  like  a  horse-whip,  containing  a  poisoned 
sting  with  a  serrate  edge. 

The  party  returned  to  Jamestown  late  in  July,  and  found  sick 
ness  and  discontent  still  prevalent  there.  Ratcliffe,  the  presi 
dent,  was  deposed  in  favor  of  Smith,  who,  of  the  council,  was 
next  entitled  to  succeed ;  but  Smith  substituted  Scrivener  in  his 
stead,  and  embarked  again  to  complete  his  discoveries. 

On  the  twenty-fourth  of  July  he  set  out  for  the  Chesapeake  Bay, 
his  company  consisting  of  six  gentlemen,  including  Anthony  Bag- 
nail,  surgeon,  and  six  soldiers.  Detained  some  days  at  Kecough- 
tan,  (Hampton,)  they  were  hospitably  entertained  by  the  Indians 
there,  who  were  astonished  by  some  rockets  thrown  up  in  the 
evening.  Reaching  the  head  of  the  bay,  the  explorers  met  some 
canoes  manned  by  Massawomeks,  who,  after  their  first  alarm 
being  propitiated  b}^  the  present  of  two  bells,  presented  Smith 
with  bear's  meat,  venison,  fish,  bows,  arrows,  targets,  and  bear 
skins.  Stltli  supposed  this  nation  to  be  the  same  with  the  Iro- 
quois,  or  Five  Nations.* 

On  the  River  Tockwogh  (now  Sassafras)  Smith  came  to  an  In 
dian  town,  fortified  wTith  a  palisade  and  breastworks,  and  here 
men,  women,  and  children,  came  forth  to  welcome  the  whites 
with  songs  and  dances,  offering  them  fruits,  furs,  and  whatever 
they  had,  spreading  mats  for  them  to  sit  on,  and  in  every  way 
expressing  their  friendship.  They  had  tomahawks,  knives,  and 
pieces  of  iron  and  copper,  which,  as  they  alleged,  they  had  pro 
cured  from  the  Sasquesahannocks,  a  mighty  people  dwelling  two 
days'  journey  distant  on  the  borders  of  the  Susquehanna. 
Suckahanna,  in  the  Powhatan  language,  signifies  "  water,  "f 

Two  interpreters  being  dispatched  to  invite  the  Sasquesahan 
nocks  to  visit  the  English,  in  three  or  four  days  sixty  of  that 
gigantic  people  arrived,  with  presents  of  venison,  tobacco-pipes 
three  feet  long,  baskets,  targets,  bows  and  arrows.  Five  of  their 
chiefs  embarked  in  the  barge  to  cross  the  bay.  It  being  Smith's 
custom  daily  to  have  prayers  with  a  psalm,  the  savages  were 

*  Stith,  07.  f  Smith,  i.  147. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  59 

filled  with,  wonder  at  it,  and  in  their  turn  performed  a  sort  of 
adoration,  holding  their  hands  up  to  the  sun,  and  chanting  a  wild 
unearthly  song.  They  then  embraced  Captain  Smith,  adoring 
him  in  the  like  manner,  apparently  looking  upon  him  as  some 
celestial  visitant,  and  overwhelming  him  with  a  profusion  of  pre 
sents  and  abject  homage. 

The  highest  mountain  seen  by  the  voyagers  to  the  northward 
they  named  Peregrine's  Mount;  and  Willoughby  River  derived 
its  name  from  Smith's  native  town.  At  the  extreme  limits  of 
discovery  crosses  were  carved  in  the  bark  of  trees,  or  brass 
crosses  were  left.  The  tribes  on  the  Patuxent  were  found  very 
tractable,  and  more  civil  than  any  others.  On  the  banks  of  the 
picturesque  Rappahannock,  Smith  and  his  party  were  kindly 
treated  by  the  Morauglitacunds ;  and  here  they  met  with  Mosco, 
one  of  the  Wighcocornocoes,  who  was  remarkable  for  a  bushy 
black  beard,  whereas  the  natives  in  general  had  little  or  none. 
He  proved  to  be  of  great  service  to  the  English  in  exploring  the 
Rappahannock.  Mr.  Richard  Fetherstone,  a  gentleman  of  the 
company,  died  during  this  part  of  the  voyage,  and  was  buried  on 
the  sequestered  banks  of  this  river,  where  a  bay  was  named  after 
him.  The  river  was  explored  to  the  falls,  (near  Fredericksburg,) 
where  a  skirmish  took  place  with  the  Rappahannocks. 

Smith  next  explored  the  Pianketank,  where  the  inhabitants 
were,  for  the  most  part,  absent  on  a  hunting  excursion,  only  a 
few  women,  children,  and  old  men  being  left  to  tend  the  corn. 
Returning  thence  the  barge  encountered  a  tremendous  thunder 
storm  in  Gosnold's  Bay,  and  running  before  the  wind,  the 
voyagers  could  only  catch  fitful  glimpses  of  the  land,  by  the 
flashes  of  lightning,  which  saved  them  from  dashing  to  pieces  on 
the  shore,  and  directed  them  to  Point  Comfort.  They  next 
visited  Chesapeake,  now  Elizabeth  River,  (on  which  Norfolk  is 
situated,)  six  or  seven  miles  from  the  mouth  of  which  they  came 
upon  two  or  three  cultivated  patches  and  some  cabins.  After 
this  they  sailed  seven  or  eight  miles  up  the  Nansemond,  and 
found  its  banks  consisting  mainly  of  oyster-shells.  Skirmishing 
here  with  ths  Chesapeakes  and  Nansemonds,  Smith  procured  as 
much  corn  as  he  could  carry  away.  September  the  7th,  1608,  the 
party  arrived  at  Jamestown,  after  an  absence  of  upwards  of 


60  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

three  months,  and  found  some  of  the  colonists  recovered,  others 
still  sick,  many  dead,  Ratcliife,  the  late  president,  under  arrest 
for  mutiny,  the  harvest  gathered,  but  the  stock  of  provisions 
damaged  by  rain. 

During  that  summer,  Smith,  with  a  few  men,  in  a  small  barge, 
in  his  several  voyages  of  discovery  traversed  a  distance  of  not  less 
than  three  thousand  miles.*  He  had  been  at  Jamestown  only 
three  days  in  three  months,  and  had,  during  this  interval,  ex 
plored  the  whole  of  Chesapeake  Bay  and  of  the  country  lying 
on  its  shores,  and  made  a  map  of  them. 

In  the  year  1607  the  Plymouth  Company,  under  the  diiection 
of  Lord  Chief  Justice  Popham,  dispatched  a  vessel  to  inspect 
their  territory  of  North  Virginia.  That  vessel  being  captured 
by  the  Spaniards,  Sir  John  Popham,  at  his  own  expense,  sent 
out  another,  which,  having  returned  with  a  favorable  report  of  the 
country,  he  was  enabled  to  equip  an  expedition  for  the  purpose 
of  effecting  a  settlement  there.  Under  the  command  of  his 
brother,  Henry  Popham,  and  of  Raleigh  Gilbert,  a  nephew  of  Sir 
Humphrey  Gilbert,  a  hundred  emigrants,  embarking  May,  1607, 
in  two  vessels,  repaired  to  North  Virginia,  and  seated  themselves 
at  the  mouth  of  the  River  Sagahadock,  where  they  erected  Fort 
.St.  George.  However,  after  enduring  a  great  deal  of  sickness 
and  hardship,  and  losing  several  of  their  number,  including  their 
president,  Henry  Popham,  and  hearing  by  a  supply-vessel  of  the 
death  of  their  chief  patrons,  Sir  John  Popham,  and  Sir  John 
Gilbert,  (brother  of  Raleigh  Gilbert,)  they  gladly  abandoned  the 
colony,  and  returned  to  England  in  the  spring  of  1608. 

It  was  in  this  year  that  Henry  Hudson,  an  Englishman,  em 
ployed  by  the  Dutch  East  India  Company,  after  entering  the 
Chesapeake,  and  remarking  the  infant  settlement  of  the  English, 
discovered  the  beautiful  river  which  still  retains  the  name  of  that 
distinguished  navigator.  The  Dutch  afterwards  erected  near  its 
mouth,  and  on  the  Island  of  Manhattan,  the  fort  and  cabins  of 
New  Amsterdam,  the  germ  of  New  York. 

Smith  had  hitherto  declined,  but  now  consented,  September, 
1608,  to  undertake  the  office  of  president.  Ratcliife  was  under 
arrest  for  mutiny;  and  the  building  of  the  fine  house  which  he 

*  Smith,  i.  191. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  61 

had  commenced  for  himself  in  the  woods,  was  discontinued.  The 
church  was  repaired,  the  storehouse  newly  covered,  magazines  for 
supplies  erected,  the  fort  reduced  to  a  pentagon  figure,  the  watch 
renewed,  troops  trained;  and  the  whole  company  mustered  every 
Saturday  in  the  plain  by  the  west  bulwark,  called  "  Smithfield." 
There,  sometimes,  more  than  a  hundred  dark-eyed  and  dark-haired 
tawny  Indians  would  stand  in  amazement  to  see  a  file  of  soldiers 
batter  a  tree,  where  a  target  was  set  up  to  shoot  at. 

Newport  arrived  with  a  second  supply,  and  brought  out  also 
presents  for  Powhatan,  a  basin  and  ewer,  bedstead  and  suit  of 
scarlet  clothes.  Newport,  upon  this  voyage,  had  procured  a  pri 
vate  commission  in  which  he  stood  pledged  to  perform  one  of 
three  impossibilities;  for  he  engaged  not  to  return  to  England 
without  either  a  lump  of  gold,  a  certainty  of  the  South  Sea,  or 
one  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  lost  colonists.  Newport  brought 
also  orders  to  discover  the  Manakin  (originally  Monacan)  country, 
and  a  barge  constructed  so  as  to  be  taken  to  pieces,  which  they 
were  to  carry  beyond  the  falls,  so  as  to  convey  them  down  by 
some  river  running  westward  to  the  South  Sea  or  Pacific  Ocean. 
Yasco  Nunez,  in  1513,  crossing  the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  from  the 
summit  of  a  mountain  discovered,  beyond  the  other  side  of  the 
continent,  an  ocean,  which,  from  the  direction  in  which  he  saw  it, 
took  the  name  of  the  "South  Sea." 

The  cost  of  this  last  supply  brought  out  by  Newport  was  two 
thousand  pounds,  and  the  company  ordered  that  the  vessels 
should  be  sent  back  freighted  with  cargoes  of  corresponding 
value,  and  threatened,  in  case  of  a  failure,  that  the  colonists 
should  be  left  in  Virginia  as  banished  men.  It  appears  that  the 
Virginia  Company  had  been  deeply  incensed  by  a  letter  received 
by  Lord  Salisbury,  (Sir  Robert  Cecil,)  Secretary  of  State,  report 
ing  that  the  planters  intended  to  divide  the  country  among  them 
selves.  It  is  altogether  improbable  that  they  had  conceived  any 
design  of  appropriating  a  country  which  so  few  of  them  were 
willing  to  cultivate,  and  from  which  so  many  of  them  were 
anxious  to  escape.  The  folly  of  the  instructions  was  only  sur 
passed  by  the  inhumanity  of  the  threat,  and  this  folly  and  inhu 
manity  were  justly  exposed  by  Smith's  letter  in  reply.* 

*  Stith,  82  ;  Smith,  200. 


62  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

Newport  brought  over  with  him  Captains  Peter  Wynne  and 
Richard  Waldo,  two  veteran  soldiers  and  valiant  gentlemen; 
Francis  West,  brother  of  Lord  Delaware;  Raleigh  Crashaw; 
Thomas  Forest  with  Mrs.  Forest,  and  Anne  Burras,  her  maid; 
the  first  Englishwomen  that  landed  at  Jamestown.*  Some  Poles 
and  Germans  were  sent  out  to  make  pitch,  tar,  glass,  soap,  ashes, 
and  erect  mills.  Waldo  and  Wynne  were  admitted  into  the 
council;  and  Ratcliffe  was  restored  to  his  seat. 

The  time  appointed  for  Powhatan's  coronation  now  drawing 
near,  Smith,  accompanied  by  Captain  Waldo,  and  three  others, 
went  overland  to  a  point  on  the  Pamaunkee  (York)  River,  oppo 
site  Werowocomoco,  to  which  they  crossed  over  in  an  Indian 
canoe.  Upon  reaching  Werowocomoco,  Powhatan  being  found 
absent,  was  sent  for,  and,  in  the  mean  time,  Smith  and  his  com 
rades  were  being  entertained  by  Pocahontas  and  her  companions. 
They  made  a  fire  in  an  open  field,  and  Smith  being  seated  on  a 
mat  before  it,  presently  a  hideous  noise  and  shrieking  being  heard 
in  the  adjoining  woods,  the  English  snatched  up  their  arms,  and 
seized  two  or  three  aged  Indians;  but  Pocahontas  immediately 
came,  and  protested  to  Smith  that  he  might  slay  her  if  any  sur 
prise  was  intended,  and  he  wras  quickly  satisfied  that  his  appre 
hensions  were  groundless.  Then  thirty  young  women  emerged 
from  the  woods,  all  naked,  save  a  cincture  of  green  leaves,  their 
bodies  being  painted;  Pocahontas  wearing  on  her  head  a  beautiful 
pair  of  buck's  horns,  an  otter's  skin  at  her  girdle  and  another  on 
her  arm;  a  quiver  hung  on  her  shoulder,  and  she  held  a  bow  and 
arrow  in  her  hand.  Of  the  other  nymphs,  one  held  a  sword, 
another  a  club,  a  third  a  pot-stick,  with  the  antlers  of  the  deer  on 
their  heads,  and  a  variety  of  other  savage  ornaments.  Bursting 
from  the  forest,  like  so  many  fiends,  with  unearthly  shrieks,  they 
circled  around  the  fire  singing  and  dancing,  and  thus  continued 
for  an  hour,  when  they  again  retired  to  the  woods.  Returning, 
they  invited  Smith  to  their  habitations,  where,  as  soon  as  he  en 
tered,  they  all  crowded  around,  hanging  about  him  with  cries  of 
."Love  you  not  me?  love  you  not  me?"  They  then  feasted  their 
guest;  some  serving,  others  singing  and  dancing,  till  at  last,  with 
blazing  torches  of  light-wood,  they  escorted  him  to  his  lodging. 

*  Smith,  i.  193. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  63 

On  the  next  day,  Powhatan  having  arrived,  Smith  informed 
him  of  the  presents  that  had  been  sent  out  for  him ;  restored  to 
him  Nainontack,  who  had  been  taken  to  England,  and  invited  the 
chief  to  visit  Jamestown  to  accept  the  presents,  and  with  New 
port's  aid  to  revenge  himself  upon  his  enemies,  the  Monacans. 
Powhatan,  in  reply,  refused  to  visit  Jamestown,  saying  that  he, 
too,  was  a  king;  but  he  consented  to  wait  eight  days  to  receive 
presents;  as  for  the  Monacans,  he  was  able  to  avenge  his  griev 
ances  himself.  In  regard  to  the  salt  water  beyond  the  mountains, 
of  which  Smith  had  spoken,  Powhatan  denied  that  there  was  any 
such,  and  drew  lines  of  those  regions  on  the  ground.  Smith  re 
turned  to  Jamestown,  and  the  presents  being  sent  round  to  We- 
rowocomoco  by  water,  near  a  hundred  miles,  Newport  and  Smith, 
with  fifty  men,  proceeded  thither  by  the  direct  route  across  the 
neck  of  land  that  separates  the  James  from  the  York. 

All  being  assembled  at  Werowocomoco,  the  ensuing  day  was 
set  for  the  coronation,  when  the  presents  were  delivered  to  Pow 
hatan — a  basin,  ewer,  bed,  and  furniture  ready  set  up.  A  scarlet 
cloak  and  suit  of  apparel  were  with  difficulty  put  upon  him,  Na- 
montack,  meanwhile,  insisting  that  it  would  not  hurt  him.  Still 
more  strenuous  efforts  were  found  necessary  to  make  him  kneel  to 
receive  the  crown,  till,  at  last,  by  dint  of  urgent  persuasions,  and 
pressing  hard  upon  his  shoulders,  he  was  induced,  reluctantly,  to 
stoop  a  little,  when  three  of  the  English  placed  the  crown  upon 
his  head.  At  an  appointed  signal  a  volley  of  musketry  wras  fired 
from  the  boats,  and  Powhatan  started  up  from  his  seat  in  alarm, 
from  which,  however,  he  was  in  a  few  moments  relieved.  As  if, 
by  way  of  befitting  satire  upon  so  ridiculous  a  ceremony,  Pow 
hatan  graciously  presented  his  old  moccasins  and  mantle  to  New 
port,  and  some  corn ;  but  refused  to  allow  him  any  guides  except 
Namontack.  The  English  having  purchased,  in  the  town,  a  small 
additional  supply  of  corn,  left  Werowoconioco,  and  returned  to 
Jamestown. 

Shortly  afterwards  Newport,  contrary  to  Smith's  advice,  un 
dertook  to  explore  the  Monacan  country,  on  the  borders  of  the 
upper  James  River,  with  one  hundred  and  twenty  picked  men, 
commanded  by  Captain  Waldo,  Lieutenant  Percy,  Captain 
Wynne,  Mr.  West,  and  Mr.  Scrivener.  Smith,  with  eighty  or 


64  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

ninety  men,  seme  sick,  some  feeble,  being  left  at  Jamestown ; 
Newport  and  his  party,  embarking  in  the  pinnace  and  boats, 
went  up  to  the  falls  of  the  river,  where,  landing,  they  marched 
forty  miles  beyond  on  the  south  side  in  two  days  and  a  half,  and 
returned  by  the  same  route,  discovering  two  towns  of  the  Mona- 
cans — Massinacak,  and  Mowchemenchouch.  The  natives,  "the 
Stoics  of  the  woods,"  evinced  neither  friendship  nor  enmity;  and 
the  English,  out  of  abundant  caution,  took  one  of  their  chiefs, 
and  led  him  bound  at  once  a  hostage  and  a  guide.  Having  failed 
to  procure  any  corn  from  the  Indians,  Newport's  party  returned 
from  the  exploration  of  this  picturesque,  fertile,  well-watered 
region,  more  than  half  of  them  sick  or  lame,  and  disheartened 
with  fatigue,  stinted  rations,  and  disappointed  hopes  of  finding 
gold. 

Smith,  the  president,  now  set  the  colonists  to  work;  some  to 
make  glass,  others  to  prepare  tar,  pitch,  and  soap-ashes;  while 
he,  in  person,  conducted  thirty  of  them  five  miles  below  the  fort 
to  cut  down  trees  and  saw  plank.  Two  of  this  lumber-party 
happened  to  be  young  gentlemen,  who  had  arrived  in  the  last 
supply.  Smith  sharing  labor  and  hardship  in  common  with  the 
rest,  these  woodmen,  at  first,  became  apparently  reconciled  to  the 
novel  task,  and  seemed  to  listen  with  pleasure  to  the  crashing 
thunder  of  the  falling  trees ;  but  when  the  axes  began  to  blister 
their  unaccustomed  hands,  they  grew  profane,  and  their  frequent 
loud  oaths  echoed  in  the  woods.  Smith  taking  measures  to  have 
the  oaths  of  each  one  numbered,  in  the  evening,  for  each  offence, 
poured  a  can  of  water  down  the  offender's  sleeve;  and  this  curious 
discipline,  or  water-cure,  was  so  effectual,  that  after  it  wTas  ad 
ministered,  an  oath  wTould  scarcely  be  heard  in  a  week.  Smith 
found  that  thirty  or  forty  gentlemen  who  volunteered  to  work, 
could  do  more  in  a  day  than  one  hundred  that  worked  by  com 
pulsion;  but,  he  adds,  that  twenty  good  workmen  would  have 
been  better  than  the  whole  of  them  put  together. 

Smith  finding  so  much  time  wasted,  and  no  provisions  obtained, 
and  Newport's  vessel  lying  idle  at  heavy  charge,  embarked  in 
the  discovery  barge,  taking  with  him  eighteen  men  and  another 
boat,  and  leaving  orders  for  Lieutenant  Percy  to  follow  after 
him,  went  up  the  Chickahominy.  Being  overtaken  by  Percy,  he 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  65 

procured  a  supply  of  corn.  Upon  his  return  to  Jamestown,  New 
port  and  Ratcliffe,  instigated  by  jealousy,  attempted  to  depose 
Smith  from  the  presidency,  but  he  defeated  their  schemes.  The 
colony  suffered  much  loss  at  this  time  by  an  illicit  trade  carried 
on  between  the  sailors  of  Newport's  vessel,  dishonest  settlers, 
and  the  Indians.  Smith  threatened  to  send  awTay  the  vessel  and 
to  oblige  Newport  to  remain  a  year  in  the  colony,  so  that  he 
might  learn  to  judge  of  affairs  by  his  own  experience,  but  New 
port  submitting,  and  acknowledging  himself  in  the  wrong,  the 
threat  was  not  executed.  Scrivener  visiting  Werowocornoco,  by 
the  ..aid  of  Namontack  procured  another  supply  of  corn  and 
some  puccoons,  a  root  which  it  was  supposed  would  make  an 
excellent  dye,  as  the  Indians  used  its  red  juice  to  stain  their 
faces. 

Newport  at  last  sailed  for  England,  leaving  at  Jamestown  two 
hundred  souls,  carrying  a  cargo  of  such  pitch,  tar,  glass,  and 
soap-ashes  as  the  colonists  had  been  able  to  get  ready.  Ratcliffe, 
whose  real  name  was  discovered  to  be  Sicklemore,  was  sent  back 
at  the  same  time.  Smith  in  his  letter  to  the  council  in  England, 
exhibited,  in  caustic  terms,  the  preposterous  folly  of  expecting  a 
present  profitable  return  from  Virginia.  He  sent  them  also  his 
map  of  the  country,  drawn  with  so  much  accuracy,  that  it 
has  been  taken  as  the  groundwork  of  all  succeeding  maps  of 
Virginia. 

Not  long  after  Newport's  departure,  Anne  Burras  was  married 
at  Jamestown  to  John  Laydon,  the  first  marriage  in  Virginia. 
Smith  finding  the  provisions  running  low,  made  a  voyage  to 
Nansemond,  and  afterwards  went  up  the  James,  and  discovered 
the  river  and  people  of  Appomattock,  who  gave  part  of  their 
scanty  store  of  corn  in  exchange  for  copper  and  toys. 

About  this  time  Powhatan  sent  an  invitation  to  Smith  to  visit 
him,  and  a  request  that  he  would  send  men  to  build  him  a  house, 
and  give  him  a  grindstone,  fifty  swords,  some  guns,  a  cock  and 
hen,  with  much  copper,  and  many  beads,  in  return  for  which  he 
promised  to  load  his  vessel  with  corn.  Having  dispatched  by 
land  a  party  of  Englishmen  and  four  Dutchmen  to  build  the 
house,  Smith,  accompanied  by  the  brave  Waldo,  set  out  for  Wero- 
wocomoco  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  December,  with  the  pinnace  and 

5 


66  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

two  barges  manned  with  forty-six  men.  Smith  went  in  a  Large 
with  six  gentlemen  and  as  many  soldiers,  while  in  the  pinnace  were 
Lieutenant  Percy  and  Francis  West,  with  a  number  of  gentlemen 
and  soldiers.  The  little  fleet  dropping  down  the  James  arrived 
on  the  first  night  at  Warrasqueakc,  from  which  place  Sicklemore, 
a  veteran  soldier,  was  dispatched  with  two  Indian  guides  in  quest 
of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  lost  company,  and  of  silk  grass.  Smith 
left  Samuel  Collier,  his  page,  at  Warrasqueake  to  learn  the  lan 
guage.  The  party  being  detained,  by  inclement  weather,  a  week 
at  Kecoughtan,  spent  the  holidays  there  among  the  natives, 
feasting  on  oysters,  venison,  wild-fowl,  and  good  bread,  enjoying 
also  excellent  fires  in  the  dry,  smoky  cabins.  While  here  Smith 
and  two  others  killed  one  hundred  and  forty-eight  wild-fowl  in 
three  shots. 

At  Kiskiack,  (now  Chescake,  pronounced  Cheese-cake,)  the 
severity  of  the  cold  again  compelled  the  English  to  take  shelter 
in  the  Indian  wigwams.  On  the  twelfth  day  of  January  they 
reached  Werowocomoco.  The  York  River  being  frozen  over  near 
half  a  mile  from  the  shore,  Smith,  to  lose  no  time,  undertook  to 
break  his  way  through  the  ice ;  but  the  tide  ebbing,  left  the  barge 
aground  on  a  shoal.  In  this  dilemma,  although  the  cold  was  ex 
treme,  Smith  jumping  into  the  icy  river,  set  the  example  to  his 
men  of  wading  near  waist  deep  to  the  shore,  where,  quartering  in 
the  first  cabins  that  they  reached,  they  sent  to  Powhatan  for 
provisions.  On  the  following  day  he  supplied  them  abundantly 
with  bread,  wild  turkeys,  and  venison.  Like  Nestor  of  old,  he 
told  Smith  somewhat  extravagantly,  that  he  had  seen  the  death 
of  all  of  his  people  thrice;  that  he  was  now  old  and  must  ere 
long  die;  that  his  brothers,  Opitchapan,  Opcchancanough,  and 
Kekataugh,  his  two  sisters,  and  their  two  daughters,  were  to  be 
his  successors.  He  deprecated  war,  and  declared  that  when  he 
and  his  people,  forced  to  fly  by  fear  of  the  English,  lay  in  the 
woods,  exposed  to  cold  and  hunger,  if  a  twig  but  broke,  every  one 
cried  out,  "There  comes  Captain  Smith."  At  length,  after  a 
long  dialogue,  Powhatan  still  obstinately  insisting  that  the  Eng 
lish  should  lay  aside  their  arms,  Smith  gave  orders  privately  to 
his  people  in  the  boat  to  approach  and  capture  him.  Discovering 
their  design  he  fled  with  his  women  and  children,  while  his  war- 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  67 

riors  beset  the  cabin  where  Smith  was.  With  pistol,  sword,  and 
target,  he  rushed  out  among  them  and  fired;  some  fell  one  over 
another,  the  rest  escaped. 

Powhatan,  finding  himself  in  Smith's  power,  to  make  his  peace 
sent  him,  by  an  aged  orator,  a  large  bracelet  and  a  string  of 
beads,  and  in  the  mean  while  the  savages,  goodly,  well-formed 
fellows,  but  grim-looking,  carried  the  corn  on  their  backs  down 
to  the  boats.  The  barges  of  the  English  being  left  aground  by 
the  ebb-tide,  they  were  obliged  to  wait  till  the  next  high-water ; 
and  they  returned  ashore  to  lodge  in  some  Indian  wigwams. 

Powhatan,  and  the  treacherous  Dutchmen  who  had  been  sent 
to  build  him  a  house,  and  who  were  attracted  by  the  abundant 
good  cheer  that  they  enjoyed  at  Werowocomoco,  now  together 
plotted  Smith's  destruction.  But  Pocahontas,  the  chieftain's 
dearest  jewel,  in  that  dark  night,  passing  through  the  gloomy 
woods,  told  Smith  that  great  cheer  would  soon  be  sent  to  him, 
but  that  her  father  with  all  his  force  would  quickly  come  and 
kill  him  and  all  the  English,  with  their  own  weapons,  while  at  sup 
per ;  that  therefore,  if  he  would  live,  she  wished  him  to  go  at  once. 
Smith  would  have  given  her  such  toys  as  she  delighted  in;  but, 
with  tears  streaming  down  her  cheeks,  she  said  that  she  would 
not  dare  to  be  seen  to  have  them,  for  if  her  father  should  know 
it  she  would  die ;  and  so  she  ran  away  by  herself  as  she  had  come. 
The  attempt  to  surprise  Smith  was  accordingly  soon  after  made ; 
but,  forewarned,  he  readily  defeated  the  design. 

Upon  the  return  of  the  tide,  Smith  and  his  party  embarked  for 
Pamaunkee,  at  the  head  of  the  river,  leaving  with  Powhatan  Ed 
ward  Boynton,  to  kill  fowl  for  him,  and  the  Dutchmen,  whose 
treachery  was  not  as  yet  suspected,  to  finish  his  house.  As  the 
party  sent  forward  to  build  the  house  had  been  there  about  two 
weeks,  and  as  the  chimney  is  erected  after  the  house,  it  may  be 
probably  inferred  that  "Powhatan's  Chimney"  was  built  by  the 
Dutchmen.  It  indeed  looks  like  a  chimney  of  one  of  those  Dutch 
houses  described  by  Irving  in  his  inimitable  "Legend  of  Sleepy 
HolloAV."  It  is  the  oldest  relic  of  construction  now  extant  in 
Virginia,  and  is  associated  with  the  most  interesting  incident  in 
our  early  history.  This  chimney  is  built  of  stone  found  on  the 


68  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

banks  of  Timberncck  Bay,  and  easily  quarried ;  it  is  eighteen 
and  a  half  feet  high,  ten  and  a  half  wide  at  the  base,  and  has  a 
double  flue.  The  fire-place  is  eight  feet  wide,  with  an  oaken  beam 
across.  The  chimney  stands  on  an  eminence,  and  is  conspicuous 
from  every  quarter  of  the  bay ;  and  itself  a  monumental  evidence 
of  no  inconsiderable  import.  That  the  colonists  would  construct 
for  Powhatan's  house  a  durable  and  massive  chimney  there  is 
every  reason  to  believe,  and  here  is  such  a  one  still  extant,  and 
still  retaining,  through  all  the  mutations  of  time,  the  traditional 
name  of  "  Powhatan's  Chimney."  There  is  no  other  such  chim 
ney  in  all  that  region,  nor  the  remains  of  such  a  one.  At  the 
foot  of  the  yard,  and  at  a  short  distance  from  the  chimney,  which 
is  still  in  use,  being  attached  to  a  modern  farm-house,  is  a  fine 
spring,  formerly  shaded  by  a  venerable  umbrageous  red-oak,  of 
late  years  blown  down.  In  the  rivulet  that  steals  along  a  ravine 
from  the  spring,  Pocahontas  sported  in  her  childhood.  Her 
name,  according  to  Heckwelder,  signifies  "a  rivulet  between  two 
hills,"  but  this  is  denied  by  others. 

In  the  early  annals  of  Virginia,  Werowocomoco  is  second  only 
to  Jamestown  in  historical  and  romantic  interest ;  as  Jamestown 
was  the  seat  of  the  English  settlers,  so  Werowocomoco  was  the 
favorite  residence  of  the  Indian  monarch  Powhatan.  It  was  here 
that,  when  Smith  was  about  to  meet  his  fate, 

"An  angel  knelt  in  woman's  form 
And  breathed  a  prayer  for  him." 

It  was  here  that  Powhatan  was  crowned  by  the  conceited  New 
port  ;  here  that  supplies  for  the  colony  were  frequently  procured ; 
here  that  occurred  so  many  interviews  and  rencontres  between 
the  red  men  and  the  whites.  Here,  two  centuries  and  a  half  ago, 
dwelt  the  famous  old  Powhatan,  tall,  erect,  stern,  apparently 
beardless,  his  hair  a  little  frosted  with  gray.  Here  he  beheld, 
writh  barbarous  satisfaction,  the  scalps  of  his  enemies  recently 
massacred,  suspended  on  a  line  between  two  trees,  and  waving  in 
the  breeze;  here  he  listened  to  recitals  of  hunting  and  blood, 
and  in  the  red  glare  of  the  council-fire  planned  schemes  of  per 
fidy  and  revenge ;  here  he  sate  and  smoked,  sometimes  observing 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  69 

Pocahontas  at  play,  sometimes  watching  the  fleet  canoe  coming 
in  from  the  Pamaunkee.  Werowocomoco  was  a  befitting  seat  of 
the  great  chief,  overlooking  the  bay,  with  its  bold,  picturesque, 
wood-crowned  banks,  and  in  view  of  the  wide  majestic  flood  of 
the  river,  empurpled  by  transient  cloud-shadows,  or  tinged  with 
the  rosy  splendor  of  a  summer  sunset. 


CHAPTER    V. 

16O8-1600. 

Smith  visits  Pamaunkee — Seizes  Opechancanough — Goes  back  to  Werowocomoco 
—Procures  Supplies — Returns  to  Jamestown — Smith's  Rencontre  with  Chief 
of  Paspahegh— Fort  built — "  The  Old  Stone  House" — Colonists  dispersed  to 
procure  Subsistence — Tuckahoe-root — Smith's  Discipline — New  Charter — 
Lord  Delaware  appointed  Governor — Fleet  dispatched  for  Virginia — Sea-Ven 
ture  ;  cast  away  on  Island  of  Bermuda — Seven  Vessels  reach  Virginia. — Disor 
ders  that  ensued — Smith's  Efforts  to  quell  them — He  Embarks  for  England — 
His  Character,  Life,  and  Writings. 

SMITH  and  his  party  had  no  sooner  set  sail  from  Werowoco 
moco,  up  the  river,  than  Powhatan  returned,  and  dispatched  two 
of  the  Dutchmen  to  Jamestown.  The  two  emissaries,  by  false 
pretences  and  the  assistance  of  some  of  the  colonists,  who  con 
federated  wTith  them,  succeeded  in  procuring  a  supply  of  arms  and 
ammunition,  which  were  conveyed  to  Powhatan  by  some  of  his 
people  who  were  at  hand  for  that  purpose.  In  the  mean  time  the 
other  Dutchman,  wTho  had  been  retained  by  Powhatan  as  a  host 
age,  provided  him  with  three  hundred  stone  tomahawks.  Edward 
Boynton  and  Thomas  Savage,  discovering  the  treachery,  at 
tempted  to  make  their  escape  back  to  Jamestown,  but  were  ap 
prehended  and  taken  back,  and  expected  every  moment  to  be 
put  to  death. 

During  this  interval,  Smith  having  arrived  at  Pamunkey,  at 
the  junction  of  the  Pamunkey  and  the  Matapony,  landed  with 
Lieutenant  Percy  and  others,  to  the  number  of  fifteen,  and  pro 
ceeded  to  Opechancanough' s  residence,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  back 
from  the  river.  The  town  was  found  deserted  by  all,  except  a 
lame  man  and  a  boy,  and  the  cabins  stripped  of  everything.  In 
a  short  time  the  chief  of  the  warlike  Pamunkies  returned,  accom 
panied  by  some  of  his  people,  armed  with  bows  and  arrows. 
After  some  conference,  Smith  finding  himself  deceived  as  to  the 
supply  of  corn  which  had  been  promised,  reproached  the  chief 
(70) 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  71 

for  his  treachery.  Opechancanough,  to  veil  his  designs,  agreed 
to  sell  what  scanty  commodities  he  then  had,  at  Smith's  own 
price,  and  promised  to  bring  on  the  morrow  a  larger  supply.  On 
the  next  day  Smith,  with  the  same  party,  marched  again  up  to 
Opechancanough's  residence,  where  they  found  four  or  five  In 
dians,  who  had  just  arrived,  each  carrying  a  large  basket.  Soon 
after  the  chief  made  his  appearance,  and  with  an  air  of  frankness 
began  to  tell  what  pains  he  had  been  at  to  fulfil  his  promise, 
when  Mr.  Russel  brought  word  that  several  hundred  of  the  In 
dians  had  surrounded  the  house  where  the  English  were.  Smith, 
perceiving  «that  some  of  his  party  were  terrified,  exhorted  them 
"to  fight  like  men  and  not  die  like  sheep."  Reproaching  Ope 
chancanough  for  his  murderous  designs,  he  challenged  him  to  de 
cide  the  dispute  in  single  combat  on  a  neighboring  island.  The 
wily  chief  declining  that  mode  of  settlement,  endeavored  to  in 
veigle  Smith  into  an  ambuscade,  when  his  treachery  being  mani 
fest,  the  president  seized  him  by  the  forelock,  and  with  a  cocked 
pistol  at  his  breast,  led  him,  trembling,  in  the  midst  of  his  own 
people.  Overcome  with  terror,  Opechancanough  surrendered  his 
vainbrace,  bow,  and  arrows;  and  his  dismayed  followers  threw 
down  their  arms.  Men,  women,  and  children,  now  brought  in 
their  commodities  to  trade  with  the  English.  Smith,  overcome 
with  fatigue,  retired  into  a  cabin  to  rest ;  and  while  he  was  asleep, 
a  party  of  the  Indians,  armed  with  swords  and  tomahawks,  made 
an  attempt  to  surprise  him,  but  starting  up  at  the  noise,  he,  with 
the  help  of  some  of  his  comrades,  soon  put  the  intruders  to 
flight. 

During  this  time,  Scrivener,  misled  by  letters  received  from 
England,  began  to  grow  ambitious  of  supplanting  Smith,  who 
was  cordially  attached  to  him ;  and  setting  out  from  Jamestown 
for  Hog  Island,  on  a  stormy  day,  in  company  of  Captain  Waldo, 
Anthony  Gosnold,  and  eight  others,  the  boat  was  sunk  and  all 
were  lost.  When  no  one  else  could  be  found  willing  to  convey 
this  intelligence  to  Smith,  Richard  Wyffin  volunteered  to  under 
take  it.  At  Werowocomoco  he  was  shielded  from  danger  by  Po- 
cahontas,  who,  in  every  emergency,  still  proved  herself  the 
tutelary  angel  of  the  colony.  Wyffin  having  overtaken  Smith  at 
Pamunkey,  he  concealed  the  news  of  the  recent  disaster  from  his 


72  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

party,  and,  releasing  Opecliancanough,  returned  down  tlie  river. 
On  the  following  morning,  a  little  after  sunrise,  the  bank  of  the 
river  swarmed  with  Indians,  unarmed,  carrying  baskets,  to  tempt 
Smith  ashore,  under  pretence  of  trade.  Smith,  landing  with 
Percy  and  two  others,  was  received  by  Powhatan  at  the  head  of 
two  or  three  hundred  warriors  formed  in  two  crescents ;  some 
twenty  men  and  a  number  of  women  carrying  painted  baskets. 
Smith  attempted  to  inveigle  Powhatan  into  an  ambuscade,  but  the 
savages,  on  a  nearer  approach,  discovering  the  English  with  arms 
in  their  hands,  fled.  However,  the  natives,  some  days  afterwards, 
from  all  parts  of  the  country,  within  a  circuit  of  ten  or  twelve 
miles,  in  the  snow  brought,  on  their  naked  backs,  corn  for  Smith's 
party. 

Smith  next  went  up  the  Youghtanund  (now  Pamunkey)  and 
the  Matapony.  On  the  banks  of  this  little  river  the  poor  Indians 
gave  up  their  scanty  store  of  corn  with  such  tears  and  lamenta 
tions  of  women  and  children  as  touched  the  hearts  of  the  English 
with  compassion.* 

Returning,  he  descended  the  York  as  far  as  Werowocomoco, 
intending  to  surprise  Powhatan  there,  and  thus  secure  a  further 
supply  of  corn;  but  Powhatan  had  abandoned  his  new  house,  and 
had  carried  away  all  his  corn  and  provisions;  and  Smith,  with  his 
party,  returned  to  Jamestown.  In  this  expedition,  with  twenty- 
five  pounds  of  copper  and  fifty  pounds  of  iron,  and  some  beads, 
he  procured,  in  exchange,  two  hundred  pounds  of  deer  suet,  and 
delivered  to  the  Cape-merchant  four  hundred  and  severity-nine 
bushels  of  corn. 

At  Jamestown  the  provision  of  the  public  store  had  been 
spoiled  by  exposure  to  the  rain  of  the  previous  summer,  or  eaten 
by  rats  and  worms.  The  colonists  had  been  living  there  in  indo 
lence,  and  a  large  part  of  their  implements  and  arms  had  been 
trafficked  away  to  the  Indians.  Smith  undertook  to  remedy  these 
disorders  by  discipline  and  labor,  relieved  by  pastimes  and  recrea 
tions;  and  he  established  it  as  a  rule,  that  he  who  would  not  work, 

*  The  word  Matapony  is  said  to  signify  "  no  bread  at  all."  The  four  con 
fluents  of  this  river,  on  modern  maps,  are  whimsically  named  Ma,  Ta,  Po,  and 
Ny,  being  the  four  component  syllables  of  the  word.  Captain  Smith  calls  it  the 
Matapanient. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  73 

should  not  eat.  The  whole  government  of  the  colony  was  now, 
in  effect,  devolved  upon  him — Captain  Wynne  being  the  only  other 
surviving  councillor,  and  the  president  having  two  votes.  Shortly 
after  Smith's  return,  he  met  the  Chief  of  Paspahegh  near  James 
town,  and  had  a  rencontre  with  him.  This  athletic  savage  at 
tempting  to  shoot  him,  he  closed  and  grappled,  when,  by  main 
strength,  the  chief  forced  him  into  the  river  to  drown  him.  They 
struggled  long  in  the  water,  until  Smith,  grasping  the  savage  by 
the  throat,  well-nigh  strangled  him,  and,  drawing  his  sword,  was 
about  to  cut  off  his  head,  when  he  begged  for  his  life  so  piteously 
that  Smith  spared  him,  and  led  him  prisoner  to  Jamestown,  where 
he  put  him  in  chains.  He  was  daily  visited  by  his  wives,  and 
children,  and  people,  who  brought  presents  to  ransom  him.  At 
last  he  made  his  escape.  Captain  Wynne  and  Lieutenant  Percy 
were  dispatched,  with  a  party  of  fifty,  to  recapture  him,  fail 
ing  in  which  they  burned  the  chief's  cabin,  and  carried  away 
his  canoes.  Smith  now  going  out  to  "try  his  conclusions" 
with  "the  salvages,"  slew  some,  and  made  some  prisoners, 
burned  their  cabins,  and  took  their  canoes  and  fishing  weirs. 
Shortly  afterwards  the  president,  passing  through  Paspahegh,  on 
his  way  to  the  Chickahominy,  was  assaulted  by  the  Indians ;  but, 
upon  his  firing,  and  their  discovering  who  he  was,  they  threw  down 
their  arms,  and  sued  for  peace.  Okaning,  a  young  warrior,  who 
spoke  in  their  behalf,  in  justifying  the  escape  of  their  chief  from 
imprisonment  at  Jamestown,  said:  aThe  fishes  swim,  the  fowls 
fly,  and  the  very  beasts  strive  to  escape  the  snare,  and  live." 
Smith's  vigorous  measures,  together  with  some  accidental  circum 
stances,  dismayed  the  savages,  that  from  this  time  to  the  end  of 
his  administration,  they  gave  no  further  trouble. 

A  block-house  was  now  built  in  the  neck  of  the  Jamestown 
Peninsula ;  and  it  was  guarded  by  a  garrison,  who  alone  were  au 
thorized  to  trade  with  the  Indians;  and  neither  Indians  nor 
whites  were  suffered  to  pass  in  or  out  without  the  president's 
leave.  Thirty  or  forty  acres  of  land  were  planted  with  corn ; 
twenty  additional  houses  were  built;  the  hogs  were  kept  at  Hog 
Island,  and  increased  rapidly;  and  poultry  was  raised  without  the 
necessity  of  feeding.  A  block-house  was  garrisoned  at  Hog 
Island  for  the  purpose  of  telegraphing  shipping  arrived  in  the 


74  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

river.  Captain  Wynne,  sole  surviving  councillor,  dying,  the 
whole  government  devolved  upon  Smith.  He  built  a  fort,  as  a 
place  of  refuge  in  case  of  being  compelled  to  retreat  from  James 
town,  on  a  convenient  river,  upon  a  high  commanding  hill,  very 
hard  to  be  assaulted,  and  easy  of  defence.  But  the  scarcity  of 
provisions  prevented  its  completion.*  This  is,  no  doubt,  the 
diminutive  structure  known  as  "the  Old  Stone  House,"  in  James 
City  County,  on  Ware  Creek,  a  tributary  of  York  River.  It 
stands  about  five  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  creek,  and  twenty- 
two  from  Jamestown.  It  is  built  of  sandstone  found  on  the  bank 
of  the  creek,  and  without  mortar.  The  walls  and  chimney  still 
remain.  This  miniature  fortress  is  eighteen  and  a  half  feet  by 
fifteen  in  size,  and  consists  of  a  basement  under  ground,  and  one 
story  above.  On  one  side  is  a  doorway,  six  feet  wide,  giving 
entrance  to  both  apartments.  The  walls  are  pierced  with  loop 
holes,  and  the  masonry  is  exact.  This  little  fort  stands  in  a  wil 
derness,  on  a  high,  steep  bluff,  at  the  foot  of  which  Ware  Creek 
meanders.  The  Old  Stone  House  is  approached  only  by  a  long, 
narrow  ridge,  surrounded  by  gloomy  forests  and  dark  ravines 
overgrown  with  ivy.  It  is  the  oldest  house  in  Virginia;  and  its 
age  and  sequestered  situation  have  connected  with  it  fanciful 
stories  of  Smith  and  Pocahontas,  and  the  hidden  treasures  of 
the  pirate  Blackboard. 

The  store  of  provisions  at  Jamestown  was  so  wasted  by  rats, 
introduced  by  the  vessels,  that  all  the  works  of  the  colonists  were 
brought  to  an  end,  and  they  were  employed  only  in  procuring 
food.  Two  Indians  that  had  been  some  time  before  captured  by 
Smith,  had  been  until  the  present  time  kept  fettered  prisoners, 
but  made  to  perform  double  tasks,  and  to  instruct  the  settlers  in 
the  cultivation  of  corn.  The  prisoners  were  released  for  want  of 
provision,  but  were  so  well  satisfied  as  to  remain.  For  upwards 
of  two  weeks  the  Indians  from  the  surrounding  country  supplied 
the  colony  daily  with  squirrels,  turkeys,  deer,  and  other  game, 
while  the  rivers  afforded  an  abundance  of  wild-fowl.  Smith  also 
bought  from  Powhatan  half  of  his  stock  of  corn.  But,  never 
theless,  it  was  found  necessary  to  distribute  the  settlers  in  dif- 

*  Smith,  i.  227. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  75 

fercnt  parts  of  the  country  to  procure  subsistence.  Sergeant 
Laxon,  with  sixty  or  eighty  of  them,  was  sent  down  the  river  to 
live  upon  oysters;  Lieutenant  Percy  with  twenty,  to  find  fish  at 
Point  Comfort;  West,  brother  of  Lord  Delaware,  with  an  equal 
number,  repaired  to  the  falls,  where,  however,  nothing  edible  was 
found  but  a  few  acorns.  Hitherto  the  whole  body  of  the  colonists 
had  been  provided  for  by  the  courage  and  industry  of  some  thirty 
or  forty. 

The  main  article  of  their  diet  was,  for  a  time,  sturgeon,  an 
abundant  supply  of  which  was  procured  during  the  season.  It 
not  only  served  for  meat,  but  when  dried  and  pounded,  and  mixed 
with  herbs,  supplied  the  place  of  bread.  Of  the  spontaneous  pro 
ductions  of  the  soil,  the  principal  article  of  sustenance  was  the 
tuckahoe-root,  of  which  one  man  could  gather  enough  in  a  day  to 
supply  him  with  bread  for  a  week.  The  tockawhoughe,  as  it  is 
called  by  Smith,  was,  in  the  summer,  a  principal  article  of  diet 
among  the  natives.  It  grows  in  marshes  like  a  flag,  and  re 
sembles,  somewhat,  the  potato  in  size  and  flavor.  Raw  it  is  no 
better  than  poison,  so  that  the  Indians  were  accustomed  to  roast 
it,  and  eat  it  mixed  with  sorel  and  corn-meal.*  There  is  another 
root  found  in  Virginia  called  tuckahoe,  and  confounded  with  the 
flag-like  root  described  above,  and  erroneously  supposed  by  many 
to  grow  without  stem  or  leaf.  It  appears  to  be  of  the  convolvu 
lus  species,  and  is  entirely  unlike  the  root  eaten  by  the  James 
town  settlers,  f 

Such  was  the  indolence  of  the  greater  number  of  the  colonists, 
that  it  seemed  as  if  they  would  sooner  starve  than  take  the 
trouble  of  procuring  food;  and  at  length  their  mutinous  discon 
tents  arose  to  such  a  pitch  that  Smith  arrested  the  ringleader  of 
the  malecontents,  and  ordered  that  whoever  failed  to  provide  daily 
as  much  food  as  he  should  consume,  should  be  banished  from 
Jamestown  as  a  drone.  Of  the  two  hundred  settlers,  many  were 
billeted  among  the  Indians,  and  thus  became  familiar  with  their 
habits  and  manner  of  life. 

*  Smith,  i.  123  ;  Beverley's  Hist,  of  Va.,  iii.  15.  I  refer  to  the  first  edition  of 
1705,  which  does  not  differ  materially  from  the  second  edition  of  1722. 

f  Farmer's  Register  for  April,  18P.9,  ix.  3;  Jefferson's  Notes  on  Va.,  33; 
Rees'  Cyclopedia,  art.  Tuckahoe;  Fremont's  Report,  135,  100. 


T6  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

Sicklemore,  who  had  been  dispatched  to  Chowanock,  returned, 
after  a  fruitless  search  for  Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  people.  He 
found  the  Chowan  River  not  large;  the  country  generally  over 
grown  with  pines;  pemminaw,  or  silk-grass  growing  here  and 
there.  Two  other  messengers,  sent  to  the  country  of  the  Man- 
goags  in  quest  of  the  lost  settlers,  learned  that  they  were  all 
dead.  Guides  had  been  supplied  by  the  hospitable  chief  of  the 
Quiyoughcohannocks  to  convoy  the  messengers.  This  chief  was 
of  all  others  most  friendly  to  the  whites ;  although  a  superstitious 
worshipper  of  his  own  gods,  yet  he  acknowledged  that  they  were 
as  inferior  to  the  English  God  in  power  as  the  bow  and  arrow 
were  inferior  to  the  English  gun ;  and  he  often  sent  presents  to 
Smith,  begging  him  "to  pray  to  the  English  God  for  rain,  else 
his  corn  would  perish,  for  his  gods  were  angry." 

The  Virginia  Company  in  England,  mainly  intent  on  pecu 
niary  gain  and  quick  returns,  were  discouraged  by  the  disasters 
that  had  befallen  the  colony,  and  disappointed  in  their  visionary 
hopes  of  the  discovery  of  gold  mines,  and  of  a  passage  to  the 
South  Sea.  They  therefore  took  measures  to  procure  from  King 
James  a  new  charter,  abrogating  the  existing  one,  and  investing 
them  with  ampler  powers.  Having  associated  with  themselves  a 
numerous  body  of  additional  stockholders,  or  adventurers,  as  they 
were  then  styled,  including  many  persons  of  rank,  and  wealth, 
and  influence,  they  succeeded  in  obtaining  from  the  king  a  new 
charter,  dated  May  23d,  1609,  transferring  to  the  Company 
several  important  powers  before  reserved  to  the  crown.  By  this 
charter  the  extent  of  Virginia  was  much  enlarged,  the  eastern 
boundary  being  a  line  extending  two  hundred  miles  north  of  Point 
Comfort,  and  two  hundred  miles  south  of  it,  the  northern  and 
southern  boundaries  being  parallels  drawn  through  the  extremi 
ties  of  the  eastern  boundary  back  to  the  South  Sea  or  Pacific — 
the  western  boundary  being  the  Pacific. 

By  the  provisions  of  the  new  charter  the  Virginia  Company 
became  indeed  apparently  more  independent  and  republican,  but 
under  the  new  system  the  governor  of  the  colony  was  indued  with 
arbitary  power,  and  authorized  to  declare  martial-law ;  and  the 
condition  of  the  colonists  became  even  worse  than  before.  This 
sudden  repeal  of  the  former  charter  evinced  an  ingratitude  for 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  77 

the  services  of  Smith  and  his  associates,  who,  under  it,  had  en 
dured  the  toil,  and  privations,  and  dangers  of  the  first  settlement. 

The  Supreme  Council  in  England,  now  chosen  by  the  stock 
holders  themselves,  appointed  Sir  Thomas  West,  Lord  Delaware, 
Governor  and  Captain-General  of  Virginia.  He  was  the  third 
Lord  Delaware,  and  the  present  (1843)  Earl  Delaware,  John 
George  West,  is  his  lineal  descendant.  Sir  Thomas  Gates  was 
appointed  Lieutenant-Governor,  and  Sir  George  Somers,  Admiral. 
Sir  George  was  a  member  of  Parliament,  but  upon  being  ap 
pointed  to  a  colonial  post  his  seat  was  declared  vacant. 

Nine  vessels  were  speedily  fitted  out,  with  supplies  of  men  and 
women,  five  hundred  in  number,  and  provisions  and  other  stores 
for  the  eolony.  Newport,  who  was  entrusted  with  the  command 
of  the  fleet,  and  Gates  and  Somers,  were  each  severally  authorized, 
whichever  might  happen  first  to  reach  Jamestown,  to  supersede 
the  existing  administration  there  until  the  arrival  of  Lord  Dela 
ware,  who  was  not  to  embark  for  several  months,  and  who  did 
not  reach  Virginia  until  the  lapse  of  more  than  a  year.  This 
abundant  caution  defeated  itself,  for  Newport,  and  the  lieutenant- 
governor,  and  the  admiral,  finding  it  impossible  to  adjust  the 
point  of  precedence  among  themselves,  embarked  together  byway 
of  compromise,  in  the  same  vessel,  the  Sea- Venture.* 

The  expedition  sailed  from  Plymouth  toward  the  end  of  May, 
1609,  and  going,  contrary  to  instructions,  by  the  old  circuitous 
route,  via  the  Canaries  and  the  West  Indies,  late  in  July,  when 
in  latitude  thirty  degrees  north,  and,  as  was  supposed,  within 
eight  days'  sail  of  Virginia,  they  were  caught  "in  the  tail  of  a  hur 
ricane,"  blowing  from  the  northeast,  accompanied  by  an  appalling 
darkness,  that  continued  for  forty-four  hours.  Some  of  the  ves 
sels  lost  their  masts,  some  their  sails  blown  from  the  yards,  the 
sea  breaking  over  the  ships. 


*  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  vessels  and  their  commanders:  the  Sea- Adven 
ture,  or  Sea-Venture,  Admiral  Sir  George  Somers,  with  Sir  Thomas  Gates  and 
Captain  Christopher  Newport;  the  Diamond,  Captain  Ratcliffe  and  Captain  King; 
the  Falcon,  Captain  Martin  and  Master  Nelson ;  the  Blessing,  Gabriel  Archer 
and  Captain  Adams ;  the  Unity,  Captain  Wood  and  Master  Pett ;  the  Lion,  Cap 
tain  Webb ;  the  Swallow,  Captain  Moon  and  Master  Somers.  There  were  also 
in  company  two  smaller  craft,  a  ketch  and  a  pinnace. 


78  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

"When  rattling  thunder  ran  along  the  clouds, 
Did  not  the  sailors  poor  and  masters  proud 
A  terror  feel,  as  struck  with  fear  of  God?"* 

A  small  vessel  was  lost,  July  twenty-fourth,  and  the  Sea- Ven 
ture,  with  Newport,  Gates,  Somers,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty 
settlers,  destined  for  Virginia,  was  separated  from  the  other  ves 
sels  of  the  expedition.  The  other  vessels,  shattered  by  the  storm, 
and  having  suffered  the  loss  of  the  greater  portion  of  their  sup 
plies,  and  many  of  their  number  by  sickness,  at  length  reached 
Jamestown  in  August,  1609.  They  brought  back  Katcliffe,  or 
Sicklemdre,  who  had  been  remanded  to  England  on  account  of 
his  mutinous  conduct,  also  Martin  and  Archer,  together  with 
sundry  other  captains,  and  divers  gentlemen  of  good  means  and 
high  birth,  and  about  three  hundred  settlers,  the  greater  part  of 
them  profligate  youths,  packed  off  from  home  to  escape  ill  des 
tinies,  broken-down  gentlemen,  bankrupt  tradesmen,  and  the  like, 
"decayed  tapsters,  and  ostlers  trade-fallen,  the  cankers  of  a  calm 
world  and  long  peace." 

Upon  the  appearance  of  this  fleet  near  Jamestown,  Smith,  not 
expecting  such  a  supply,  took  them  to  be  Spaniards,  and  pre 
pared  to  encounter  them,  and  the  Indians  readily  offered  their 
assistance.  The  colony  had  already,  before  the  arrival  of  the 
fleet,  been  threatened  with  anarchy,  owing  to  intelligence  of  the 
premature  repeal  of  the  charter,  brought  out  by  Captain  Argall, 
and  the  new  settlers  had  now  no  sooner  landed  than  they  gave 
rise  to  new  confusion  and  disorder.  The  factious  leaders,  although 
they  brought  no  commission  with  them,  insisted  on  the  abrogation 
of  the  existing  charter,  rejected  the  authority  of  Smith,  whom 
they  hated  and  feared,  and  undertook  to  usurp  the  government. 
Their  capricious  folly  equalled  their  insolence;  to-day  tlie  old 
commission  must  rule,  to-morrow  the  new,  the  next  day  neither — 
thus,  by  continual  change,  plunging  all  things  into  anarchy. 

Smith,  filled  with  disgust,  would  cheerfully  have  embarked  for 
England,  but  seeing  little  prospect  of  the  arrival  of  the  new  com 
mission,  (which  was  in  the  possession  of  Gates  on  the  Island  of 
Bermudas,)  he  resolved  to  put  an  end  to  these  incessant  plots  and 

*  Smith's  Hist  of  Va. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  79 

machinations.  The  ringleaders,  Ratcliffe,  Archer,  and  others, 
he  arrested;  to  cut  off  another  source  of  disturbance,  he  gave 
permission  to  Percy,  who  was  in  feeble  health,  to  embark  for 
England,  of  which,  however,  he  did  not  avail  himself.  West,  with 
one  hundred  and  twenty  picked  men,  was  detached  to  the  falls 
of  James  River,  and  Martin,  with  nearly  the  same  number,  to 
Nanseinond.  Smith's  presidency  having  expired  about  this  time, 
he  had  been  succeeded  by  Martin,  who,  conscious  of  his  incompe- 
tency,  had  immediately  resigned  it  to  Smith.  Martin,  at  Nanse- 
rnond,  seized  the  chief,  and,  capturing  the  town,  occupied  it  with 
his  detachment ;  but  owing  to  want  of  judgment,  or  of  vigilance, 
he  suffered  himself  to  be  surprised  by  the  savages,  who  slew  many 
of  his  party,  rescued  the  chief,  and  carried  off  their  corn.  Mar 
tin  not  long  after  returned  to  Jamestown,  leaving  his  detachment 
to  shift  for  themselves. 

Smith  going  up  the  river  to  West's  settlement  at  the  falls, 
found  the  English  planted  in  a  place  not  only  subject  to  the 
river's  inundation,  but  "surrounded  by  many  intolerable  incon 
veniences."  To  remedy  these,  by  a  messenger  he  proposed  to 
purchase  from  Po  what  an  his  seat  of  that  name,  a  little  lower  down 
the  river.  The  settlers  scornfully  rejected  the  scheme,  and  be 
came  so  mutinous  that  Smith  landed  among  them  and  arrested 
the  chief  mnlccontents.  But  overpowered  by  numbers,  being  sup 
ported  by  only  five  men,  he  was  forced  to  retire  on  board  of  a 
vessel  lying  in  the  river.  The  Indians  daily  supplied  him  with 
provisions,  in  requital  for  which  the  English  plundered  their  corn, 
robbed  their  cultivated  ground,  beat  them,  broke  into  their  cabins, 
and  made  them  prisoners.  They  complained  to  Captain  Smith 
that  the  men  whom  he  had  sent  there  as  their  protectors,  "were 
worse  than  their  old  enemies,  the  Monacans."  Smith  embarking, 
had  no  sooner  set  sail  for  Jamestown  than  many  of  West's  party 
were  slain  by  the  savages. 

It  so  happened,  that  before  Smith's  vessel  had  dropped  a 
mile  and  a  half  down  the  river,  she  ran  aground,  whereupon, 
making  a  virtue  of  necessity,  he  summoned  the  mutineers  to 
a  parley,  and  they,  now  seized  with  a  panic,  on  account  of  the 
assault  of  a  mere  handful  of  Indians,  submitted  themselves  to  his 
mercy.  He  again  arrested  the  ringleaders,  and  established  the 


80  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

rest  of  the  party  at  Powhatan,  in  the  Indian  palisade  fort,  which 
was  so  well  fortified  by  poles  and  bark  as  to  defy  all  the  savages 
in  Virginia.  Dry  cabins  were  also  found  there,  and  nearly  two 
hundred  acres  of  ground  ready  to  be  planted,  and  it  was  called 
Nonsuch,  as  being  at  once  the  strongest  and  most  delightful  place 
in  the  country.  Nonsuch  was  the  name  of  a  royal  residence  in 
England. 

When  Smith  was  now  on  the  eve  of  his  departure,  the  arrival 
of  West  again  threw  all  things  aback  into  confusion.  Nonsuch 
was  abandoned,  and  all  hands  returned  to  the  falls,  and  Smith, 
finding  all  his  efforts  abortive,  embarked  in  a  boat  for  Jamestown. 
During  the  voyage  he  wras  terribly  wounded  while  asleep,  by  the 
accidental  explosion  of  a  bag  of  gunpowder,  and  in  the  paroxysm 
of  pain  he  leapt  into  the  river,  and  was  well-nigh  drowned  before 
his  companions  could  rescue  him.  Arriving  at  Jamestown  in  this 
helpless  condition,  he  wras  again  assailed  by  faction  and  mutiny, 
and  one  of  his  enemies  even  presented  a  cocked  pistol  at  him  in 
his  bed ;  but  the  hand  wanted  the  nerve  to  execute  what  the  heart 
was  base  enough  to  design. 

Ratcliffe,  Archer,  and  their  confederates,  laid  plans  to  usurp 
the  government  of  the  colony,  whereupon  Smith's  faithful  soldiers, 
fired  with  indignation  at  conduct  so  infamous,  begged  for  permis 
sion  to  strike  off  their  heads;  but  this  he  refused.  He  refused 
also  to  surrender  the  presidency  to  Percy.  For  this,  Smith  is 
censured  by  the  historian  Stith,  who  yet  acknowledges  that 
Percy  was  in  too  feeble  health  to  control  a  mutinous  colony. 
Anarchy  being  triumphant,  Smith  probably  deemed  it  useless  to 
appoint  a  governor  over  a  mob.  He  at  last,  about  Michaelmas, 
1609,  embarked  for  England,  after  a  stay  of  a  little  more  than 
two  years  in  Virginia,*  to  which  he  never  returned. 

Here,  then,  closes  the  career  of  Captain  John  Smith  in  Vir 
ginia,  "  the  father  of  the  colony,"  and  a  hero  like  Bayard,  "without 
fear  and  without  reproach."  One  of  his  comrades,  in  deploring 
his  departure,  describes  him  as  one  who,  in  all  his  actions,  made 
justice  and  prudence  his  guides,  abhorring  baseness,  idleness, 
pride,  and  injustice;  that  in  no  danger  would  he  send  others  where 

*  Smith,  i.  239. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  81 

he  would  not  lead  them  himself;  that  would  never  see  his  men 
want  what  he  had,  or  could  by  any  means  procure ;  that  would 
rather  want  than  borrow,  and  rather  starve  than  not  pay;  that 
loved  action  more  than  words,  and  hated  falsehood  and  avarice 
worse  than  death;  "whose  adventures  were  our  lives,  and  whose 
loss  our  deaths."  Another  of  his  soldiers  said  of  him: — 

"  I  never  knew  a  warrior  but  thee, 
From  wine,  tobacco,  debts,  dice,  oaths,  so  free." 

From  the  time  of  Smith's  departure  from  Virginia  to  the  year 
1614,  little  is  knowrn  of  him.  In  that  year  he  made  his  first 
voyage  to  New  England.  In  the  following  year,  after  many  dis 
appointments,  sailing  again  in  a  small  vessel  for  that  country, 
after  a  running  fight  with,  and  narrow  escape  from,  two  French 
privateers,  near  Fayal,  he  was  captured,  near  Flores,  by  a  half- 
piratical  French  squadron.  After  long  detention  he  was  carried 
to  Kochelle,  in  France,  and  there  charged  with  having  burned 
Port  Royal,  in  New  France,  which  act  had  been  committed  by 
Captain  Argall.  Smith,  at  length,  at  the  utmost  hazard,  escaped 
from  his  captors,  and  being  assisted  by  several  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Kochelle,  especially  by  Madame  Chanoyes,  he  was  enabled  to 
return  to  England.  The  protective  sympathy  exhibited  toward 
him,  at  several  critical  conjunctures,  is  thus  mentioned  in  some 
complimentary  verses  prefixed  to  his  History  of  Virginia: — 

"  Tragabigzanda,  Callamata's  love, 
Deare  Pocahontas,  Madam  Shanoi's  too, 
"Who  did  what  love  with  modesty  could  do." 

In  1616  Smith  published  his  "Description  of  New  England," 
composed  while  he  was  a  prisoner  on  board  of  the  French  piratical 
vessel,  in  order,  as  he  says,  to  keep  his  perplexed  thoughts  from 
too  much  meditation  on  his  miserable  condition.  The  Plymouth 
Company  now  conferred  upon  him  the  title  of  Admiral  of  New 
England.  It  was  during  this  year  that  Pocahontas  visited  Eng 
land.  After  this  time,  Smith  never  again  visited  America. 
When,  in  1622,  the  news  of  the  massacre  reached  England,  he 
proposed  to  come  over  to  Virginia  with  a  proper  force  to  reduce 
the  savages  to  subjection,  but  his  proposal  was  not  accepted. 

6 


82  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

Captain  Smith  received  little  or  no  recompense  for  his  colonial 
discoveries,  labors,  and  sacrifices ;  and  after  having  spent  five  years, 
and  more  than  five  hundred  pounds,  in  the  service  of  Virginia 
and  New  England,  he  complains  that  in  neither  of  those  countries 
has  he  one  foot  of  land,  nor  even  the  house  that  he  built,  nor  the 
ground  that  he  cultivated  with  his  own  hands,  nor  even  any  con 
tent  or  satisfaction  at  all,  while  he  beheld  those  countries  bestowed 
upon  men  who  neither  could  have  them,  nor  even  know  of  them 
but  by  his  descriptions.  It  is  remarkable  that  in  his  "Newes 
from  Virginia,"  published  in  1608,  no  allusion  is  made  to  his 
rescue  by  Pocahontas.  In  1612  appeared  his  work  entitled  "A 
Map  of  Virginia,  with  a  Description  of  the  Country,  Commodi 
ties,  People,  Government,  and  Religion,  etc.,"  and  in  1620, 
"New  England  Trials."  In  1626  was  published  his  "General 
History  of  Virginia,  New  England,  and  the  Summer  Isles,"  the 
greater  part  of  which  had  already  been  published  in  1625,  by 
Purchas,  in  his  "Pilgrim."  The  second  and  sixth  books  of  this 
history  were  composed  by  Smith  himself;  the  third  was  compiled 
by  Rev.  William  Simons,  Doctor  of  Divinity,  and  the  rest  by 
Smith  from  the  letters  and  journals  of  about  thirty  different 
writers.  During  the  year  1625  he  published  "An  Accidence,  or 
the  Pathway  to  Experience  necessary  for  all  young  Seamen,"  and 
in  1627  "A  Sea  Grammar."  In  1630  he  gave  to  the  public 
"The  True  Travels,  Adventures,  and  Observations  of  Captain 
John  Smith,  in  Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  and  America,  from  1593 
to  1629."  This  work,  together  with  "  The  General  History,"  was 
republished  by  Rev.  Dr.  John  II.  Rice,  in  1819,  at  Richmond, 
Virginia.  The  copy  is  exact  and  complete,  except  some  maps 
and  engravings  of  but  little  value.  The  obsolete  orthography  and 
typography  of  the  work  confines  it  to  a  limited  circle  of  readers. 
It  is  now  out  of  print  and  rare.  In  1631  Smith  published  "Ad 
vertisements  for  the  unexperienced  planters  of  New  England,  or 
anywhere,"  etc.,  said  to  be  the  most  elaborate  of  his  productions. 
The  learned,  judicious,  and  accurate  historian,  Grahame,  considers 
Smith's  writings  on  colonization,  superior  to  those  of  Lord 
Bacon.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  Smith  was  engaged  in  com 
posing  a  "History  of  the  Sea."  So  famous  was  he  in  his  own 
day,  that  he  complains  of  some  extraordinary  incidents  in  his  life 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  83 

having  been  misrepresented  on  the  stage.  He  was  gifted  by  na 
ture  with  a  person  and  address  of  singular  fascination.  He  mar 
ried,  and  the  author  of  a  recent  interesting  English  book  of 
travels,  a  lineal  descendant,  refers  with  just  pride  to  his  distin 
guished  ancestor:  "  On  the  upper  waters  of  the  Alt,  near  the 
celebrated  Rothen  Thurm,  (or  Red  Tower,)  several  severe  engage 
ments  ushered  in  the  seventeenth  century.  It  was  at  this  time 
that  the  wave  of  Mohammedan  conquest  rolled  on,  and  broke 
over  Hungary,  Transylvania,  and  Wallachia,  and,  whether  ad 
vancing  or  retiring,  swept  those  unfortunate  lands  with  equal 
severity.  Sigismund  Bathori,  after  holding  his  own  for  awhile 
in  Transylvania  against  the  emperor,  was  obliged  to  succumb; 
the  Voyvode  of  Wallachia,  appointed  by  the  Porte,  aroused,  by 
his  cruelties,  an  insurrection  against  him,  and  the  moment  ap 
peared  favorable  for  thrusting  back  the  Turkish  power  beyond 
the  Danube.  The  Austrian  party  not  only  appointed  a  new  Voy 
vode,  but  marched  a  large  army,  chiefly  Hungarian,  into  the 
country,  and  were  at  first  victorious,  in  a  well-contested  battle. 
But,  at  length,  between  the  river  and  the  heights  of  the  Rothen 
Thurm  range,  the  Christian  army  was  attacked  with  impetuosity 
by  a  far  greater  number,  composed  principally  of  Tartars,  and 
was  entirely  cut  to  pieces.  In  this  catastrophe  several  English 
officers,  serving  with  the  Hungarian  army,  were  slain;  and  an 
ancestor  of  the  author's,  who  was  left  for  dead  on  the  field,  after 
describing  this  'dismall  battell,'  gives  their  names,  and  observes 
that  'they  did  what  men  could  do,  and  when  they  could  do  no 
more,  left  there  their  bodies  in  testimony  of  their  mind.'  "* 

Captain  John  Smith  died  at  London,  1631,  in  the  fifty-second 
year  of  his  age.  He  was  buried  in  St.  Sepulchre's  Church, 
Skinner  Street,  London;  and  from  Stowe's  Survey  of  London, 
printed  in  1633,  it  appears  there  was  a  tablet  erected  to  his  me 
mory  in  that  church,  inscribed  with  his  motto,  "Vincere  est 
vivere,"  and  the  following  epitaph: — 

Here  lies  one  conquered  that  hath  conquered  kings, 
Subdued  large  territories,  and  done  things 
Which,  to  the  world,  impossible  would  seem, 
But  that  the  truth  is  held  in  more  esteem. 

*  A  Year  with  the  Turks,  by  Warington  W.  Smyth,  A.M.,  27. 


84  ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA. 

Shall  I  report  his  former  service  done 

In  honor  of  God  and  Christendom, 

How  that  he  did  divide  from  pagans  three 

Their  heads  and  lives,  types  of  his  chivalry ; 

For  which  great  service,  in  that  climate  done, 

Brave  Sigismundus,  (King  of  Hungarion,) 

Did  give  him  a  coat  of  arms  to  wear, 

Those  conquered  heads  got  by  his  sword  and  spear? 

Or  shall  I  tell  of  his  adventures  since 

Done  in  Virginia,  that  large  continent, 

How  that  he  subdued  kings  unto  his  yoke, 

And  made  those  heathens  fly  as  wind  doth  smoke, 

And  made  their  land,  being  of  so  large  a  station, 

A  habitation  for  our  Christian  nation, 

Where  God  is  glorified,  their  wants  supplied, 

Which  else  for  necessaries  might  have  died? 

But  what  avails  his  conquest?  now  he  lies 

Interred  in  earth,  a  prey  for  worms  and  flies. 

0  may  his  soul  in  sweet  Elysium  sleep 

Until  the  Keeper,  that  all  souls  doth  keep, 

Return  to  judgment,  and  that  after  thence 

With  angels  he  may  have  his  recompense. 

The  tablet  was  destroyed  by  the  great  fire  in  the  year  1666, 
and  all  now  remaining  to  the  memory  of  Captain  Smith  is  a  large 
flat  stone,  in  front  of  the  communion-table,  engraved  with  his 
coat  of  arms,  upon  which  the  three  Turks'  heads  are  still  distin 
guishable.*  The  historian  Grahame  concludes  a  notice  of  him 
in  these  words:  "But  Smith's  renown  will  break  forth  again,  and 
once  more  be  commensurate  with  his  desert.  It  will  grow  with 
the  growth  of  men  and  letters  in  America,  and  whole  nations  of 
its  admirers  have  yet  to  be  born."  A  complete  edition  of  his 
works  would  be  a  valuable  addition  to  American  historical  litera 
ture.  The  sculptor's  art  ought  to  present  a  fitting  memorial  of 
him  and  of  Pocahontas,  in  the  metropolis  of  Virginia. 

*  Godwin's  Churches  of  London,  i.  9. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

The  Indians  of  Virginia — Their  Form  and  Features — Mode  of  wearing  their 
Hair — Clothing — Ornaments — Manner  of  Living — Diet — Towns  and  Cabins — 
Anns  and  Implements — Religion — Medicine — The  Seasons — Hunting — Sham- 
fights — Music— Indian  Character. 

THE  mounds — monuments  of  a  primitive  race,  found  scattered 
over  many  parts  of  North  America,  especially  in  the  valley  of  the 
Mississippi — have  long  attracted  the  attention  of  men  curious  in 
such  speculations.  These  heir-looms  of  dim,  oblivious  centuries, 
seem  to  whisper  mysteriously  of  a  shadowy  race,  populous,  noma 
dic,  not  altogether  uncivilized,  idolatrous,  worshipping  "in  high 
places."  The  Anglo-Saxon  ploughshare  is  busy  in  obliterating 
these  memorials,  but  many  yet  survive,  and  many,  perhaps,  re 
main  yet  to  be  discovered.  Whether  they  were  the  work  of  the 
progenitors  of  the  Indians,  or  of  a  race  long  since  extinct,  is  a 
question  for  such  as  have  taste  and  leisure  for  such  abstruse  in 
quiries.  The  general  absence  of  written  language  and  of  archi 
tectural  remains,  indicates  a  low  grade  of  civilization,  and  yet  the 
relics  that  have  been  disinterred,  and  the  enormous  extent  of 
some  of  their  earth-works,  would  argue  a  degree  of  art,  and  of 
collective  industry,  to  which  the  Indians  are  entire  strangers. 
We  may,  at  the  least,  conclude  that  either  they,  in  the  lapse  of 
ages,  have  greatly  degenerated,  or  that  the  mound-makers  were 
a  distinct  and  superior  race.  Some  of  these  mounds  are  found 
in  Virginia.  The  most  remarkable  of  these  is  the  Mammoth 
Mound,  in  the  County  of  Marshall.  Mr.  Jefferson*  was  of 
opinion  that  there  is  nothing  extant  in  Virginia  deserving  the 
name  of  an  Indian  monument,  as  he  would  not  dignify  with  that 
name  their  stone  arrow-points,  tomakawks,  pipes,  and  rude  images. 
Of  labor  on  a  large  scale  there  is  no  remain,  unless  it  be  the  bar 
rows,  or  mounds,  of  which  many  are  found  all  over  this  country. 


Notes  on  Va.,  104,  ed.  1853. 

(85) 


86  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

They  are  of  different  sizes;  some  of  them  constructed  of  earth, 
and  some  of  loose  stones.  That  they  were  repositories  of  the 
dead  is  obvious,  but  on  what  occasion  they  were  constructed 
is  a  matter  of  doubt.  Mr.  Jefferson  opened  one  of  them  near 
Monticello,  and  found  it  filled  with  human  bones.  The  Mammoth 
Mound  in  Marshall  County  is  69  feet  high,  900  in  circumference 
at  the  base;  in  shape  the  frustrum  of  a  cone,  with  a  flat  top  50 
feet  in  diameter.  An  oak  standing  on  the  top  has  been  estimated 
to  be  five  hundred  years  old.  In  the  interior  have  been  dis 
covered  vaults,  with  pieces  of  timber,  human  skeletons,  ivory 
beads,  and  other  ivory  ornaments,  sea-shells,  copper  bracelets 
around  the  wrists  of  skeletons,  with  laminated  mica,  and  a  stone 
with  hieroglyphic  characters  inscribed  on  it,  in  the  opinion  of 
some,  of  African  origin.  The  whole  mass  of  the  mound  is  studded 
with  blue  spots,  supposed  to  have  been  occasioned  by  depo- 
sites  of  the  remains  of  human  bodies  consumed  by  fire.  Seven 
lesser  mounds  are  connected  with  the  main  one  by  low  entrench 
ments.  Some  rude  towers  of  stone,  greatly  dilapidated,  are  also 
found  in  the  neighborhood.  Porcelain  beads  are  picked  up,  and 
a  stone  idol  has  been  found,  as  also  tubes  of  lead,  blue  steatite, 
syphon-like,  drilled,  twelve  inches  long,  and  finely  polished. 

The  places  of  habitation  of  the  Indians  may  yet  be  identified 
along  the  banks  of  rivers,  by  the  deposites  of  shells  of  oysters  and 
muscles,  which  they  subsisted  upon,  as  also  of  ashes  and  charred 
wood,  arrow-points,  fragments  of  pottery,  pipes,  tomahawks, 
mortars,  etc.  Vestiges  may  be  traced  of  their  moving  back  their 
cabins  when  urged  by  the  accumulation  of  shells  and  ashes. 
Standing  on  such  a  spot  one's  fancy  may  almost  repeople  it  with 
the  shadowy  forms  of  the  aborigines,  and  imagine  the  flames  of 
the  council-fire  projecting  its  red  glare  upon  the  face  of  the  York 
or  the  James,  and  hear  their  wild  cries  mingling  with  the  dash 
of  waves  and  the  roar  of  the  forest.  Here  they  rejoice  over  their 
victories,  plan  new  enterprises  of  blood,  and  celebrate  the  war- 
dance  by  the  rude  music  of  the  drum  and  the  rattle,  commingled 
with  their  own  discordant  yells. 

The  Indians  of  Virginia  were  tall,  erect,  and  well-proportioned, 
with  prominent  cheek-bones;  eyes  dark  and  brilliant,  with  an 
animal  expression,  and  a  sort  of  squint;  their  hair  dark  and 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  87 

straight.  The  chiefs  were  distinguished  by  a  long  pendant  lock. 
The  Indians  had  little  or  no  beard,  and  the  women  served  as 
barbers,  eradicating  the  beard,  and  grating  away  the  hair  with 
two  shells.  Like  all  savages,  they  were  fond  of  toys  and  tawdry 
ornaments.  The  principal  garment  was  a  mantle,  in  winter 
dressed  with  the  fur  in,  in  summer  with  it  out;  but  the  common 
sort  had  scarce  anything  to  hide  their  nakedness,  save  grass  or 
leaves,  and  in  summer  they  all  went  nearly  naked.  The  females 
always  wore  a  cincture  around  the  middle.  Some  covered  them 
selves  with  a  mantle  of  curiously  interwoven  turkey  feathers, 
pretty  and  comfortable.  The  greater  part  went  barefoot ;  some 
wore  moccasins,  a  rude  sandal  of  buckskin.  Some  of  the  women 
tattooed  their  skins  with  grotesque  figures.  They  adorned  the 
ear  with  pendants  of  copper,  or  a  small  living  snake,  yellow  or 
green,  or  a  dead  rat,  and  the  head  with  a  bird's  wing,  a  feather, 
the  rattle  of  a  rattlesnake,  or  the  hand  of  an  enemy.  They 
stained  the  head  and  shoulder  red  with  the  juice  of  the  puccoon. 
The  red  men  dwelt  for  the  most  part  on  the  banks  of  rivers. 
They  spent  the  time  in  fishing,  hunting,  war,  or  indolence,  de 
spising  domestic  labor,  and  assigning  it  to  the  women.  These 
made  mats,  baskets,  pottery,  hollowed  out  stone-mortars,  pounded 
the  corn  in  them,  made  bread,  cooked,  planted  corn,  gathered  it, 
carried  burdens,  etc.  Infants  were  inured  to  hardship  and  ex 
posure.  The  Indians  kindled  a  fire  quickly  "by  chafing  a  dry 
pointed  stick  in  a  hole  of  a  little  square  piece  of  wood,  which, 
taking  fire,  sets  fire  to  moss,  leaves,  or  any  such  dry  thing." 
They  subsisted  upon  fish,  game,  the  natural  fruits  of  the  earth, 
and  corn,  which  they  planted.  The  tuckahoe-root,  during  the 
summer,  was  an  important  article  of  diet  in  marshy  places. 
Their  cookery  was  not  less  rude  than  their  other  habits,  jet  pone 
and  hominy  have  been  borrowed  from  them,  as  also,  it  is  said, 
the  mode  of  barbecuing  meat.  Pone,  according  to  the  historian 
Bevcrley,  is  derived  "not  from  the  Latin  panis,  but  from  oppone," 
an  Indian  word;  according  to  Smith,  ponap  signifies  meal-dump 
lings.  The  natives  did  not  refuse  to  eat  grubs,  snakes,  and  the 
insect  locust.  Their  bread  was  sometimes  made  of  wild  oats,  or 
the  seed  of  the  sunflower,  but  mostly  of  corn.  Their  salt  was 
only  such  as  could  be  procured  from  ashes.  They  were  fond  of 


88  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

roasting  ears  of  corn,  and  they  welcomed  the  crop  with  the  festi 
val  of  the  green-corn  dance.  From  walnuts  and  hickory-nuts, 
pounded  in  a  mortar,  they  expressed  a  liquid  called  pawcohic- 
cora.  The  hickory-tree  is  indigenous  in  America.  Bcverley 
has  fallen  into  a  curious  mistake  in  saying  that  the  peach-tree  is 
a  native  of  this  country.  Indian-corn  and  tobacco,  although 
called  indigenous,  appear  to  have  grown  only  when  cultivated. 
They  are  never  found  of  wild  spontaneous  growth.  In  their 
journeys  the  Indians  were  in  the  habit  of  providing  themselves 
with  rockahominy,  or  corn  parched  and  reduced  to  a  powder. 

They  dwelt  in  towns,  the  cabins  being  constructed  of  saplings 
bent  over  at  the  top  and  tied  together,  and  thatched  with  reeds, 
or  covered  with  mats  or  bark,  the  smoke  escaping  through  an 
aperture  at  the  apex.  The  door,  if  any,  consisted  of  a  pendant 
mat.  They  sate  on  the  ground,  the  better  sort  on  matchcoats  or 
mats.  Their  fortifications  consisted  of  palisades  ten .  or  twelve 
feet  high,  sometimes  encompassing  an  entire  town,  sometimes  a 
part.  Within  these  enclosures  they  preserved,  with  pious  care, 
their  idols  and  relics,  and  the  remains  of  their  chiefs.  In  hunt 
ing  and  wTar  they  used  the  bow  and  arrow — the  bow  usually  of 
locust,  the  arrow  of  reed,  or  a  wand.  The  Indian  notched  his 
arrow  with  a  beaver's  tooth  set  in  a  stick,  which  he  used  in  the 
place  of  a  file.  The  arrow  was  winged  with  a  turkey-feather, 
fastened  with  a  sort  of  glue  extracted  from  the  velvet  horns  of 
the  deer.  The  arrow  was  headed  with  an  arrow-point  of  stone, 
often  made  of  white  quartz,  and  exquisitely  formed,  some  barbed, 
some  with  a  serrate  edge.  These  are  yet  to  be  found  in  every 
part  of  the  country.  For  knives  the  red  men  made  use  of  sharp 
ened  reeds,  or  shells,  or  stone;  and  for  hatchets,  tomahawks  of 
stone,  sharpened  at  one  end  or  both.  Those  sharpened  only  at 
one  end,  at  the  other  were  either  curved  to  a  tapering  point,  or 
epheroidally  rounded  off,  so  as  to  serve  the  purpose  of  a  hammer 
for  breaking  or  pounding.  In  the  middle  a  circular  indenture 
was  made,  to  secure  the  tomahawk  to  the  handle.  They  soon, 
however,  procured  iron  hatchets  from  the  English.  Trees  the 
Indians  felled  by  fire ;  canoes  were  made  by  dint  of  burning  and 
scraping  with  shells  and  tomahawks.  Some  of  their  canoes  were 
not  less  than  forty  or  fifty  feet  long.  Canoe  is  a  West  Indian 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  89 

word,  the  Powhatan  word  is  quintan,  or  aquintan.*  The  women 
manufactured  a  thread,  or  string  of  bark,  or  of  a  kind  of  grass 
called  pemminaw,  or  of  the  sinews  of  the  deer.  A  large  pipe, 
adorned  with  the  wings  of  a  bird,  or  with  beads,  was  the  symbol 
of  friendship,  called  the  pipe  of  peace.  A  war-chief  was  styled 
werowance,  and  a  war-council,  matchacomoco.  In  war,  like  all 
savages,  they  relied  mainly  on  surprise,  treachery,  and  ambus 
cade;  in  the  open  field  they  were  timid;  and  their  cruelty,  as 
usual,  was  proportionate  to  their  cowardice. 

The  Virginia  Indians  were  of  course  idolatrous,  and  their  chief 
idol,  called  Okee,  represented  the  spirit  of  evil,  to  appease  whom 
they  burnt  sacrifices.  They  were  greatly  under  the  influence  and 
control  of  their  priests  and  conjurors,  who  wore  a  grotesque  dress, 
performed  a  variety  of  divinations,  conjurations,  and  enchant 
ments,  called  powwowings,  after  the  manner  of  wizards,  and  by 
their  superior  cunning  and  shrewdness,  and  some  scanty  know 
ledge  of  medicine,  contrived  to  render  themselves  objects  of  vene 
ration,  and  to  live  upon  the  labor  of  others.  The  superstition  of 
the  savages  was  commensurate  with  their  ignorance.  Near  the 
falls  of  the  James  River,  about  a  mile  back  from  the  river,  there 
were  some  impressions  on  a  rock  like  the  footsteps  of  a  giant, 
being  about  five  feet  apart,  which  the  Indians  averred  Ho  be  the 
footprints  of  their  god.  They  submitted  with  Spartan  fortitude 
to  cruel  tortures  imposed  by  their  idolatry,  especially  in  the  mys 
terious  and  horrid  ordeal  of  huskanawing.  The  avowed  object  of 
this  ordeal  was  to  obliterate  forever  from  the  memory  of  the 
youths  subjected  to  it  all  recollection  of  their  previous  lives.  The 
house  in  which  they  kept  the  Okee  was  called  Quioccasan,  and  was 
surrounded  by  posts,  with  human  faces  rudely  carved  and  painted 
on  them.  Altars  on  which  sacrifices  were  offered,  were  held  in 
great  veneration. 

The  diseases  of  the  Indians  were  not  numerous ;  their  reme 
dies  few  and  simple,  their  physic  consisting  mainly  of  the  bark 
and  roots  of  trees.  Sweating  was  a  favorite  remedy,  and  every 
town  was  provided  with  a  sweat-house.  The  patient,  issuing  from 


*  Strachey's  Virginia  Britannica. 


90  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

the  heated  atmosphere,  plunged  himself  in  cold  water,  after  the 
manner  of  the  Russian  bath. 

The  Indians  celebrated  certain  festivals  by  pastimes,  games, 
and  songs.  The  year  they  divided  into  five  seasons,  "Cattapeak, 
the  budding  time  of  spring;  Messinough,  roasting  ear  time;  Co- 
hattayough,  summer ;  Taquitock,  the  fall  of  the  leaf;  and  Popanow, 
winter,  sometimes  called  Cohonk,  after  the  cry  of  the  migratory 
wild-geese.  Engaged  from  their  childhood  in  fishing  and  hunting, 
they  became  expert  and  familiar  with  the  haunts  of  game  and 
fish.  The  luggage  of  hunting  parties  was  carried  by  the  women. 
Deer  were  taken  by  surrounding  them,  and  kindling  fires  en 
closing  them  in  a  circle,  till  they  were  killed ;  sometimes  they 
were  driven  into  the  water,  and  there  captured.  The  Indian, 
hunting  alone,  would  stalk  behind  the  skin  of  a  deer.  Game 
being  abundant  in  the  mountain  country,  hunting  parties  repaired 
to  the  heads  of  the  rivers  at  the  proper  season,  and  this  probably 
engendered  the  continual  hostilities  that  existed  between  the  Pow- 
hatans  of  the  tide-water  region  and  the  Monacans,  on  the  upper 
waters  of  the  James,  and  the  Mannahoacks,  at  the  head  of  the 
Kappahannock.  The  savages  were  in  the  habit  of  exercising 
themselves  in  sham-fights.  Upon  the  first  discharge  of  arrows 
they  burst  forth  in  horrid  shrieks  and  the  war-whoop,  so  that  as 
many  infernal  hell-hounds  could  not  have  been  more  terrific. 
"All  their  actions,  cries,  and  gestures,  in  charging  and  retreat 
ing,"  says  Captain  Smith,  "were  so  strained  to  the  height  of  their 
quality  and  nature,  that  the  strangeness  thereof  made  it  seem  very 
delightful."  For  their  music  they  used  a  thick  cane,  on  which  they 
piped  as  on  a  recorder.  They  had  also  a  rude  sort  of  drum,  and 
rattles  of  gourds  or  pumpkins.  The  chastity  of  their  women  was 
not  held  in  much  value,  but  wives  were  careful  not  to  be  suspected 
without  the  consent  of  their  husbands. 

The  Indians  were  hospitable,  in  their  manners  exhibiting  that 
imperturbable  equanimity  and  uniform  self-possession  and  repose 
which  distinguish  the  refined  society  of  a  high  civilization.  Ex 
tremes  meet.  Yet  the  Indians  were  in  everything  wayward  and 
inconstant,  unless  where  restrained  by  fear;  cunning,  quick  of 
apprehension,  and  ingenious;  some  were  brave;  most  of  them 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  91 

timorous  and  cautious;  all  savage.  Not  ungrateful  for  benefits, 
they  seldom  forgave  an  injury.  They  rarely  stole  from  each 
other,  lest  their  conjurors  should  reveal  the  offence,  and  they 
should  be  punished.* 


*  Smith,  ii.  129, 137  ;  Beverley,  B.  iii. ;  Drake's  Book  of  the  Indians;  Thatcher's 
Lives  of  the  Indians  ;  Bancroft's  History  of  U.  S.,  vol.  iii.  cap.  xxii. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

1GO9-1614. 

Condition  of  the  Colony  at  the  time  of  Smith's  Departure — Assaults  of  Indians 
— "  The  Starving  Time  " — The  Sea- Venture — Situation  of  the  English  on  the 
Island  of  Bermuda — They  Embark  for  Virginia — Arrive  at  Jamestown — 
Jamestown  abandoned — Colonists  meet  Lord  Delaware's  Fleet — Return  to 
Jamestown — Delaware's  Discipline — The  Church  at  Jamestown — Sir  George 
Somers  —  Delaware  returns  to  England  —  Percy,  Governor' — New  Charter  — 
Sir  Thomas  Dale,  Governor — Martial  Laws — Henrico  Founded — Plantations 
and  Hundreds  settled — Argall  makes  Pocahontas  a  Prisoner — Dale's  expedition 
up  York  River — Rolfe  visits  Powhatan — Dale  returns  to  Jamestown — Rolfe 
marries  Pocahontas — The  Chickahominies  enter  into  Treaty  of  Peace — Com 
munity  of  Goods  abolished — Argall's  Expeditions  against  the  French  in  Aca- 
dia — Captures  Fort  at  New  Amsterdam. 

CAPTAIN  SMITH,  upon  embarking  for  England,  left  at  James 
town  three  ships,  seven  boats,  a  sufficient  stock  of  provision,  four 
hundred  and  ninety  odd  settlers,  twenty  pieces  of  cannon,  three 
hundred  muskets,  with  other  guns,  pikes,  swords,  and  ammuni 
tion,  and  one  hundred  soldiers  acquainted  with  the  Indian  lan 
guage,  and  the  nature  of  the  country.*  The  settlers  were,  for 
the  most  part,  poor  gentlemen,  serving-men,  libertines ;  and  with 
such  materials  the  wronder  is,  not  that  the  settlement  was  re 
tarded  by  many  disasters,  but  that  it  was  effected  at  all.  Lord 
Bacon  says:  "It  is  a  shameful  and  unblessed  thing  to  take  the 
scum  of  people,  wicked,  condemned  men,  with  whom  you  plant; 
and  not  only  so,  but  it  spoileth  the  plantation,  for  they  will  ever 
live  like  rogues,  and  not  fall  to  work,  but  be  lazy  and  do  mis 
chief;  spend  victuals  and  be  quickly  weary,  "f  Immediately  upon 

*  The  colony  was  provided  with  fishing -nets,  working  tools,  apparel,  six 
mares  and  a  horse,  five  or  six  hundred  swine,  with  some  goats  and  sheep. 
Jamestown  was  strongly  fortified  with  palisades,  and  contained  fifty  or  sixty 
houses.  There  were,  besides,  five  or  six  other  forts  and  plantations.  There  was 
only  one  carpenter  in  the  colony  ;  three  others  were  learning  that  trade.  There 
•were  two  blacksmiths  and  two  sailors. 

•j-  Bacon's  Essays,  123. 

(92) 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  93 

Smith's  departure  the  Indians  renewed  their  attacks.  Percy,  the 
Earl  of  Northumberland's  brother,  for  a  time  administered  the 
government ;  but  it  soon  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  seditious  male- 
contents.  Provisions  growing  scarce,  West  and  Ratcliffe  em 
barked  in  small  vessels  to  procure  corn.  Ratcliffe,  inveigled  by 
Powhatan,  was  slain  with  thirty  of  his  companions,  two  only 
escaping,  of  whom  one,  a  boy,  Henry  Spilman,  a  young  gentle 
man  well  descended,  was  rescued  by  Pocahontas,  and  he  after 
wards  lived  for  many  years  among  the  Patawomekes,  acquired 
their  language,  and  often  proved  serviceable  as  an  interpreter  for 
his  countrymen.  He  was  slain  by  the  savages,  on  the  banks  of 
the  Potomac,  in  1622.  The  loss  of  Captain  Smith  was  soon  felt 
by  the  colonists :  they  were  now  continually  exposed  to  the  arrow 
and  the  tomahawk ;  the  common  store  was  consumed  by  the  comr 
rnanders  and  the  savages ;  swords  and  guns  were  bartered  with  the 
Indians  for  food;  and  within  six  months  after  Smith's  departure 
the  number  of  English  in  Virginia  was  reduced  from  five  hundred 
to  sixty  men,  women,  and  children.  These  found  themselves  in 
a  starving  condition,  subsisting  on  roots,  herbs,  acorns,  walnuts, 
berries,  and  fish.  Starch  became  an  article  of  diet,  and  even 
dogs,  cats,  rats,  snakes,  toadstools,  and  the  skins  of  horses. 
The  body  of  an  Indian  was  disinterred  and  eaten;  nay,  at  last, 
the  colonists  preyed  on  the  dead  bodies  of  each  other.  It  was 
even  alleged  that  a  husband  murdered  his  wife  for  a  cannibal  re 
past;  upon  his  trial,  however,  it  appeared  that  the  cannibalism 
was  feigned,  to  palliate  the  murder.  He  was  put  to  death — 
being  burned  according  to  law.  This  was  long  afterwards  re 
membered  as  "the  starving  time."  Sir  Thomas  Smith,  treasurer 
of  the  Virginia  Company,  was  bitterly  denounced  by  the  suffer 
ers  for  neglecting  to  send  out  the  necessary  supplies.  The  hap 
piest  day  that  many  of  them  expected  ever  to  see,  was  when  the 
Indians  had  killed  a  mare,  the  people  wishing,  while  the  carcass 
was  boiling,  "that  Sir  Thomas  was  upon  her  back  in  the  kettle." 
It  seemed  to  them  as  if  the  Earl  of  Salisbury's  threat  of  aban 
doning  the  colony  to  its  fate,  was  now  to  be  actually  carried  into 
effect;  but  it  is  to  be  recollected  that  a  large  portion  of  ample 
supplies,  that  had  been  sent  out  from  England  for  the  colony,  had 
been  lost  by  storm  and  shipwreck. 


94  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLOXY   AXD 

It  has  before  been  mentioned,  that  toward  the  end  of  July, 
1609,  in  a  violent  tempest,  the  Sea-Venture,  with  Newport, 
Gates,  and  Somers,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  souls,  had  been 
separated  from  the  rest  of  the  fleet.  Hacked  by  the  fury  of  the 
sea,  she  sprang  a  leak,  and  the  water  soon  rose  in  her  hold  above 
two  tiers  of  hogsheads  that  stood  over  the  ballast,  and  the  crew 
had  to  stand  up  to  their  waists  in  the  water,  and  bail  out  with 
buckets,  baricos,  and  kettles.  They  continued  bailing  and  pump 
ing  for  three  days  and  nights  without  intermission ,  yet  the  water 
appeared  rather  to  gain  upon  them  than  decrease;  so  that  all 
hands,  being  at  length  utterly  exhausted,  came  to  the  desperate 
resolution  to  shut  down  the  hatches  and  resign  themselves  to 
their  fate;  and  some  having  "good  and  comfortable  waters 
fetched  them,  and  drank  to  one  another  as  taking  their  last  fare 
well."  During  all  this  time  the  aged  Sir  George  Somers,  sitting 
upon  the  quarter-deck,  scarce  taking  time  to  eat  or  sleep,  bearing 
the  helm  so  as  to  keep  the  ship  as  upright  as  possible,  but  for 
which  she  must  have  foundered, — at  last  descried  land.  At  this 
time  many  of  the  unhappy  crew  were  asleep,  and  when  the  voice 
of  Sir  George  was  heard  announcing  '"land,"  it  seemed  as  if  it 
was  a  voice  from  heaven,  and  they  hurried  up  above  the  hatches 
to  look  for  what  they  could  scarcely  credit.  On  finding  the  intel 
ligence  true,  and  that  they  were,  indeed,  in  sight  of  land, — 
although  it  was  a  coast  that  all  men  usually  tried  to  avoid, — yet 
they  now  spread  all  sail  to  reach  it.  Soon  the  ship  struck  upon 
a  rock,  till  a  surge  of  the  sea  dashed  her  off  from  thence,  and 
so  from  one  to  another  till,  at  length,  fortunately,  she  lodged 
(July  twenty-eighth)  upright  between  two  rocks,  as  if  she  was  laid 
up  in  a  natural  dry-dock.  Till  this,  at  every  lurch  they  had  ex 
pected  instant  death ;  but  now,  all  at  once,  the  storm  gave  place 
to  a  calm,  and  the  billows,  which  at  each  successive  dash  had 
threatened  destruction,  were  stilled;  and,  quickly  taking  to  their 
boats,  they  reached  the  shore,  distant  upwards  of  a  league,  with 
out  the  loss  of  a  single  man  out  of  upwards  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty.  Their  joy  at  an  escape  so  unexpected  and  almost  miracu 
lous,  arose  to  the  pitch  of  amazement.  Yet  their  escape  was  not 
more  wonderful  in  their  eyes  than  their  preservation  after  they 
had  landed  on  the  island;  for  the  Spaniards  had  always  looked 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  95 

upon  it  as  more  frightful  than  purgatory  itself;  and  all  seamen 
had  reckoned  it  no  better  than  an  enchanted  den  of  Furies  and 
devils — the  most  dangerous,  desolate,  and  forlorn  place  in  the 
whole  world;  instead  of  which  it  turned  out  to  be  healthful,  fer 
tile,  and  charming. 

The  Bermudas  are  a  cluster  of  islands  lying  in  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  at  the  distance  of  six  hundred  miles  from  the  American 
Continent,  extending,  in  crescent  form,  from  east  to  west;  in 
length,  twenty  miles ;  in  breadth,  two  and  a  half.  On  the  coast 
of  the  principal  of  these  islands,  Bermuda,  the  Sea-Venture  was 
wrecked;  and,  on  landing,  the  English  found,  instead  of  those 
gloomy  horrors  with  which  a  superstitious  fancy  had  invested  it, 
a  terrestrial  paradise  blessed  with  all  the  charms  of  exquisite 
scenery,  luxuriant  vegetation,  and  a  voluptuous  atmosphere,  which 
have  since  been  celebrated  in  the  verse  of  a  modern  poet.  Here 
they  remained  for  nearly  a  year.  Fish,  fowl,  turtle,  and  wild 
hogs  supplied  the  English  with  abundant  food ;  the  palmetto  leaf 
furnished  a  cover  for  their  cabins.  They  had  daily  morning  and 
evening  prayers,  and  on  Sunday  divine  service  was  performed 
and  two  sermons  preached  by  the  chaplain,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bucke. 
He  was  a  graduate  of  Oxford,  and  received  the  appointment  of 
chaplain  to  the  Virginia  expedition  upon  the  recommendation 
of  Dr.  Ravis,  Bishop  of  London.  Mr.  Bucke  was  the  second 
minister  sent  out  from  England  to  Virginia,  being  successor  to 
Rev.  Robert  Hunt.  The  company  of  the  Sea- Venture  were  sum 
moned  to  worship  by  the  sound  of  the  church-going  bell,  and 
the  roll  was  called,  and  absentees  were  duly  punished.  The 
clergyman  performed  the  ceremony  of  marriage  once  during  the 
sojourn  on  the  island,  the  parties  being  Sir  George  Somers'  cook 
and  a  maid-servant,  (of  one  Mrs.  Mary  Horton,)  named  Elizabeth 
Persons.  The  communion  was  once  celebrated.  The  infant  child 
of  one  John  Rolfe — a  daughter,  born  on  the  island — was  chris 
tened,  February  eleventh,  by  the  name  of  Bermuda,  Captain 
Newport,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bucke,  and  Mrs.  Horton  being  witnesses. 
It  would  seem  from  this,  that  John  Rolfe  was  a  widower  when  he 
afterwards  married  Pocahontas.  Another  infant,  born  on  the 
island,  a  boy,  was  christened  by  the  name  of  Bermudas.  Six  of 
the  company,  including  the  wife  of  Sir  Thomas  Gates,  died  there. 


96  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

Living  in  the  midst  of  peace  and  plenty  in  this  sequestered  and 
delightful  place  of  abode,  after  escaping  from  the  yawning  perils 
of  the  deep,  many  of  the  English  lost  all  desire  ever  to  leave  the 
island,  and  some  were  even  mutinously  determined  to  remain 
there.  Gates,  however,  having  decked  the  long-boat  of  the  Sea- 
Venture  with  the  hatches,  dispatched  the  mate,  Master  Raven, 
an  expert  mariner,  with  eight  men,  to  Virginia  for  succor;  but 
the  boat  was  never  more  heard  of.  Discord  and  insubordination 
found  a  place  among  the  exiles  of  the  Bermudas;  and  even  the 
leaders,  Gates  and  Somers,  lived  for  awhile  asunder.  At  length, 
while  Somers  wras  engaged  in  surveying  the  islands,  Gates  com 
pleted  a  vessel  of  about  eighty  tons,  constructed  somewhat  after 
the  manner  of  Robinson  Crusoe,  partly  from  the  timber  of  the 
Sea-Venture,  and  the  rest  of  cedar.  A  small  bark  was  also  built 
under  the  direction  of  Sir  George  Somers,  of  cedar,  without  the 
use  of  any  iron,  save  a  bolt  in  her  keel.  These  two  vessels  were 
named,  the  one  the  " Patience,"  the  other  the  "Deliverance." 
Finally,  on  the  10th  day  of  May,  1610,  after  the  lapse  of  nine 
months  spent  on  the  island,  and  nearly  a  year  since  their  de 
parture  from  England,  harmony  being  restored,  and  the  leaders 
reconciled,  they  embarked  in  these  cedar  vessels  for  Virginia. 

The  name  of  Sir  Thomas  West,  afterwards  Lord  la  Ware,  or 
De  la  War,  or  Delaware,  appears  in  the  commission  appointed  in 
the  year  of  James  the  First,  for  inquiring  into  the  case  of  all  such 
persons  as  should  be  found  openly  opposing  the  doctrines  of  the 
Church  of  England.  Such  was  the  spirit  of  that  age,  by  which 
standard  the  men  of  that  age  ought  to  be  judged.  Lord  Dela 
ware  was,  nevertheless,  distinguished  for  his  virtues  and  his  gene 
rous  devotion  to  the  welfare  of  the  infant  colony  of  Virginia — a 
man  of  approved  courage,  temper,  and  experience.  The  Rev. 
William  Crashaw,  father  of  the  poet  of  that  name,  at  the  period 
of  Lord  Delaware's  appointment  to  the  place  of  Governor  of  Vir 
ginia,  wras  preacher  at  the  Temple;  and  he  delivered  a  sermon 
before  his  lordship,  and  others  of  his  majesty's  council  for  the 
Colony  of  Virginia,  and  the  rest  of  the  adventurers  or  stock 
holders  in  that  plantation,  upon  occasion  of  his  lordship's  embark 
ation  for  Virginia,  on  the  21st  day  of  February,  1609-10.  The 
text  was  from  Daniel,  xii.  3 :  "  They  that  turn  many  to  righteous- 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF    VIRGINIA.  97 

ness  shall  shine  as  the  stars  forever  and  ever."  This  sermon  was 
printed  by  William  Welby,  and  sold  in  Paul's  Churchyard,  at 
the  sign  of  the  Swan,  1610,  and  is  the  first  missionary  sermon 
preached  in  England  to  any  of  her  sons  embarking  for  Virginia. 
Crashaw,  in  this  discourse,  urges  it  warmly  upon  his  countrymen 
to  aid  the  enterprise  of  planting  the  colony;  rejects,  with  indig 
nant  scorn,  the  more  sordid  motives  of  mere  lucre,  and  appeals 
to  loftier  principles,  and  the  more  elevated  motives  of  Christian 
beneficence.  But  although  he  rejects  motives  of  mere  profit,  he 
tells  his  auditors  that  if  they  will  pursue  their  object,  animated 
by  these  enlarged  views,  they  will  probably  find  the  plantation 
eventually  a  source  of  pecuniary  profit,  the  soil  being  good,  the 
commodities  numerous  and  necessary  for  England,  the  distance 
not  great,  and  the  voyage  easy,  so  that  God's  blessing  was  alone 
wanting  to  make  it  gainful.  In  his  peroration,  the  preacher, 
apostrophizing  Lord  Delaware,  excites  his  generous  emulation 
by  a  personal  appeal,  reminding  him  of  the  gallant  exploit  of 
his  ancestor,  Sir  Roger  la  "\Yarr,  who,  assisted  by  John  de  Pelham, 
captured  the  King  of  France  at  the  battle  of  Poictiers.  In  me 
mory  of  which  exploit,  Sir  Roger  la  Warr — Lord  la  Warr  accord 
ing  to  Froissart — had  the  crampet  or  chape  of  his  sword  for  a 
badge  of  that  honor.  Crashaw  bitterly  denounces  the  Papists, 
and  the  Brownists,  and  factious  separatists,  and  exhorts  the  Vir 
ginia  Company  not  to  suffer  such  to  have  any  place  in  the  new 
colony.  Rome  and  Geneva  were  the  Scylla  and  Charybdis  of  the 
Church  of  England.*  Lord  Delaware  sailed  in  February  for 
Virginia. 

Gates  and  Somers,  after  leaving  the  Bermudas  in  May,  in 
fourteen  days  reached  Jamestown,  where  they  found  only  sixty 
miserable  colonists  surviving.  Sir  Thomas  Gates,  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  landing  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  May,  caused  the 
church-bell  to  be  rung;  and  such  as  were  able  repaired  thither, 
and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bucke  delivered  an  earnest  and  sorrowful  prayer 
upon  their  finding  so  unexpectedly  all  things  so  full  of  misery  and 
misgovernment.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  religious  service  the 
new  commission  of  Gates  was  read;  Percy,  the  acting  president, 

*  Anderson's  Hist,  of  Col.  Church,  i.  232. 

7 


98  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

scarcely  able  to  stand,  surrendered  up  the  former  charter  and  his 
commission.  The  palisades  of  the  fort  were  found  torn  down; 
the  ports  open ;  the  gates  distorted  from  the  hinges ;  the  houses 
of  those  who  had  died,  broken  up  and  burned  for  firewood,  and 
their  store  of  provision  exhausted.  Gates  reluctantly  resolved  to 
abandon  the  plantation,  and  to  return  to  England  by  way  of 
Newfoundland,  where  he  expected  to  receive  succor  from  English 
fishing  vessels.  June  seventh,  they  buried  their  ordnance  and 
armor  at  the  gate  of  the  fort,  and,  at  the  beat  of  drum,  embarked 
in  four  pinnaces.  Some  of  the  people  were,  with  difficulty,  re 
strained  from  setting  fire  to  the  town;  but  Sir  Thomas  Gates, 
with  a  select  party,  remained  on  shore  until  the  others  had  em 
barked,  and  he  was  the  last  man  that  stepped  into  the  boat. 
They  fired  a  farewell  volley ;  but  not  a  tear  was  shed  at  their  de 
parture  from  a  spot  associated  with  so  much  misery.  How  often 
is  the  hour  of  despair  but  the  deeper  darkness  that  immediately 
precedes  the  dawn !  At  noon  they  reached  Hog  Island,  and  on 
the  next  morning,  while  anchored  off  Mulberry  Island,  they  were 
met  by  a  long-boat  with  dispatches  from  Lord  Delaware,  who  had 
arrived  with  three  vessels,  after  a  voyage  of  three  months  and  a 
half  from  England.*  Upon  this  intelligence  Gates,  with  his 
company,  returned  up  the  river  to,  Jamestown  on  the  same  day. 
Lord  Delaware  arrived  there  with  his  three  vessels  on  the  ninth, 
and  on  the  morning  of  the  following  day  (Sunday)  he  landed  at  the 
south  gate  of  the  fort,  and  although  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  Sir 
Thomas  Gates,  with  his  company,  were  drawn  up  to  meet  him,  he 
fell  on  his  knees,  and  remained  for  some  time  in  silent  prayer. 
After  this  he  repaired  to  the  church,  and  heard  a  sermon  de 
livered  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bucke.  A  council  was  then  called,  and 
the  governor  delivered  an  address  to  the  colonists.  The  hand  of 
a  superintending  and  benignant  Providence  was  plainly  manifested 
in  all  these  circumstances.  The  arrival  of  Sir  Thomas  Gates 
rescued  the  colony  from  the  jaws  of  famine;  his  prudence  pre 
served  the  fort  at  Jamestown,  which  the  unhappy  colonists,  upon 
abandoning  the  place,  wished  to  destroy,  so  as  to  cut  off  all  pos 
sibility  of  a  return;  had  their  return  been  longer  delayed,  the 

*  Anderson's  Hist,  of  Col.  Church,  i.  263. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  99 

savages  might  have  destroyed  the  fort;  had  they  set  sail  sooner, 
they  would  probably  have  missed  Lord  Delaware's  fleet,  as  they 
had  intended  to  sail  by  way  of  Newfoundland,  in  a  direction 
contrary  to  that  by  which  Lord  Delaware  approached.* 

*  The  wreck  of  the  Sea-Venture  appears  to  have  suggested  to  Shakespeare  the 
groundwork  for  the  plot  of  "  The  Tempest,"  several  incidents  and  passages  being 
evidently  taken  from  the  contemporary  accounts  of  that  disaster,  as  narrated  by 
Jordan  and  the  Council  of  the  Virginia  Company. 

"Boatswain,  down  with  the  top-mast,  yare 
Lower,  lower;  bring  her  to  try  with  the  main  course." 

Captain  Smith,  in  his  Sea-Grammar,  published  1627,  under  the  article  how  to 
handle  a  ship  in  a  storm,  says:  "Let  us  lie  as  try  with  our  main  course — that  is, 
to  haul  the  tack  aboard,  the  sheet  close  aft,  the  boling  set  up,  and  the  helm  tied 
close  aboard."  Again,  the  boatswain  says:  "Lay  her  a-hold,  a-hold;  set  her 
two  courses."  The  two  courses  are  the  mainsail  and  the  foresail;  and  to  lay  a 
ship  a-hold  is  to  bring  her  to  lie  as  near  the  wind  as  she  can.  These,  and  other 
nautical  orders,  are  such  as  the  brave  old  Somers  probably  gave  when  trying  to 
keep  the  ship  as  upright  as  possible. 

"We  are  merely  cheated  of  our  lives  by  drunkards." 

This  was  suggested  to  the  poet  by  the  recorded  incident  of  part  of  the  crew 
of  the  Sea-Venture  having  undertaken  to  drown  their  despair  in  drunkenness. 

"  Farewell,  my  wife  and  children  ! 

Farewell,  brother ! 
Ant.  Let's  all  sink  with  the  king. 
Seb.  Let's  take  leave  of  him." 

These  answer  to  the  leave-taking  of  the  Sea-Venture's  crew.  Jordan,  in  his 
narrative,  says:  "It  is  reported  that  this  land  of  Bermudas,  with  the  islands 
about  it,  are  enchanted  and  kept  by  evil  and  wicked  spirits,"  etc.  Shakespeare 
accordingly  employs  Prospero,  Ariel,  and  Caliban  to  personate  this  fabled  en 
chantment  of  the  island.  Ariel's  task  is,  at  Prospero's  bidding — 

"To  fly, 

To  swim,  to  dive  into  the  fire,  to  ride 
On  the  curled  clouds." 

The  tempest,  in  which  the  ship  was  wrecked,  is  thus  described  by  Ariel: — 

"  I  boarded  the  king's  ship  ;  now  on  the  beak, 
Now  in  the  waist,  the  deck,  in  every  cabin, 
I  flamed  amazement :  sometimes  I'd  divide, 
And  burn  in  many  places ;  on  the  top-mast, 
The  yards,  and  bowsprit,  would  I  flame  distinctly, 
Then  meet  and  join;  Jove's  lightnings,  the  precursors 


100  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLONY  AND 

Lord  Delaware,  Governor  and  Captain-General,  was  accompa 
nied  by  Sir  Ferdinand  Waynman,  Master  of  the  Horse,  who  died 
shortly  afterwards;  Captain  Holcroft;  Captain  Lawson;  and 

O'the  dreadful  thunder-claps,  more  momentary 
And  sight-outrunning  were  not;  the  fire,  and  cracks 
Of  sulphurous  roaring,  the  most  mighty  Neptune 
Seemed  to  besiege,  and  make  his  bold  waves  tremble." 

Again  :— 

"Not  a  soul 

But  felt  a  fever  of  the  mad  and  played 
Some  tricks  of  desperation." 

The  almost  miraculous  escape  of  all  from  the  very  jaws  of  impending  death, 
is  thus  alluded  to  by  Ariel  in  her  report  to  Prospero : — 

"  Not  a  hair  perished  ; 

On  their  sustaining  garments  not  a  blemish, 
But  fresher  than  before :  and  as  thou  bad'st  me, 
In  troops  I  have  dispersed  them  'bout  the  isle." 

The  particular  circumstances  of  the  wreck  are  given  quite  exactly  in  the  fami 
liar  verses: — 

"  Safely  in  harbor 

Is  the  king's  ship;  in  the  deep  nook,  where  once 
Thou  call'st  me  up  at  midnight  to  fetch  dew 
From  the  still-vexed  Bermoothes,  there  she's  hid." 

Bermoothes,  the  Spanish  pronunciation  of  Bermudas,  or  Bermudez,  the  original 
name  of  the  island,  taken,  as  is  said,  from  that  of  a  Spanish  captain  wrecked 
there.  Another  real  incident  is  referred  to  in  the  following  verses,  the  time  only 
being  transposed: — 

"  The  mariners  all  under  hatches  stowed; 
Whom,  with  a  charm  joined  to  their  suffered  labor, 
I  have  left  asleep." 

The  return  of  the  other  seven  vessels  of  the  fleet  is  described  with  a  change, 
however,  of  the  sea  in  which  they  sailed,  and  in  their  place  of  destination: — 

"  And  for  the  rest  of  the  fleet, 
Which  I  dispersed,  they  all  have  met  again; 
And  are  upon  the  Mediterranean  flote, 
Bound  sadly  home  for  Naples ; 
Supposing  that  they  saw  the  king's  ship  wrecked 
And  his  great  person  perish." 

For  nearly  a  year  after  the  Sea- Venture's  separation  from  the  fleet,  it  was  be 
lieved,  in  Virginia  and  in  England,  that  she  and  her  company  were  lost.  Smith 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  101 

other  gentlemen.  Lord  Delaware  was  the  first  executive  officer 
of  Virginia  with  the  title  of  Governor;  and  the  titles  of  Go 
vernor  and  Captain-General  were  ever  after  given  to  the  colo 
nial  chief  magistrates  of  Virginia.  Under  Lord  Delaware's  dis 
creet  and  energetic  management,  discipline  and  industry  were 
speedily  restored,  the  hours  of  labor  being  set  from  six  o'clock  in 
the  morning  to  ten,  and  from  two  to  four  in  the  afternoon.  The 
store  of  provisions  that  he  had  brought  over  with  him  was  suffi 
cient  to  supply  four  hundred  men  for  twelve  months.  He  gave 
orders  for  repairing  the  church.  Its  length  was  sixty  feet,  and 
its  breadth  twenty-four,  and  it  was  to  have  a  chancel  of  cedar 
and  a  communion-table  of  black-walnut,  and  the  pews  of  cedar, 
with  handsome  wide  windows,  to  shut  and  open  according  to  the 
weather,  made  of  the  same  wood ;  as  also  a  pulpit  with  a  font 
hewed  out  hollow  like  a  canoe,  with  two  bells  at  the  west  end. 
The  building  was  so  constructed  as  to  be  very  light  within ;  and 
the  Lord  Governor  and  Captain-General  caused  it  to  be  kept 
passing  sweet,  and  trimmed  up  with  divers  flowers.  There  was 
also  a  sexton  belonging  to  it.  Every  Sunday  there  were  two 
sermons  delivered,  and  every  Thursday  one — there  being  two 
preachers  who  took  their  weekly  turns.  In  the  morning  of  every 
day,  at  the  ringing  of  the  bell  at  ten  o'clock,  the  people  attended 
prayers ;  and  also  again  at  four  in  the  afternoon,  before  supper. 


and  Pocahontas  may  have  suggested  some  materials  for  the  characters  of  Ferdi 
nand  and  Miranda. 

Shakespeare,  after  abandoning  the  stage,  in  1607  or  1608,  about  the  time  of 
the  first  landing  at  Jamestown,  remained  in  London  for  some  four  or  five  years. 
Smith,  and  the  early  colonists  of  Virginia,  had  many  of  them  probably  wit 
nessed  the  theatrical  performances  at  the  Globe  or  Black  Fryars  ;  Beggars'  Bush, 
now  Jordan's  Point,  an  early  plantation  on  the  James  River,  derived  its  name 
from  a  comedy  of  Fletcher's.  Shakespeare  was,  no  doubt,  quite  familiar  with  the 
more  remarkable  incidents  of  the  first  settlement  of  the  colony:  the  early  voy 
ages  ;  the  first  discovery  ;  the  landing ;  Smith's  rencontres  with  the  Indians  ;  his 
rescue  by  Pocahontas  ;  the  starving  time,  etc.  Smith,  indeed,  as  has  been  be 
fore  mentioned,  complained  of  his  exploits  and  adventures  having  been  misre 
presented  on  the  stage,  in  London.  That  Shakespeare  makes  few  or  no  allusions 
to  these  incidents,  is  because  they  occurred  after  nearly  all  his  plays  had  been 
composed.  "  The  Tempest,"  however,  was  written  several  years  after  the  land 
ing  at  Jamestown,  being  one  of  his  latest  productions— a  creation  of  his  maturest 
intellect. 


102  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

On  Sunday,  when  the  Governor  went  to  church,  he  was  accompa 
nied  by  the  councillors,  officers,  and  all  the  gentlemen,  with  a 
guard  of  halberdiers  in  his  lordship's  livery,  handsome  red 
cloaks,  to  the  number  of  fifty  on  each  side,  and  behind  him.  In 
the  church  his  lordship  had  his  seat  in  the  choir,  in  a  green  velvet 
chair,  with  a  cloth,  and  also  a  velvet  cushion  laid  on  the  table 
before  him  on  which  he  knelt.  The  council  and  officers  sate  on 
each  side  of  him,  and  when  he  returned  to  his  house  he  was 
escorted  back  in  the  same  manner.  The  newly  appointed  council 
consisted  of  Sir  Thomas  Gates,  whose  title  was  changed  from  that 
of  Lieutenant-Governor  to  that  of  Lieutenant-General ;  Sir 
George  Somers,  Admiral ;  Captain  George  Percy ;  Sir  Ferdi- 
nando  Wayman,  Master  of  the  Ordnance ;  Captain  Newport, 
Vice-Admiral;  and  Mr.  Strachey,  Secretary  and  Recorder. 
Strachey,  who  appears  to  have  been  a  scholar,  published  an  inte 
resting  account  of  the  colony  at  this  period.  Some  of  the  houses 
at  Jamestown  were  covered  with  boards  ;  some  with  Indian  mats. 
They  were  comfortable,  and  securely  protected  from  the  savages 
by  the  forts.  Lord  Delaware  was  a  generous  friend  of  the  colony ; 
but  it  was  as  yet  quite  too  poor  and  too  much  in  its  infancy  to 
maintain  the  state  suitable  to  him  and  his  splendid  retinue.  The 
fashions  of  a  court  were  preposterous  in  a  wilderness.  On  the 
ninth  of  June,  Sir  George  Somers  was  dispatched,  in  compliance 
with  his  own  suggestion,  in  his  cedar  vessel  to  the  Bermudas, 
accompanied  by  Argall  in  another  vessel,  to  procure  further  sup 
plies  for  the  colony.  Captain  Argall,  in  consequence  of  adverse 
winds  and  heavy  fogs,  returned  to  Jamestown.  Sir  George 
Somers,  after  much  difficulty,  reached  his  destination,  where  he 
shortly  after  died,  at  a  spot  on  which  the  town  of  St.  George 
commemorates  his  name.  The  islands  themselves  received  the 
designation  of  his  surname,  and  were  afterwards  called  the  Sum 
mer  Islands.  It  is  said  that  the  Bermudas  were  at  first  named  in 
England  " Virginiola,"  but  shortly  after  the  "Summer  Islands," 
partly  in  allusion  to  their  temperature,  and  partly  in  honor  of  Sir 
George.*  It  was  remarked  of  him  that  he  was  "  a  lamb  upon 
land ;  a  lion  at  sea."  As  his  life  had  been  divided  between  the 


*  Court  and  Times  of  James  the  First,  160. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  103 

Old  World  and  the  New,  so  after  his  death  his  remains  were  buried, 
part  at  Bermuda,  part  at  Whitchurch,  Dorsetshire,  in  England. 

Lord  Delaware  dispatched  Captain  Argall  to  the  Potomac  for 
corn,  which  he  succeeded  in  procuring  by  the  aid  of  the  youthful 
prisoner,  Henry  Spilman.  His  lordship  erected  two  forts,  called 
Henry  and  Charles,  after  the  king's  sons.  These  forts  were  built 
on  a  level  tract  bordering  Southampton  River,  and  it  was  intended 
that  settlers  arriving  from  England  should  first  land  there,  to 
refresh  themselves  after  the  confinement  of  the  voyage.  Sir 
Thomas  Gates,  who  had  before  sent  his  daughters  back  to  En£- 

O  O 

land,  now  returned  there  himself,  in  order  to  render  to  the  council 
an  account  of  all  that  had  happened.  Captain  Percy  was  dis 
patched  with  a  party  to  chastise  the  Paspaheghs,  for  some  depre 
dations;  they  fled  before  the  English,  who  burnt  their  cabins, 
captured  their  queen  and  her  children,  and  shortly  after  bar 
barously  slew  them.  Lord  Delaware,  visiting  the  falls  with  a 
party  of  soldiers,  was  attacked  by  the  Indians,  who  killed  some 
of  his  men. 

His  lordship  having  suffered  much  sickness,  and  finding  himself 
in  a  state  of  extreme  debility,  embarked,*  in  company  of  Dr. 
Bohim  and  Captain  Argall,  and  about  fifty  others,  for  the  Island 
of  Mevis,  in  the  West  Indies.  Contrary  winds  drove  them  to  the 
north,  and  having  put  in  at  the  mouth  of  a  large  river,  then  called 
Chickohocki,  it  hence  derived  its  name  of  the  Delaware. 

Lord  Delaware  upon  leaving  the  colony,  committed  the  charge 
of  it  to  Captain  George  Percy,  an  honorable  and  resolute  gentle 
man,  but  in  infirm  health,  and  deficient  in  energy.  The  number 
of  colonists  was  at  this  period  about  two  hundred;  the  stock  of 
provisions  sufficient  for  ten  months,  and  the  Indians  peaceable 
and  friendly.  Before  Lord  Delaware  reached  England,  the  Vir 
ginia  Council,  discouraged  by  so  many  disasters  and  disappoint 
ments,  were  at  a  loss  to  decide  whether  they  should  use  any 
further  efforts  to  sustain  the  ill-fated  colony,  or  should  abandon 
the  enterprise,  and  recall  the  settlers  from  Virginia.  But  Sir 
Thomas  Gates  made  so  strenuous  an  appeal  in  favor  of  sustaining 
the  plantation,  that  Sir  Thomas  Dale  was  dispatched  with  three 

*  March  28th,  1611. 


104  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLONY  AND 

vessels,  cattle,  hogs,  and  other  supplies.  The  title  given  to  Dale 
was  that  of  High  Marshal  of  Virginia,  indicative  of  the  martial 
authority  with  which  he  was  invested.  He  was  a  military  man, 
and  had  served  in  the  Low  Countries,  and  he  brought  over  with 
him  an  extraordinary  code  of  "laws  divine,  moral,  and  martial," 
compiled  by  William  Strachey,  secretary  of  the  colony,  for  Sir 
Thomas  Smith,  from  the  military  laws  observed  during  the  wars 
in  the  Low  Countries.  This  code  was  sent  over  by  Sir  Thomas 
Smith,  treasurer  or  governor  of  the  Virginia  Company,  without 
the  company's  sanction,  as  it  has  been  alleged;  but  since  the  com 
pany  in  no  way  interposed  its  authority  in  contravention  to  the 
new  code,  their  sanction  of  it  may  be  presumed.  Several  of  these 
laws  were  barbarous,  inhuman,  written  in  blood. 

Arriving  in  Virginia  in  the  month  of  May,  1611,  Dale  touched 
at  Kiquotan,  and  set  all  hands  there  to  planting  corn.  Reaching 
Jamestown  on  the  tenth  of  May,  he  found  the  settlers  busily  en 
gaged  in  their  usual  occupation,  playing  at  bowls  in  the  streets. 
He  set  them  to  work  felling  trees,  repairing  houses,  and  providing 
materials  for  enclosing  the  new  town,  which  he  proposed  to  build. 
To  find  a  site  for  it  he  surveyed  the  Nanseniond  River  and  the 
James  as  far  as  the  falls,  and  finally  pitched  upon  a  high  ground, 
with  steep  banks,  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  near  Arrohat- 
tock,  and  about  twelve  miles  below  the  falls  of  the  river.  The 
site  was  on  a  peninsula,  known  as  Farrar's  Island,  in  Varina 
Neck.  Sir  Thomas  was  prevented  for  a  time  from  founding  the 
new  town  by  the  disturbances  that  prevailed  in  the  colony,  and 
to  restore  order  he  enforced  martial  law  with  rigor.  Eight  of  the 
colonists  appear  to  have  been  convicted  of  treasonable  plots  and 
conspiracies,  and  executed  by  cruel  and  unusual  modes,  before 
midsummer.  Among  these  was  Jeffrey  Abbot,  who  had  served 
long  in  the  army  in  Ireland  and  in  the  Netherlands ;  had  been  a 
sergeant  of  Captain  John  Smith's  company  in  Virginia,  who  avers 
that  he  never  knew  there  a  better  soldier  or  more  loyal  friend  of 
the  colony.  It  must  be  acknowledged  that  rigorous  measures 
were  necessary,  and  it  was  fortunate  for  the  colony  that  the  cruel 
and  despotic  code  of  laws,  to  which  it  was  now  subjected,  was  ad 
ministered  by  so  discreet  and  upright  a  governor  as  Dale. 

Early  in  August,  1611,  Sir   Thomas  Gates,  commissioned   to 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  105 

take  charge  of  the  government  of  the  colony,  came  over  with  six 
vessels,  three  hundred  men,  and  abundant  supplies.  He  was  ac 
companied  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Glover,  an  approved  preacher  in  Bed 
ford  and  Huntingdonshire,  a  graduate  of  Cambridge,  in  easy 
circumstances,  and  somewhat  advanced  in  years.  Arriving  at 
Jamestown  early  in  August,  during  the  sickly  season,  he  soon 
after  died. 

Dale,  relieved  from  the  cares  of  the  chief  post,  cheerfully  occu 
pied  a  subordinate  position,  and  now  turned  his  attention  to  the 
establishment  of  new  settlements  on  the  banks  of  the  James,  at 
some  distance  above  Jamestown.  Furnished  by  Gates  with  three 
hundred  and  fifty  men,  he  sailed  up  the  river  early  in  September, 
and  on  the  spot  selected  before,  he  founded  the  town  of  Henrico, 
so  called  in  honor  of  the  heir-apparent,  Prince  Henry,  eldest  son 
of  James  the  First.  The  peninsula  on  which  it  was  built  is 
formed  by  a  remarkable  bend,  styled  the  "Dutch  Gap,"  where 
the  river,  after  sweeping  a  circuit  of  seven  miles,  returns  within 
one  hundred  and  twenty  yards  from  the  point  of  departure.  The 
site  commands  an  extensive  and  picturesque  view  of  the  winding 
river,  which  in  this  part  of  it  is  called  the  "  Corkscrew."  The 
fertile  tract  of  land  there  produced  tobacco  nearly  resembling  the 
Spanish  Varinas,  and  hence  received  the  appellation  of  Varina, 
the  name  of  a  well-known  plantation.  This  was  afterwards  the 
residence  of  the  Rev.  William  Stith,  the  best  of  our  early  his 
torians,  who  dates  the  preface  of  his  History  of  Virginia  there, 
in  1746. 

The  peninsula,  surrounded  on  three  sides  by  the  river,  was  im 
paled  across  the  isthmus  from  water  to  water.  There  were  three 
streets  of  well-framed  houses,  a  handsome  church  of  wood  com 
pleted,  and  the  foundation  laid  of  a  better  one  to  be  built  of  brick, 
besides  store-houses,  watch-houses,  etc.  Upon  the  river  edge 
there  were  five  houses,  in  which  lived  "the  honester  sort  of  people," 
as  farmers  in  England,  and  they  kept  continual  watch  for  the 
town's  security.  About  two  miles  back  from  the  town  was  a 
second  palisade,  near  two  miles  in  length,  from  river  to  river, 
guarded  by  several  commanders,  with  a  good  quantity  of  corn- 
ground  impaled,  and  sufficiently  secured. 

The  breastwork  thrown  up  by  Sir  Thomas  Dale  is  still  to  be 


106  HISTORY   OF    THE   COLONY  AND 

traced,  and  vestiges  of  the  town  are  indicated  by  scattered  bricks, 
showing  the  positions  of  the  houses.*  Burkf  and  KeithJ  have 
fallen  into  singular  mistakes  as  to  the  situation  of  this  town. 

On  the  south  side  of  the  river  a  plantation  was  established, 
called  Hope  in  Faith  and  Coxendale,  with  forts,  named,  re 
spectively,  Charity,  Elizabeth,  Patience,  and  Mount  Malady,  and 
a  guest-house  for  sick  people,  on  the  spot  where  afterwards,  in 
Stith's  time,  Jefferson's  church  stood.  On  the  same  side  of  the 
river  the  Rev.  Alexander  Whitaker,  sometimes  styled  the 
"  Apostle  of  Virginia,"  established  his  parsonage,  a  well-framed 
house  and  one  hundred  acres  of  land,  called  Rock  Hall.§ 

The  work  of  William  Strachey,  already  referred  to,  entitled 
"The  History  of  Travel  into  Virginia  Britannia,"  etc.,  appears 
to  have  been  written  before  1616,  and  two  manuscripts  of  it  exist, 
one  in  the  British  Museum,  the  other  in  the  Ashinolean  manu 
scripts  at  Oxford.  1 1 

Sir  Thomas  Dale,  when  he  came  over  to  Virginia,  was  accom 
panied  by  Rev.  Alexander  Whitaker,  the  son  of  Dr.  William 
Whitaker,  Master  of  St.  John's  College,  Cambridge,  and  also 
Regius  Professor  of  Divinity  there.  The  doctor  distinguished 
himself  by  his  controversial  writings  against  the  Church  of  Rome, 
and  took  a  leading  part  in  framing  and  maintaining  the  Lambeth 
Articles,  which  were  Calvinistic,  and  had  they  been  established, 
might  have  gone  far  toward  healing  the  divisions  between  the 
Church  of  England  and  the  Presbyterians.  Rev.  Alexander 

*  Va.  Hist.  Reg.,  i.  161.         f  Hist,  of  Va.,  i.  166.         J  Hist,  of  Va.,  124. 

I  Stith,  124;  Keith,  124;  Beverley,  i.  25;  South.  Lit.  Messr.  for  June,  1845  ; 
Hawks'  Narrative,  29. 

||  It  has  been  of  late  years  printed  for  the  first  time  by  the  Hakluyt  Society 
in  England.  The  work  is  illustrated  by  etchings,  comprising  fac-similes  of  sig 
natures,  Captain  Smith's  map,  and  several  engravings  from  De  Bry.  It  contains 
also  a  copious  glossary  of  Indian  words.  The  first  book  comprises  the  geography 
of  the  country,  with  a  full  and  admirable  account  of  the  manners  and  customs 
of  Powhatan  and  his  people.  It  is  an  important  authority,  but  as  it  was  printed 
only  for  the  use  of  the  members  of  the  Hakluyt  Society,  it  is  but  little  known  in 
this  country.  The  second  book  treats  of  Columbus,  Vespucius,  Cabot,  Raleigh, 
and  Drake,  with  notices  of  the  early  efforts  to  colonize  Northern  Virginia,  or 
New  England.  The  period  to  which  Strachey's  History  of  Virginia  relates  in 
cludes  1610,  1611,  and  1612.  The  same  author  published  a  map  of  Virginia  at 
Oxford,  in  1612.  Mr.  Peter  Force  has  a  MS.  copy  of  it. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  107 

Whitaker,  when  he  reached  Virginia,  had  been  a  graduate  of  Cam 
bridge  some  five  or  six  years,  and  had  been  seated  in  the  North 
of  England,  where  he  was  held  in  great  esteem.  He  had  pro 
perty  of  his  own  and  excellent  prospects  of  promotion ;  but,  ani 
mated  by  a  missionary  spirit,  he  came  over  to  Virginia.  The 
voyage  is  described  as  speedy  and  safe,  "being  scarce  eight  weeks 
long." 

The  Appomattox  Indians  having  committed  some  depredations, 
Sir  Thomas  Dale,  about  Christmas,  1611,  captured  their  town, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Appomattox  River  where  it  empties  into 
the  James.  The  town  was  five  miles  distant  from  Henrico.  Sir 
Thomas,  pleased  with  the  situation,  established  a  plantation  there, 
and  called  it  Bermudas,  the  third  town  erected  in  Virginia,  now 
known  as  Bermuda  Hundred,  the  port  of  Richmond  for  ships  of 
heavy  burden.  lie  laid  out  several  plantations  there,  the  Upper 
and  Lower  Rochdale,  West  Shirley,  and  Digges'  Hundred.  In 
conformity  with  the  code  of  martial  law  each  hundred  was  sub 
jected  to  the  control  of  a  captain.  The  Nether  Hundred  was  en 
closed  with  a  palisade  two  miles  long,  running  from  river  to  river, 
and  here,  within  a  half  mile  of  each  other,  were  many  neat  houses 
already  built.  Rochdale,  or  Rock's  Dale,  enclosed  by  a  palisade 
four  miles  in  length,  was  dotted  with  houses  along  the  enclosure; 
here  the  hogs  and  cattle  enjoyed  a  range  of  twenty  miles  to  graze 
in  securely.  About  fifty  miles  below  these  settlements  stood 
Jamestown,  on  a  fertile  peninsula,  with  two  rows  of  framed  houses, 
some  of  them  with  two  stores  and  a  garret,  and  three  large  store 
houses.  The  town  was  well  enclosed,  and  it  and  the  neighboring 
region  were  well  peopled.  Forty  miles  below  Jamestown,  at 
Kiquotan,  the  settlers  enjoyed  an  abundance  of  fish,  fowl,  and 


venison. 


Captain  Argall  now  arriving  from  England,  in  a  vessel  with 
forty  men,  was  sent  to  the  Potomac  to  trade  for  corn,  and  he 
contrived  to  ingratiate  himself  with  Japazaivs,  a  friendly  chief, 
and  from  him  learned  that  Pocahontas  was  there.  She  had  never 
visited  Jamestown  since  Smith's  departure,  and  on  the  remote 
banks  of  the  Potomac  she  thought  herself  unknown.  Japazaws, 

*  Smith,  ii.  13. 


108  HISTORY   OF   THE   COLONY   AND 

easily  bribed,  betrayed  the  artless  and  unsuspecting  girl  into 
Argall's  hands.  When  she  discovered  the  treachery  she  burst 
into  tears.  Argall,  having  sent  a  messenger  to  inform  Powhatan 
that  his  favorite  daughter  was  a  prisoner,  and  must  be  ransomed 
with  the  men  and  arms,  conveyed  her  to  Jamestown.  Three 
months  thereafter  Powhatan  restored  seven  English  prisoners  and 
some  unserviceable  muskets,  and  sent  word  that  if  his  daughter 
was  released  he  would  make  restitution  for  all  injuries,  and  give 
the  English  five  hundred  bushels  of  corn,  and  forever  remain  in 
peace  and  amity.*  They  refused  to  surrender  Pocahontas  until 
full  satisfaction  was  rendered. 

Powhatan  was  deeply  offended,  and  nothing  more  was  heard 
from  him  for  a  long  time.  At  length  Governor  Dale,  with 
Argall's  vessel  and  some  others,  manned  with  one  hundred  and 
fifty  men,  went  up  the  York  River,  taking  the  young  captive  with 
him,  to  Werowocomoco.  Here,  meeting  with  a  scornful  defiance, 
the  English  landed,  burnt  the  cabins,  and  destroyed  everything. 
On  the  next  day  Dale,  proceeding  up  the  river,  concluded  a  truce 
with  the  savages.  He  then  sailed  up  to  Matchot,  another  resi 
dence  of  Powhatan,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Pamunkey,  where  it 
unites  with  the  Matapony.  Matchot  is  supposed  to  be  identical 
with  Eltham,  the  old  seat  of  the  Bassets,  in  the  County  of  New 
Kent,  and  which  borrows  its  name  from  an  English  seat  in  the 
County  of  Kent.  At  this  place,  where  several  hundred  warriors 
were  found,  the  English  landed,  and  the  savages  demanded  a 
truce  till  Powhatan  could  be  heard  from,  which  being  granted, 
two  of  Powhatan's  sons  went  on  board  the  vessel  to  see  their 
sister  Pocahontas.  Finding  her  well,  contrary  to  what  they  had 
heard,  they  were  delighted,  and  promised  to  persuade  their  father 
to  make  peace,  and  forever  be  friends  with  the  English. 

John  Rolfe,  and  another  of  the  Englishmen  named  Sparks, 
were  dispatched  to  let  Powhatan  know  these  proceedings.  He 
entertained  them  hospitably,  but  would  not  admit  them  into  his 
presence;  they,  however,  saw  his  brother  Opechancanough,  who 
engaged  to  use  his  influence  with  Powhatan  in  favor  of  peace. 
It  now  being  April,  the  season  for  planting  corn,  Sir  Thomas 

*  Court  and  Times  of  James  the  First,  i.  202. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  109 

Dale  returned  to  Jamestown,  intending  not  to  renew  hostilities 
until  the  next  crop  was  made. 

March  12th,  1612,  another  charter  was  granted  to  the  Vir 
ginia  Company,  extending  the  boundaries  of  the  colony,  so  as  to 
include  all  islands  lying  within  three  hundred  leagues  of  the  con 
tinent.  The  object  of  this  extension  was  to  embrace  the  Bermu 
das,  or  Summer  Islands;  but  the  Virginia  Company  shortly 
afterwards  sold  them  to  one  hundred  and  twenty  of  its  owTn  mem 
bers,  who  became  incorporated  into  a  distinct  company.* 

On  the  4th  of  November,  1612,  died  Henry,  Prince  of  Wales, 
a  gallant  and  generous  spirit,  the  friend  of  Raleigh,  and  the  idol 
of  the  nation ;  and  his  premature  death  was  deplored  like  that 
of  the  Black  Prince  before,  and  the  Princess  Charlotte  in  more 
modern  times.  He  appears  to  have  been  a  warm  friend  of  the 
infant  plantation  of  Virginia,  and  Sir  Thomas  Dale  speaks  of 
him  "as  his  glorious  master,  who  w^ould  have  enamelled  with  his 
favors  the  labors  which  were  undertaken  for  God's  cause,"  and 
laments  that  the  "whole  frame  of  the  enterprise  seemed  fallen 
into  his  grave." 

Mr.  John  Rolfe,  a  worthy  gentleman,  who  appears  to  have 
been  a  widower,  had  been  for  some  time  in  love  with  Pocahontas, 
and  she  with  him ;  and,  agitated  by  the  conflicting  emotions  of  this 
singular  and  romantic  attachment,  in  a  letter  he  requested  the 
advice  of  Sir  Thomas  Dale,  who  readily  gave  his  assent  to  the 
proposed  union.  Pocahontas  likewise  communicated  the  affair  to 
her  brother;  so  that  the  report  of  the  marriage  soon  reached 
Powhatan,  and  it  proved  likewise  acceptable  to  him.  Accord 
ingly,  within  ten  days  he  sent  Opachisco,  an  aged  uncle  of  Poca 
hontas,  and  her  two  brothers,  to  attend  the  wedding,  and  fill  his 
place  at  the  ceremony.  The  marriage  took  place  early  in  April, 
1613,  at  Jamestown,  and  the  rites  were  no  doubt  performed  by 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Whitaker.f 


*  Hen.  Stat.,  i.  98;   Stith,  126,  and  Appendix  No.  3. 

•j-  A  letter  was  written  by  Dale  on  the  occasion,  dated  in  June,  1614,  and  ad 
dressed  to  a  friend  in  London;  another  of  Rolfe  to  Dale,  before  mentioned,  was 
published  in  London,  1615,  by  Ralph  Hamor,  in  his  work  entitled,  "A  True 
Discourse  of  the  Present  State  of  Virginia,"  etc. ;  Rev.  Alexander  Whitaker  ad 
dressed  a  letter  on  the  same  subject  to  a  cousin  in  London.  These  letters  were 


110  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

This  remarkable  union  became  a  happy  link  of  peace  and  har 
mony  between  the  red  man  and  the  white ;  and  the  warlike  Chicka- 
hominies  now  came  to  propose  a  treaty  of  peace.*  This  fierce 
and  numerous  tribe,  dwelling  on  the  borders  of  the  Chickahominy 
River,  and  near  neighbors  to  the  English,  had  long  maintained 
their  independence,  and  refused  to  acknowledge  the  sceptre  of 
Powhatan.  They  now  sent  two  runners  to  Governor  Dale  with 
presents,  apologizing  for  all  former  injuries,  and  offering  to  sub 
mit  themselves  to  King  James,  and  to  relinquish  the  name  of 
Chickahominies,  and  be  called  Tassautessus  (English.)  They  de 
sired,  nevertheless,  still  to  be  governed  by  their  own  laws,  under 
the  authority  of  eight  of  their  own  chiefs.  Governor  Dale,  with 
Captain  Argall  and  fifty  men,  on  the  banks  of  the  Chickahominy, 
concluded  a  treaty  of  peace  with  them,  and  they  ratified  it  by 
acclamation.  An  aged  warrior  then  arose  and  explained  the 
treaty,  addressing  himself  successively  to  the  old  men,  the  young, 
and  the  women  and  children.  The  Chickahominies,  apprehensive 
of  being  reduced  under  the  despotism  of  Powhatan,  sheltered 
themselves  under  the  protection  of  the  whites — a  striking  proof 
of  the  atrocious  barbarity  of  a  race  whose  imaginary  virtues  have 
been  so  often  celebrated  by  poets,  orators,  and  historians,  and 
who  have  been  described  as  renewing  the  golden  age  of  innocent 
felicity. 

The  system  of  working  in  common,  and  of  being  provided  for 
out  of  the  public  store,  although  unavoidable  at  first,  had  hitherto 
tended  to  paralyze  industry,  and  to  retard  the  growth  of  the 
colony.  An  important  alteration  in  this  particular  was  now 
effected;  Sir  Thomas  Dale  allotted  to  each  man  three  acres  of 
cleared  ground,  from  which  he  was  only  obliged  to  contribute  to 
the  public  store  two  and  a  half  barrels  of  corn.  These  regula 
tions,  raising  the  colonists  above  the  condition  of  absolute  de 
pendence,  and  creating  a  new  incentive  to  exertion,  proved  very 
acceptable  and  beneficial. f 


republished  in  this  country  in  1842,  in  a  pamphlet  explanatory  of  Chapman's 
picture  of  the  Baptism  of  Pocahontas. 

*  Stith.  131. 

f  Chalmers,  Introduction,  i.  10;  Grahame's  Colonial  Hist.  U.  S.,  i.  64.  Com 
pare  Belknap's  Amer.  Biog.,  ii.  151. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  Ill 

Early  in  the  year  1614  Sir  Thomas  Gates  returned  again  to 
England,  and  Sir  Thomas  Dale  reassumed  the  government  of  the 
colony.  The  French  settlers  of  Acadia  had,  as  early  as  1605, 
built  the  town  of  Port  Royal,  on  the  Bay  of  Fundy;  St.  Croix 
was  afterwards  erected  on  the  other  side  of  the  bay.  Dale,  look 
ing  upon  these  settlements  as  an  encroachment  upon  the  territory 
of  Virginia,  which  extended  to  the  forty-fifth  degree  of  latitude, 
dispatched  his  kinsman,  Argall,  an  enterprising  and  unscrupulous 
man,  with  a  small  force,  to  dislodge  the  intruders.  The  French 
colony  was  found  situated  on  Mount  Desert  Island,  near  the 
Penobscot  River,  and  within  the  bounds  of  the  present  State  of 
Maine.  The  French,  surprised  while  dispersed  in  the  woods, 
soon  yielded  to  superior  force,  and  Argall,  as  some  accounts  say, 
furnished  the  prisoners  with  a  fishing  vessel,  in  which  they  re 
turned  to  France,  except  fifteen,  including  a  Jesuit  missionary, 
•who  were  brought  to  Jamestown.  According  to  other  accounts, 
their  vessels  wrere  captured,  but  the  colonists  escaped,  and  went 
to  live  among  the  Indians.  On  his  return,  Argall  visited  the 
Dutch  settlement  near  the  site  of  Albany,  on  the  Hudson,  and 
compelled  the  governor  there  to  surrender  the  place ;  but  it  was 
reclaimed  by  the  Dutch  not  long  afterwards,  and  during  the 
next  year  they  erected  a  fort  on  Manhattan  Island,  on  which  is 
now  seated  the  commercial  metropolis  of  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 


Hamor  visits  Powliatan—  Eichard  Hakluyt—  Pocahontas  Baptized—  Fixed  Pro 
perty  in  the  Soil  established  —  Dale  Embarks  for  England  accompanied  by 
Pocahontas  —  Yeardley,  Deputy  Governor  —  Culture  of  Tobacco  introduced  — 
Pocahontas  in  England  —  Tomocomo  —  Death  of  Pocahontas  —  John  and  Thomas 
Rolfe  —  Smith  and  Pocahontas. 

RALPH  HAMOR*  having  obtained  permission  from  Sir  Thomas 
Dale  to  visit  Powhatan,  and  taking  with  him  Thomas  Savage,  as 
interpreter,  and  two  Indian  guides,  started  from  Bermuda  (Hun 
dred)  in  the  morning,  and  reached  Matchot  (Eltham)  on  the 
evening  of  the  next  day.  Powhatan  recognizing  the  boy  Thomas 
Savage,  said  to  him:  "My  child,  I  gave  you  leave,  being  my  boy, 
to  go  see  your  friends  ;  and  these  four  years  I  have  not  seen  you 
nor  heard  of  my  own  man,  Namontack,  I  sent  to  England,  though 
many  ships  have  been  returned  from  thence."  Turning  then  to 
Hamor,  he  demanded  the  chain  of  beads  which  he  had  sent  to  Sir 
Thomas  Dale  at  his  first  arrival,  with  the  understanding  that 
whenever  he  should  send  a  messenger,  he  should  wear  that  chain 
about  his  neck;  otherwise  he  was  to  be  bound,  and  sent  home. 
Sir  Thomas  Jiad  made  such  an  arrangement,  and  on  this  occasion 
had  directed  his  page  to  give  the  necklace  to  Hamor;  but  the 
page  had  forgotten  it.  However,  Hamor  being  accompanied  by 
two  of  Powhatan's  own  people,  he  was  satisfied,  and  conducted 
him  to  the  royal  cabin,  where  a  guard  of  two  hundred  bowmen 
stood  always  in  attendance.  He  offered  his  guest  a  pipe  of  to 
bacco,  and  then  inquired  after  his  brother,  Sir  Thomas  Dale,  and 
his  daughter,  Pocahontas,  and  his  unknown  son-in-law,  Rolfe,  and 
"how  they  lived  and  loved."  Being  answered  that  Pocahontas 
•was  so  well  satisfied,  that  she  would  never  live  with  him  again,  he 


*  Smith,  ii.  19.     There  appears  to  be  a  mistake  in  affixing  William  Parker's 
name  to  the  account  of  this  visit,  for  it  was  evidently  wriUen  by  Hamor. 

(112) 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OE   VIRGINIA.  113 

laughed,  and  demanded  the  object  of  his  visit.  Hamor  gave  him 
to  understand  that  his  message  was  private,  to  be  made  known 
only  to  him  and  to  Papaschicher,  one  of  the  guides  who  was  in 
the  secret.  Forthwith  Powhatan  ordered  out  all  his  people,  ex 
cept  his  two  queens  "that  always  sit  by  him,"  and  bade  Hamor 
deliver  his  message.  He  then,  by  his  interpreter,  let  him  knew 
that  Sir  Thomas  Dale  had  sent  him  pieces  of  copper,  strings  of 
white  and  blue  beads,  wooden  combs,  fish-hooks,  and  a  pair  of 
knives,  and  would  give  him  a  grindstone,  when  he  would  send  for 
it;  that  his  brother  Dale,  hearing  of  the  charms  of  his  younger 
daughter,  desired  that  he  would  send  her  to  Jamestown,  as  well 
because  he  intended  to  marry  her,  as  on  account  of  the  desire  of 
Pocahontas  to  sec  her,  and  he  believed  that  there  could  be  no  bet 
ter  bond  of  peace  and  friendship  than  such  a  union.  While 
Hamor  was  speaking,  Powhatan  repeatedly  interrupted  him,  and 
when  he  had  ended,  the  old  chief  replied:  "I  gladly  accept  your 
salute  of  love  and  peace  which,  while  I  live,  I  shall  exactly  keep. 
His  pledges  thereof  I  receive  with  no  less  thanks,  although  they 
are  not  so  great  as  I  have  received  before.  But,  for  my  daughter, 
I  have  sold  her  within  these  few  days  to  a  great  werowance,  three 
days  journey  from  me,  for  two  bushels  of  rawrenoke."  Hamor: 
"I  know  your  highness,  by  returning  the  rawrenoke,  might  call 
her  back  again,  to  gratify  your  brother,  Sir  Thomas  Dale,  and  the 
rather  because  she  is  but  twelve  years  old.  Besides  its  forming  a 
bond  of  peace,  you  shall  have  in  return  for  her,  three  times  the 
value  of  the  rawrenoke,  in  beads,  copper,  and  hatchets."  Pow 
hatan:  "I  love  my  daughter  as  my  life,  and  though  I  have  many 
children,  I  delight  in  none  so  much  as  her,  and  if  I  should  not 
often  see  her  I  could  not  possibly  live,  and  if  she  lived  at  James 
town  I  could  not  see  her,  having  resolved  on  no  terms  to  put  my 
self  into  your  hands,  or  go  among  you.  Therefore,  I  desire  you 
to  urge  me  no  further,  but  return  my  brother  this  answer:  I 
desire  no  firmer  assurance  of  his  friendship  than  the  promise  he 
hath  made.  From  me  he  lias  a  pledge,  one  of  my  daughters,  which, 
so  long  as  she  lives,  shall  be  sufficient;  when  she  dies,  he  shall 
have  another.  I  hold  it  not  a  brotherly  part  to  desire  to  bereave 
me  of  my  two  children  at  once.  Further,  tell  him  that  though 
he  had  no  pledge  at  all,  he  need  not  fear  any  injury  from  me  or 


114  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

my  people;  there  have  been  too  many  of  his  men  and  mine  slain; 
and,  by  my  provocation,  there  never  shall  be  any  more,  (I  who 
have  power  to  perform  it,  have  said  it,)  even  if  I  should  have  just 
cause,  for  I  am  now  old,  and  would  gladly  end  my  days  in  peace ; 
if  you  offer  me  injury,  my  country  is  large  enough  for  me  to  go 
from  you.  This,  I  hope,  will  satisfy  my  brother.  Now,  since  you 
are  weary  and  I  sleepy,  we  will  here  end."  So  Hamor  and  his 
companions  lodged  at  Matchot  that  night.  While  there  they  saw 
William  Parker,  who  had  been  captured  three  years  before  at  Fort 
Henry.  He  had  grown  so  like  an  Indian  in  complexion  and 
manner,  that  his  fellow-countrymen  recognized  him  only  by  his 
language.  He  begged  them  to  intercede  for  his  release,  but  upon 
their  undertaking  it,  Powhatan  replied:  "You  have  one  of  my 
daughters,  and  I  am  satisfied;  but  you  cannot  see  one  of  your 
men  with  me,  but  you  must  have  him  away,  or  break  friendship ; 
but  if  you  must  needs  have  him,  you  shall  go  home  without 
guides,  and  if  any  evil  befall  you,  thank  yourselves."  They 
answered  him  that  if  any  harm  befell  them  he  must  expect  re 
venge  from  his  brother  Dale.  At  this  Powhatan,  in  a  passion, 
left  them;  but  returning  to  supper,  he  entertained  them  with  a 
pleasant  countenance.  About  midnight  he  awoke  them,  and  pro 
mised  to  let  them  return  in  the  morning  with  Parker,  and  charged 
them  to  remind  his  brother  Dale  to  send  him  ten  large  pieces  of 
copper,  a  shaving-knife,  a  frowl,  a  grindstone,  a  net,  fish-hooks, 
and  other  such  presents.  Lest  they  might  forget,  he  made  them 
write  down  the  list  of  articles  in  a  blank  book  that  he  had.  They 
requesting  him  to  give  them  the  book,  he  declined  doing  so,  say 
ing,  "it  did  him  much  good  to  show  it  to  strangers."* 

During  the  year  1614  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  published  his  "His 
tory  of  the  World;"  Captain  John  Smith  made  a  voyage  to  North 
Virginia,  and  gave  it  the  name  of  New  England ;  and  the  Dutch, 
as  already  mentioned,  effected  a  settlement  near  the  site  of  Al 
bany,  on  the  Hudson  River.  Sir  Thomas  Gates,  upon  his  return 
to  England,  reported  that  the  plantation  of  Virginia  would  fall 
to  the  ground  unless  soon  reinforced  with  supplies. f  Martin,  a 
lawyer,  employed  by  the  Virginia  Company  to  recommend  some 

*  Smith,  ii.  21.  f  Court  and  Times  of  James  the  First,  i.  311. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  115 

measure  to  the  House  of  Commons,  having  spoken  disparagingly 
of  that  body,  was  arraigned  at  the  bar  of  the  House ;  but,  upon 
making  due  acknowledgment  upon  his  knees,  was  pardoned.* 
During  this  year  died  Richard  Hakluyt,  the  compiler  of  a  cele 
brated  collection  of  voyages  and  discoveries.  He  was  of  an  an 
cient  family  in  Herefordshire,  and,  after  passing  some  time  at 
Westminster  School,  was  elected  to  a  studentship  at  Oxford,  where 
he  contracted  a  friendship  with  Sir  Philip  Sydney,  to  whom  he 
inscribed  his  first  collection  of  Voyages  and  Discoveries  printed 
in  1582.  Having  imbibed  a  taste  for  the  study  of  geography  and 
cosmography  from  a  cousin  of  the  same  name,  a  student  of  law 
at  the  Temple,  he  applied  himself  to  that  department  of  learning 
with  diligence,  and  was  at  length  appointed  to  lecture  at  the 
University  on  that  subject.  He  contributed  valuable  aid  in  fitting 
out  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert's  expedition.  Soon  after,  taking  holy 
orders,  he  proceeded  to  Paris  as  chaplain  to  Sir  Edward  Stafford, 
the  English  Ambassador.  During  his  absence  he  was  appointed 
to  a  prcbendal  stall  at  Bristol,  and  upon  his  return  to  England  he 
frequently  resided  there.  He  was  afterwards  preferred  to  the 
rectory  of  Witheringset,  in  Suffolk.  In  1615  he  was  appointed 
a  prebendary  of  Westminster,  and  became  a  member  of  the  coun 
cil  of  the  Virginia  Company.  He  continued  to  watch  over  the 
affairs  of  the  colony  until  his  death.  He  was  buried  in  Westmin 
ster  Abbey.  Hakluyt's  Voyages  consist  of  five  volumes,  folio. 

Pocahontas  was  now  carefully  instructed  in  the  Christian  reli 
gion,  and  such  was  the  change  wrought  in  her,  that  after  some 
time  she  lost  all  desire  to  return  to  her  father,  and  retained  no 
longer  any  fondness  for  the  rude  society  of  her  own  people.  She 
had  already,  before  her  marriage,  openly  renounced  the  idolatry 
of  her  country,  confessed  the  faith  of  Christ,  and  had  been  bap 
tized.  Master  Whitaker,  the  preacher,  in  a  letter  dated  June 
18th,  1614,  expresses  his  surprise  that  so  few  of  the  English 
ministers,  "that  were  so  hot  against  the  surplice  and  subscrip 
tion,"  came  over  to  Virginia,  where  neither  was  spoken  of.  At 
the  end  of  June  Captain  Argall  returned  to  England  with  tidings 
of  the  more  auspicious  state  of  affairs.  The  Virginia  Company 

*  Court  and  Times  of  James  the  First,  i.  317. 


116  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

now  proceeded  to  draw  the  lottery,  which  had  been  made  up  to 
promote  the  interests  of  the  colony,  and  twenty-nine  thousand 
pounds  were  thus  contributed;  but  Parliament  shortly  after  pro 
hibited  this  pernicious  practice.  It  has  been  said  that  this  is  the 
first  instance  of  raising  money  in  England  by  lottery;*  but  this 
is  erroneous,  for  there  had  been  a  lottery  4rawn  for  the  purpose 
of  repairing  the  harbors  of  the  kingdom  as  far  back  as  1569. f 

The  year  1615  is  remarkable  in  Virginia  history  for  the  first 
establishment  of  a  fixed  property  in  the  soil,  fifty  acres  of  land 
being  granted  by  the  company  to  every  freeman  in  absolute 
right. t  This  salutary  reform  was  brought  about  mainly  by  the 
influence  of  Sir  Thomas  Dale,  one*  of  the  best  of  the  early  go 
vernors.  Sir  Thomas  having  now,  after  a  stay  of  five  years  in 
Virginia,  established  good  order  at  Jamestown,  appointed  George 
Yeardley  to  be  deputy  governor  in  his  absence,  and  embarked  for 
England,  accompanied  by  John  Rolfe  and  his  wife,  the  Princess 
Pocahontas,  and  other  Indians  of  both  sexes.  They  arrived  at 
Plymouth  on  the  12th  of  June,  1616,  about  six  weeks  after  the 
death  of  Shakespeare,  who  died  on  the  twenty-third  of  April. 
The  arrival  is  thus  noticed  in  a  news-letter:  "Sir  Thomas  Dale 
is  arrived  from  Virginia,  and  brought  with  him  some  ten  or  twelve 
old  and  young  of  that  country,  among  whom  is  Pocahontas, 
daughter  of  Powhatan,  a  king  or  cacique  of  that  country,  mar 
ried  to  one  Rolfe,  an  Englishman.  I  hear  not  of  any  other  riches 
or  matter  of  worth,  but  only  some  quantity  of  sassafras,  tobacco, 
pitch,  tar,  and  clapboard — things  of  no  great  value,  unless  there 
were  plenty  and  nearer  hand.  All  I  can  hear  of  it  is,  that  the 
country  is  good  to  live  in,  if  it  were  stored  with  people,  and 
might  in  time  become  commodious.  But  there  is  no  present  profit 
to  be  expected.'?§ 

Reverting  to  the  condition  of  affairs  in  the  colony,  it  is  to  be 
observed,  that  the  oligarchical  government  of  the  president  and 
council,  with  all  its  odious  features,  had  long  before  this  come  to 
an  end;  order  and  diligence  had  now  taken  the  place  of  confu- 


*  Chalmers'  Annals,  33.          f  Anderson's  Hist.  Col.  Church,  i.  27,  in  note. 

J  Chalmers'  Introduc.,  i.  10. 

\  Court  and  Times  of  James  the  First,  i.  415. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VI11GINIA.  117 

sion  and  idleness;  peace  with  the  Indians  had  given  rise  to  a  free 
trade  with  them,  and  the  English  acquired  their  commodities  by 
lawful  purchase  instead  of  extorting  them  by  force  of  arms. 
The  places  inhabited  by  the  whites,  at  this  time,  were  Henrico 
and  the  limits,  Bermuda  Nether  Hundred,  West  and  Shirley 
Hundred,  Jamestown,. Kiquotan,  and  Dale's  Gift.  At  Henrico 
there  were  thirty-eight  men  and  boys,  of  whom  twenty-two  were 
farmers.  The  Rev.  William  Wickham  was  the  minister  of  this 
place.  It  was  the  seat  of  the  college  established  for  the  education 
of  the  natives;  they  had  already  brought  hither  some  of  their  chil 
dren,  of  both  sexes,  to  be  taught.  At  Bermuda  Nether  Hundred 
(Presquile)  the  number  of  inhabitants  was  one  hundred  and  nine 
teen.  Captain  Yeardley,  deputy  governor,  lived  here  for  the 
most  part.  The  minister  here  was  Master  Alexander  Whitaker. 
At  West  and  Shirley  Hundred  there  were  twenty-five  men  under 
Captain  Madison.  At  Jamestown  fifty,  under  Captain  Francis 
West;  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bucke  minister.  At  Kiquotan  Captain  Webb 
commanded;  Rev.  Mr.  Mease  the  minister.  Dale's  Gift,  on  the 
sea-coast,  near  Cape  Charles,  was  occupied  by  seventeen  men 
under  Lieutenant  Cradock.  The  total  population  of  the  colony, 
at  this  time,  was  three  hundred  and  fifty-one.*  Yeardley  directed 
the  attention  of  the  colony  to  tobacco,  as  the  most  saleable  com 
modity  that  they  could  raise,  and  its  cultivation  was  introduced 
into  Virginia  in  this  year,  1616,  for  the  first  time.  The  English 
now  found  the  climate  to  suit  their  constitutions  so  well,  that 
fewTer  people  died  here  in  proportion  than  in  England.  The 
Chickahominies  refusing  to  pay  the  tribute  of  corn  agreed  upon 
by  the  treaty,  Yeardley  went  up  their  river  with  one  hundred 
men,  and,  after  killing  some  and  making  some  prisoners,  brought 
off  much  of  their  corn.  On  his  return  he  met  Opechancanough 
at  Ozinies,  about  twelve  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Chickaho- 
miny.  In  this  expedition  Henry  Spilman,  who  had  been  rescued 
from  death  by  Pocahontas,  now  a  captain,  acted  as  interpreter. 


*  Sir  Thomas  Dale,  at  one  haul  with  a  seine,  had  caught  five  thousand  fish, 
three  hundred  of  which  were  as  large  as  cod,  and  the  smallest  of  the  others  a 
kind  of  salmon-trout,  two  feet  long.  He  durst  not  adventure  on  the  main  school, 
for  fear  it  would  destroy  his  nets. 


118  HISTORY  OF  THE  COLONY  AND 

In  the  mean  time  Pocahontas  was  kindly  received  in  London ; 
by  the  care  of  her  husband  and  friends  she  was,  by  this  time, 
taught  to  speak  English  intelligibly;  her  manners  received  the 
softening  influence  of  English  refinement,  and  her  mind  was 
enlightened  by  the  truths  of  religion.  Having  given  birth  to  a 
son,  the  Virginia  Company  provided  for  the  maintenance  of  them 
both,  and  many  persons  of  quality  were  very  kind  to  her.  Be 
fore  she  reached  London,  Captain  Smith,  who  was  well  acquainted 
at  court,  and  in  especial  favor  with  Prince  Charles,  in  requital 
for  her  former  preservation  of  his  life,  had  prepared  an  account 
of  her  in  a  small  book,  and  he  presented  it  to  Queen  Anne.  But, 
at  this  time,  being  about  to  embark  for  New  England,  he  could 
not  pay  her  such  attentions  as  he  desired  and  she  well  deserved. 
Nevertheless,  learning  that  she  was  staying  at  Brentford,  where 
she  had  repaired  in  order  to  avoid  the  smoke  of  the  city,  he  went, 
accompanied  by  several  friends,  to  see  her.  After  a  modest  saluta 
tion,  without  uttering  a  word,  she  turned  away,  and  hid  her  face, 
as  if  offended.  In  that  posture  she  remained  for  two  or  three 
hours,  her  husband  and  Smith  and  the  rest  of  the  company  having, 
in  the  mean  while,  gone  out  of  the  room,  and  Smith  now  regretting 
that  he  had  written  to  the  queen  that  Pocahontas  could  speak 
English.  At  length  she  began  to  talk,  and  she  reminded  Captain 
Smith  of  the  kindness  she  had  shown  him  in  her  own  country, 
saying:  "You  did  promise  Powhatan  what  was  yours  should  be 
his,  and  he  the  like  to  you;  you  called  him  father,  being  in  his 
land  a  stranger,  and  for  the  same  reason  so  I  must  call  you." 
But  Smith,  on  account  of  the  king's  overweening  and  preposte 
rous  jealousy  of  the  royal  prerogative,  felt  constrained  to  decline 
the  appellation  of  "father,"  for  she  was  "a  king's  daughter." 
She  then  exclaimed,  with  a  firm  look:  "Were  you  not  afraid  to 
come  into  my  father's  country,  and  cause  fear  in  him  and  all  his 
people  (but  me,)  and  fear  you  here  that  I  should  call  you  father? 
I  tell  you  then  I  will,  and  you  shall  call  me  child,  and  I  will  be 
forever  and  ever  your  countrywoman.  They  did  tell  us  always 
you  were  dead,  and  I  knew  no  other  till  I  came  to  Plymouth; 
yet  Powhatan  did  command  Uttomattomakkin  to  seek  you,  and 
know  the  truth,  because  your  countrymen  will  lie  much."  It  is 
remarkable  that  Rolfe,  her  husband,  must  have  been  privy  to  the 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  119 

deception  thus  practised  on  her;  are  we  to  attribute  this  to  his 
secret  apprehension  that  she  would  never  marry  him  until  sho 
believed  that  Smith  was  dead? 

Tomocomo,  or  Uttamattomakkin,  or  Uttamaccomack,  husband 
of  Matachanna,  one  of  Powhatan's  daughters,  being  a  priest,  and 
esteemed  a  wise  and  knowing  one  among  his  people,  Po\vhatan, 
or,  as  Sir  Thomas  Dale  supposed,  Opechancanough,  had  sent  him 
out  to  England,  in  company  of  Pocahontas,  to  number  the  people 
there,  and  bring  back  to  him  an  account  of  that  country.  Upon 
landing  at  Plymouth  he  provided  himself,  according  to  his  in 
structions,  with  a  long  stick,  and  undertook,  by  notching  it,  to 
keep  a  tally  of  all  the  men  he  could  see ;  but  he  soon  grew  weary 
of  the  task,  and  gave  it  out  in  despair.  Meeting  with  Captain 
Smith  in  London,  Uttamattomakkin  told  him  that  Powhatan  had 
ordered  him  to  seek  him  out,  that  he  might  show  him  the  English 
God,  the  king,  queen,  and  prince.  Being  informed  that  he  had 
already  seen  the  king,  he  denied  it;  but  on  being  convinced  of 
it,  he  said:  "You  gave  Powhatan  a  white  dog,  which  Powhatan 
fed  as  himself;  but  your  king  gave  me  nothing,  and  I  am  better 
than  your  white  dog."  On  his  return  to  Virginia,  when  Pow 
hatan  interrogated  him  as  to  the  number  of  people  in  England, 
he  is  said  to  have  replied:  "Count  the  stars  in  the  heavens,  the 
leaves  on  the  trees,  the  sands  on  the  sea-shore."  Whether  this 
and  other  such  figurative  expressions  attributed  to  the  Indians, 
were  actually  uttered  by  them,  or  whether  they  have  received 
some  poetical  embellishment  in  the  course  of  interpretation,  the 
judicious  reader  may  determine  for  himself. 

During  Smith's  brief  stay  in  London,  many  courtiers  and 
others  of  his  acquaintance  daily  called  upon  him  for  the  purpose 
of  being  introduced  to  Pocahontas,  and  they  expressed  them 
selves  satisfied  that  the  hand  of  Providence  was  manifest  in  her 
conversion,  and  declared  that  they  had  seen  many  English  ladies 
worse  favored,  proportioned,  and  behaviored.  She  was  presented 
at  Court  by  Lady  Delaware,  attended  by  the  lord  her  husband, 
and  other  persons  of  quality,  and  was  graciously  received.  Her 
modest,  dignified,  and  graceful  deportment,  excited  the  admira 
tion  of  all,  and  she  received  the  particular  attentions  of  the  king 
and  queen. 


120  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

It  is  said,  upon  the  authority  of  a  well-established  tradition, 
that  King  James  was  at  first  greatly  offended  at  Rolfe  for  having 
presumed  to  marry  a  princess  without  his  consent;  but  that  upon 
a  fuller  representation  of  the  matter,  his  majesty  was  pleased  to 
express  himself  satisfied.  There  is  hardly  any  folly  so  foolish 
but  that  it  may  have  been  committed  by  "the  wisest  fool  in 
Christendom." 

"The  Virginia  woman,  Pocahontas,  with  her  father  counsellor, 
have  been  with  the  king,  and  graciously  used,  and  both  she  and 
her  assistant  well  placed  at  the  masque."^  She  was  styled  the 
"Lady  Pocahontas,"  and  carried  herself  "as  the  daughter  of  a 
king."  Lady  Delaware  and  other  noble  persons  waited  on  her 
to  masquerades,  balls,  plays,  and  other  public  entertainments. 
Purchas,  the  compiler  of  Voyages  and  Travels,  was  present  at 
an  entertainment  given  in  honor  of  her  by  the  Bishop  of  London, 
Doctor  King,  which  exceeded  in  pomp  and  splendor  any  other 
entertainment  of  the  kind  that  the  author  of  "The  Pilgrim"  had 
ever  witnessed  there. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  after  thirteen  years'  confinement  in  the 
Tower,  had  been  released  on  the  seventeenth  of  March  preceding, 
and,  upon  gaining  his  liberty,  he  went  about  the  city  looking  at 
the  changes  that  had  occurred  since  his  imprisonment.  It  is  not 
improbable  that  he  may  have  seen  Pocahontas. 

Early  in  1617  John  Rolfe  prepared  to  embark  for  Virginia, 
with  his  wife  and  child,  in  Captain  Argall's  vessel,  the  George. 
Pocahontas  was  reluctant  to  return.  On  the  eve  of  her  embarka 
tion  it  pleased  God  to  take  her  unexpectedly  from  the  world. 
She  died  at  Gravesend,  on  the  Thames,  in  the  latter  part  of 
March.  As  her  life  had  been  sweet  and  lovely,  so  her  death 
was  serene,  and  crowned  with  the  hopes  of  religion. 

"The  Virginia  woman,  whose  picture  I  sent  you,  died  this  last 
week  at  Gravesend,  as  she  was  returning  home."*  The  parish 
register  of  burials  at  Gravesend,  in  the  County  of  Kent,  con 
tains  the  following  entry:  "1616,  March  21,  Rebecca  Wrothe, 

*  Court  and  Times  of  James  the  First,  i.  388. 

f  Letter  of  John  Chamberlain  to  Sir  Dudley  Carleton,  dated  at  London,  March, 
1617,  in  Court  and  Times  of  James  the  First,  ii.  3. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  121 

wyffe  of  Thomas  Wrothe,  Gent.  A  Virginia  Lady  borne,  was 
buried  in  the  Chancell."  The  date,  1616,  corresponds  with  the 
historical  year  1617.  It  appears  that  there  was  formerly  a  family 
of  the  name  of  Wrothe  resident  near  Gravesend.  This  name 
might  therefore  easily  be  confounded  with  that  of  Rolfe,  the  sound 
being  similar.  Nor  is  the  mistake  of  Thomas  for  John  at  all  im 
probable.  Gravesend  Church,  in  which  Pocahontas  was  buried, 
was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1727,  and  no  monument  to  her  memory 
remains,  if  any  ever  existed.* 

According  to  Strachey,  a  good  authority,  the  Indians  had 
several  different  names  given  them  at  different  times,  and  Pow- 
hatan  called  his  favorite  daughter  when  quite  young,  Pocahontas, 
that  is,  "Little  Wanton,"  but  at  a  riper  age  she  was  called  Amo- 
nate.  According  to  Stith,f  her  real  name  was  Matoax,  which 
the  people  of  her  nation  concealed  from  the  English,  and  changed 
it  to  Pocahontas  from  a  superstitious  fear,  lest,  knowing  her  true 
name,  they  should  do  her  some  injury.  Others  suppose  Matoax 
to  have  been  her  individual  name,  Pocahontas  her  title.  After 
her  conversion  she  was  baptized  by  the  name  of  Rebecca,  and  she 
was  sometimes  styled  the  "Lady  Rebecca."  The  ceremony  of 
her  baptism  has  been  made  the  subject  of  a  picture,  (by  Chap 
man,)  exhibited  in  the  rotundo  of  the  Capitol  at  Washington. 

Of  the  brothers  of  Pocahontas,  Nantaquaus,  or  Nantaquoud,  is 
especially  distinguished  for  having  shown  Captain  Smith  "ex 
ceeding  great  courtesy,"  interceding  with  his  father,  Powhatan, 
in  behalf  of  the  captive,  and  he  was  the  "manliest,  comeliest, 
boldest  spirit,"  Smith  ever  saw  in  a  savage. 

Of  the  sisters  of  Pocahontas  two  are  particularly  mentioned, 
Cleopatre  and  Matachanna.  Strachey  has  recorded  the  names 
of  the  numerous  wives  and  children  of  Powhatan,  the  greater 
part  of  which  are  harsh  and  guttural,  and  apparently  almost  in 
capable  of  being  pronounced  by  the  vocal  organs  of  civilized  man. 

Smith  says  that  Pocahontas,  "with  her  wild  train,  visited 
Jamestown  as  freely  as  her  father's  habitation."  In  these  visits 


*  Letter  of  C.  TV.  Martin,  Leeds  Castle,  England,  to  Comvay  Kobinson,  Esq., 
in  Va.  Hist.  Reg  ,  ii.  187. 
f  Stith,  130  and  285. 


122  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLOXY   AND 

she  had  to  cross  the  York  River,  some  two  miles  wide,  in  a  canoe, 
("quintan"  in  the  Powhatan  language,)  and  then  walk  some  ten 
or  twelve  miles  across  to  Jamestown.  She  is  described  as  "being 
of  a  great  spirit,  however  her  stature;"  from  which  it  may  be  in 
ferred  that  she  was  below  the  middle  height.*  She  died  at  the 
age  of  twenty-two,  having  been  born  about  the  year  1595.  Her 
infant  son,  Thomas  Rolfe,  was  left  for  a  time  at  Plymouth,  under 
the  care  of  Sir  Lewis  Stukely,  Vice-Admiral  of  Devon,  who  after 
wards,  by  his  base  treachery  toward  Sir  W alter  Raleigh,  covered 
himself  with  infamy,  and  by  dishonest  and  criminal  practices  re 
duced  himself  to  beggary.  The  son  of  Pocahoritas  was  subse 
quently  removed  to  London,  where  he  was  educated  under  the 
care  of  his  uncle,  Henry  Rolfe,  a  merchant,  f 

Thomas  Rolfe  came  to  Virginia  and  became  a  person  of  fortune 
and  note  in  the  colony.  It  has  been  said  that  he  married  in 
England  a  Miss  Foyers ;  however  that  may  have  been,  he  left  an 
only  daughter,  Jane  Rolfe,  who  married  Colonel  Robert  Boiling. 
He  lies  buried  at  Farmingdale,  in  the  County  of  Prince  George. J 
This  Colonel  Robert  Boiling  was  the  son  of  John  and  Mary  Boi 
ling,  of  Alhallows,  Barkin  Parish,  Tower  Street,  London.  He 
was  born  in  December,  1646,  and  came  to  Virginia  in  October, 
1660,  and  died  in  July,  1709,  aged  sixty-two  years.  Colonel 
Robert  Boiling,  and  Jane  Rolfe,  his  wife,  left  an  only  son,  Major 
John  Boiling,  father  of  Colonel  John  Boiling  and  several 
daughters,  who  married  respectively,  Col.  Richard  Randolph, 
Colonel  John  Fleming,  Doctor  William  Gay,  Mr.  Thomas  Eld- 
ridge,  and  Mr.  James  Murray. 

Censure  is  sometimes  cast  upon  Captain  Smith  for  having 
failed  to  marry  Pocahontas;  but  history  no  where  gives  any  just 
ground  for  such  a  reproach.  The  rescue  of  Smith  took  place  in 


*  Smith,  ii.  31;  Beverley,  B.  i.  27.  f  Stith,  144;  Beverley,  B.  i.  34. 

J  Of  Farmingdale,  or  Farmingdell,  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke  said,  in  a  letter 
dated  1832:  "But  the  true  name  is  Kippax,  called  after  the  village  of  Kippax 
and  Kippax  Park,  adjacent  thereto,  the  seat  of  my  maternal  ancestors,  the  Blands, 
of  the  West  Riding  of  York."  Bland,  of  Kippax,  County  York,  anciently  seated 
at  Eland's  Gill,  in  that  county,  was  raised  to  the  degree  of  baronet  in  1G42. 
The  present  representative  (1854)  is  Thomas  Davison  Bland,  of  Kippax  Park, 
Esq.  Gill  signifies  dell  or  valley. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  123 

the  winter  of  1607,  when  he  was  twenty-eight  years  of  age,  and 
she  only  twelve  or  thirteen.*  Smith  left  Virginia  early  in  1609, 
and  never  returned.  Pocahontas  was  then  about  fourteen  years 
of  age ;  but  if  she  had  been  older,  it  would  have  been  impossible 
for  him  to  marry  her  unless  by  kidnapping  her,  as  was  done  by 
the  unscrupulous  Argall  some  years  afterwards — a  measure  which, 
if  it  had  been  adopted  in  1609,  wThen  the  colony  was  so  feeble, 
and  so  rent  by  faction,  would  probably  have  provoked  the  ven 
geance  of  Powhatan,  and  overwhelmed  the  plantation  in  prema 
ture  ruin.  It  was  in  1612  that  Argall  captured  Pocahontas  on 
the  banks  of  the  Potomac,  and  from  the  departure  of  Smith  until 
this  time  she  never  had  been  seen  at  Jamestown,  but  had  lived  on 
the  distant  banks  of  the  Potomac.  In  the  spring  of  1613  it  is 
stated,  that  long  before  that  time  "Mr.  John  Rolfe  had  been  in 
love  with  Pocahontas,  and  she  with  him."  This  attachment 
must,  therefore,  have  been  formed  immediately  after  her  capture, 
if  it  did  not  exist  before;  and  the  marriage  took  place  in  April, 
1613.  It  is  true  that  Pocahontas  had  been  led  to  believe  that 
Smith  was  dead,  and  in  practising  this  deception  upon  her,  Rolfe 
must  have  been  a  party ;  but  Smith  was  in  no  manner  whatever 
privy  to  it;  he  cherished  for  her  a  friendship  animated  by  the 
deepest  emotions  of  gratitude ;  and  friendship,  according  to  Spen 
ser,  a  cotemporary  poet,  is  a  more  exalted  sentiment  than  love. 
Pocahontas  appears  to  have  regarded  Smith  with  a  sort  of  filial 
affection,  and  she  accordingly  said  to  him,  in  the  interview  at 
Brentford,  "I  tell  you  then,  I  will  call  you  father,  and  you  shall 
call  me  child."  The  delusion  practised  on  her  relative  to  Smith's 
death  would,  indeed,  seem  to  argue  an  apprehension  on  the  part 
of  Rolfe  and  his  friends  that  she  would  not  marry  another  while 
Smith  was  alive,  and  the  particular  circumstances  of  the  inter 
view  at  Brentford  would  seem  to  confirm  the  existence  of  such  an 
apprehension.  Yet,  however  that  may  have  been,  the  honor  and 
integrity  of  Smith  remain  untarnished. 

*  Inscription  of  date  on  Smith's  likeness,  prefixed  to  his  history;  Stith,  55, 127. 


CHAPTER    IX. 


Argall,  Governor  —  Condition  of  Jamestown  —  Death  of  Lord  Delaware  —  Name  of 
Delaware  River  —  Argall's  Martial  Law—  Brewster's  Case  —  Argall  leaves  Vir 
ginia  —  His  Character  —  Powhatan's  Death  —  His  Name,  Personal  Appearance, 
Dominions,  Manner  of  Life,  Character  —  Succeeded  by  Opitchapan. 

LORD  RICH,  an  unscrupulous  and  corrupt  head  of  a  faction  in 
the  Virginia  Company,  having  entered  into  partnership  with 
Captain  Samuel  Argall,  (a  relative  of  Sir  Thomas  Smith,  the 
Treasurer  or  Governor  of  the  Company,)  hy  his  intrigues  contrived 
to  have  him  elected  Deputy-Governor  of  Virginia  and  Admiral 
of  that  country  and  the  seas  adjoining.  He  sailed  for  Virginia 
early  in  1617,  accompanied  by  Ralph  Hamor,  his  vice-admiral, 
and  arrived  at  Jamestown  in  May.  Argall  was  welcomed  hy 
Captain  Yeardley  and  his  company,  the  right  file  of  which  was 
led  by  an  Indian.  At  Jamestown  were  found  but  five  or  six 
habitable  houses,  the  church  fallen,  the  palisades  broken,  the 
bridge  foundrous,  the  well  spoiled,  the  storehouse  used  for  a 
church;  the  market-place,  streets,  and  other  vacant  ground 
planted  with  tobacco;  the  savages  as  frequent  in  the  houses  as 
the  English,  who  were  dispersed  about  as  each  man  could  find  a 
convenient  place  for  planting  corn  and  tobacco.  Tomocomo,  who 
(together  with  the  other  Indians  that  had  gone  out  to  England  in 
the  suite  of  Pocahontas,  as  may  be  presumed,  although  the  fact 
is  not  expressly  mentioned,)  had  returned  with  Argall,  was  imme 
diately,  upon  his  arrival,  sent  to  Opechancanough,  who  came  to 
Jamestown,  and  received  a  present  with  great  joy  and  thankful 
ness.  But  Tomocomo  denounced  England  and  the  English  in 
bitter  terms,  especially  Sir  Thomas  Dale.  Powhatan  having  some 
time  before  this  resigned  the  cares  of  government  into  the  hands 
of  Opechancanough,  went  about  from  place  to  place,  still  con 
tinuing  in  friendship  with  the  English,  but  greatly  lamenting  the 
death  of  Pocahontas.  He  rejoiced,  nevertheless,  that  her  child 
(124) 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  125 

was  living,  and  he  and  Opechancanough  both  expressed  much 
desire  to  see  him.  During  this  year  a  Mr.  Lambert  introduced 
the  method  of  curing  tobacco  on  lines  instead  of  in  heaps,  as  had 
been  the  former  practice.*  Argall's  energetic  measures  procured 
from  the  Indians,  by  trade,  a  supply  of  corn.  The  whole  num 
ber  of  colonists  now  was  about  four  hundred,  with  numerous 
cattle,  goats,  and  swine.  The  corn  contributed  to  the  public 
store  was  about  four  hundred  and  fifty  bushels,  and  from  the  tri 
butary  Indians  seven  hundred  and  fifty,  being  considerably  less 
than  the  usual  quantity.  Of  the  "Company's  company"  there 
remained  not  more  than  fifty-four,  including  men,  women,  and 
children.  Drought,  and  a  storm  that  poured  down  hailstones 
eight  or  nine  inches  in  circumference,  greatly  damaged  the  crops 
of  corn  and  tobacco. 

The  following  is  found  among  the  early  records : — 

"BY  THE  ADMIRAL,  ETC. 

"  To  all  to  whom  these  presents  shall  come,  I,  Samuel  Argall, 
Esq.,  admiral,  and  for  the  time  present  principal  Governor  of 
Virginia,  send  greeting  in  our  Lord  God  everlasting,  si'thence  in 
all  places  of  wars  and  garrison  towns,  it  is  most  expedient  and 
necessary  to  have  an  honest  and  careful  provost  marshall,  to 
whose  charge  and  safe  custody  all  delinquents  and  prisoners  of 
what  nature  or  quality  soever  their  offences  be,  are  to  be  commit 
ted  ;  now  know  ye  that  for  the  honesty,  sufficiency,  and  careful 
ness  in  the  execution  and  discharge  of  the  said  office,  which  I 
conceived  of  William  Cradock,  I  do  by  these  presents  nominate, 
constitute,  ordain,  and  appoint  the  said  William  Cradock  to  be 
provost  marshall  of  the  Bermuda  City,  and  of  all  the  Hundred 
thereto  belonging,  giving  and  granting  unto  the  said  William  Cra 
dock,  all  power  and  authority  to  execute  all  such  offices,  duties,  and 
commands  belonging  to  the  said  place  of  provost  marshall;  with 
all  privileges,  rights,  and  preeminences  thereunto  belonging,  and 
in  all  cases  which  require  his  speedy  execution  of  his  said  office, 
by  virtue  of  these  presents,  he  shall  require  all  captains,  officers, 
soldiers,  or  any  other  members  of  this  colony,  to  be  aiding  and 

*  Stith,  147. 


126  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

assisting  to  him,  to  oppose  all  mutinies,  factions,  rebellions,  and 
all  other  discords  contrary  to  the  quiet  and  peaceable  government 
of  this  Commonwealth,  as  they  will  answer  the  contrary  at  their 
peril. 

"Given  at  Bermuda  City  this  twentieth  of  February,  in  the 
15th  year  of  the  reign  of  our  Sovereign  Lord  James,  by  the 
Grace  of  God,  King  of  England,  and  of  Scotland  the  51st,  and 
in  the  llth  year  of  this  Plantation.  Anno  Domini,  1617. 

"Extract  and  recorded  per  John  Rolf,  Sec'y  and  Recorder 
Genl. 

["Copia.  Test.  R.  Hickman,  Ck.  Secy's  office."] 

To  reinforce  the  colony  the  Company  sent  out  a  vessel  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty  tons,  well  stored,  with  two  hundred  and  fifty 
people,  under  command  of  Lord  Delaware.  They  set  sail  in 
April,  1618;  during  the  voyage  thirty  died,  and  among  them 
Lord  Delaware,  a  generous  friend  of  the  colony.  The  intelli 
gence  of  his  death  reached  London  October  fifth.  Stith*  says: 
"And  I  think  I  have  somewhere  seen  that  he  died  about  the 
mouth  of  Delaware  Bay,  which  thence  took  its  name  from  him." 
Stith  fell  into  a  mistake  on  this  point,  and  Belknap,  equally  dis 
tinguished  for  his  general  accuracy,  has  followed  hhn.f  Dela 
ware  Bay  (the  mouth  of  the  river  called  by  the  Indians  Chiho- 
hocki)  and  River  were  named  as  early  as  1611,  when  Lord 
Delaware  put  in  there,  during  his  homeward  voyage  J  According 
to  Strachey,  the  bay  was  discovered  in  1610,  by  Captain  Argall, 
and  he  named  Cape  Delaware,  "where  he  caught  halibut,  cod,  and 
ling  fish,  and  brought  some  of  them  to  Jamestown." 

His  lordship's  family  name  was  West,  and  persons  descended 
from  the  same  stock  are  yet  found  in  Virginia  bearino-  the  name. 

v  O  O 

West-Point,  at  the  head  of  York,  derived  its  name  from  the  same 
source,  and  it  was  at  first  called  Delaware.  Lord  Delaware  mar 
ried,  in  1602,  the  daughter  of  Sir  Thomas  Shirley,  of  Whiston; 
and,  perhaps,  the  name  of  Shirley,  the  ancient  seat  on  James 
River,  may  be  traced  to  this  source. 


Stith,  147.  |  Belknap,  ii.  115. 

Anderson's  Hist,  of  Col.  Church,  i.  271-311. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  127 

Martini  law  had  already  been  established  in  Virginia  by  Dale; 
Argall  came  over  invested  with  powers  to  make  the  government 
still  more  arbitrary  and  despotic,  and  bent  upon  acquiring  gain 
by  all  possible  means  of  extortion  and  oppression.  He  decreed 
that  goods  should  be  sold  at  an  advance  of  twenty-five  per  cent., 
and  tobacco  rated  at  the  Procrustean  value  of  three  shillings — 
the  penalty  for  rating  it  either  higher  or  lower  being  three  years 
slavery  to  the  colony;  that  there  should  be  no  trade  or  inter 
course  with  the  Indians,  and  that  none  of  them  should  be  taught 
the  use  of  fire-arms;  the  penalty  for  violating  which  ordinance 
was  death  to  teacher  and  learner.  Yet  it  has  been  contended  by 
some,  that  the  use  of  fire-arms  by  the  savages  hastened  their  ex 
termination,  because  they  thus  became  dependent  on  the  whites 
for  arms  and  ammunition;  when  their  guns  came  to  be  out  of 
order  they  became  useless  to  them,  for  they  wanted  the  skill  to 
repair  them ;  and,  lastly,  fire-arms  in  their  hands  when  effective, 
were  employed  by  hostile  tribes  in  mutual  destruction. 

"  The  white  faith  of  history  cannot  show 
That  e'er  a  musket  yet  could  beat  a  bow."* 

Argall  also  issued  edicts  that  no  one  should  hunt  deer  or  hogs 
without  his  leave;  that  no  man  should  fire  a  gun  before  a  new 
supply  of  ammunition,  except  in  self-defence,  on  pain  of  a  year's 
slavery;  absence  from  church  on  Sundays  or  holidays,  was 
punished  by  confinement  for  the  night  and  one  week's  slavery  to 
the  colony;  for  the  second  offence  the  offender  should  be  a  slave 
for  a  month ;  and  for  the  third,  for  a  year  and  a  day.  Several 
of  these  regulations  were  highly  judicious,  but  the  penalties  of 
some  of  them  were  excessive  and  barbarous,  and  the  vigorous 
enforcement  of  these,  and  his  oppressive  proceedings,  rendered 
Argall  odious  to  the  colony,  and  a  report  of  his  tyranny  and  ex 
tortions  having  reached  England,  Sir  Thomas  Smith,  Alderman 
Johnson,  deputy  treasurer,  Sir  Lionel  Cranficld,  and  others  of 
the  council,  addressed  a  letter  dated  August  23,  1618,  to  him,  in 
which  they  recapitulated  a  series  of  charges  against  him  of  dis 
honesty,  corruption,  and  oppression.  At  the  same  time  a  letter, 

*  Cited  in  Logan's  Scottish  Gael,  223. 


128  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

of  the  same  purport,  was  written  to  Lord  Delaware,  and  he  was 
told,  that  such  was  the  indignation  felt  by  the  stockholders  in  the 
Virginia  Company  against  Argall  that  they  could  hardly  be  re 
strained  from  going  to  the  king,  although  on  a  distant  progress, 
and  procuring  his  majesty's  command  for  recalling  him  as  a  male 
factor.  The  letter  contained  further  instructions  to  Lord  Dela 
ware  to  seize  upon  all  the  goods  and  property  in  Argall's  posses 
sion.  These  letters,  by  Lord  Delaware's  death,  fell  into  Argall's 
hands,  and  finding  his  sand  running  low,  he  determined  to  make 
the  best  of  his  remaining  time,  and  so  he  multiplied  his  exactions, 
and  grew  more  tyrannical  than  ever.  The  case  of  Edward  Brew- 
ster  was  a  remarkable  instance  of  this.  A  person  of  good  repute 
in  the  colony,  he  had  the  management  of  Lord  Delaware's  estate. 
Argall,  without  any  rightful  authority,  removed  the  servants  from 
his  lordship's  land,  and  employed  them  on  his  own.  Brewster 
endeavored  to  make  them  return,  and  upon  this  being  flatly  re 
fused  by  one  of  them,  threatened  him  with  the  consequences  of 
his  contumacy.  Brewster  was  immediately  arrested  by  Argall's 
order,  charged  with  sedition  and  mutiny,  and  condemned  to  death 
by  a  court-martial.  The  members  of  the  court,  however,  and 
some  of  the  clergy,  shocked  at  such  a  conviction,  interceded 
earnestly  for  his  pardon,  and  Argall  reluctantly  granted  it  on  con 
dition  that  Brewster  should  depart  from  Virginia,  with  an  oath 
never  to  return,  and  never  to  say  or  do  anything  to  the  disparage 
ment  of  the  deputy  governor.  Brewster,  nevertheless,  upon  his 
return  to  England,  discarding  the  obligation  of  an  oath  ex 
torted  under  duress,  appealed  to  the  Company  against  the  tyranny 
of  the  deputy  governor,  and  the  inhuman  sentence  was  reversed. 
John  Rolfe,  a  friend  of  Argall,  made  light  of  the  affair.* 

During  this  year,  1618,  a  ship  called  the  Treasurer  was  sent 
out  from  England  by  Lord  Rich,  who  had  now  become  Earl  of 
Warwick,  a  person  of  great  note  afterwards  in  the  civil  wars,  and 
commander  of  the  fleet  against  the  king.  This  ship  was  manned 
with  recruits  from  the  colony,  and  dispatched  on  a  semi-piratical 
cruise  in  the  West  Indies,  where  she  committed  some  depreda 
tions  on  the  Spanish  possessions. 

*  Smith,  ii.  37. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  129 

Upon  receiving  intelligence  of  the  death  of  Lord  Delaware,  the 
Virginia  Company  appointed  Captain  George  Yeardley,  who  was 
knighted  upon  this  occasion,  Governor  and  Captain-General  of 
Virginia.  Before  his  arrival  in  the  colony  Argall  embarked  for 
England,  in  a  vessel  laden  with  his  effects,  and  being  a  rela 
tion  of  Sir  Thomas  Smith,  and  a  partner  in  trade  of  the  profligate 
Earl  of  Warwick,  he  escaped  with  impunity.  In  1620  Argall 
commanded  a  ship-of-war  in  an  expedition  fitted  out  against  the 
Algerines,  and  in  1623  was  knighted  by  King  James.  Argall's 
character  has  been  variously  represented;  he  appears  to  have 
been  an  expert  mariner  of  talents,  courage,  enterprise,  and 
energy,  but  selfish,  avaricious,  unscrupulous,  arbitrary  and  cruel. 

In  April,  1618,  Powhatan  died,  being  upwards  of  seventy 
years  of  age.  lie  was,  perhaps,  so  called  from  one  of  his 
places  of  residence;*  he  was  also  sometimes  styled  Ottaniack, 
and  sometimes  Mamanatowick,f  but  his  proper  name  was 
Wahunsonacock.  The  country  subject  to  him  was  called  Pow 
hatan,  as  was  likewise  the  chief  river,  and  his  subjects  were 
called  Powhatans.  His  hereditary  domain  consisted  only  of 
Powhatan,  Arrohattox,  Appamatuck,  Youghtanund,  Pamunkey, 
and  Matapony,  together  with  Werowocomoco  and  Kiskiack.  All 
the  rest  were  his  conquests,  and  they  consisted  of  the  country  on 
the  James  River  and  its  branches,  from  its  mouth  to  the  falls, 
and  thence  across  the  country  to  the  north,  nearly  as  high  as  the 
falls  of  all  the  great  rivers  over  the  Potomac,  as  far  as  to  the 
Patuxent  in  Maryland.  Some  nations  on  the  Eastern  Shore  also 
owned  subjection  to  this  mighty  werowancc.  In  each  of  his 
several  hereditary  dominions  he  had  houses  built  like  arbors, 
thirty  or  forty  feet  long,  and  whenever  he  was  about  to  visit  one 
of  these,  it  was  supplied  beforehand  with  provision  for  his  enter 
tainment.  The  English  first  met  with  him  at  a  place  of  his  own 
name,  (which  it  still  retains,)  a  short  distance  below  the  falls  of 
James  River,  where  now  stands  the  picturesque  City  of  Rich 
mond.  £  His  favorite  residence  was  Werowocomoco,  on  the  east 


*  Stith,  53.  f  Strachey. 

+  In  an  act,  dated  1705,  found  in  the  old  "Laws  of  Virginia,"  mention  is  made 
of  a  ferry  from  Powhatantown  to  the  landing  at  Swineherd's.     The  site  of  this 

9 


130  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

bank  of  what  is  now  known  as  Timberneck  Bay,  on  York  River, 
in  the  County  of  Gloucester;  but  in  his  latter  years,  disrelishing 
the  increasing  proximity  of  the  English,  he  withdrew  himself  to 
Orapakes,  a  hunting-town  in  the  "desert,"  as  it  was  called,  more 
properly  the  wilderness,  between  the  Chickahominy  and  the 
Pamunkey.  It  is  not  improbable  that  he  died  and  was  buried 
there,  for  a  mile  from  Orapakes,  in  the  midst  of  the  woods,  he 
had  a  house  where  he  kept  his  treasure  of  furs,  copper,  pearl,  and 
beads,  "which  he  storeth  up  against  the  time  of  his  death  and 
burial."*  This  place  is  about  twelve  miles  northeast  from  Rich 
mond. 

At  the  time  of  the  first  settlement  of  the  colony,  Powhatan  was 
usually  attended,  especially  when  asleep,  by  a  body-guard  of  fifty 
tall  warriors;  he  afterwards  augmented  the  number  to  about  two 
hundred.  He  had  as  many  wives  as  he  pleased,  and  when  tired 
of  any  one  of  them,  he  bestowed  her  on  some  favorite.  In  the 
year  1608,  by  treachery,  he  surprised  the  Payanketanks,  his  own 
subjects,  while  asleep  in  their  cabins,  massacred  twenty- four  men, 
and  made  prisoners  their  werowance  with  the  women  and  chil 
dren,  who  were  reduced  to  slavery.  Captain  Smith,  himself  a 
prisoner,  saw  at  Werowocomoco  the  scalps  of  the  slain  suspended 
on  a  line  between  two  trees.  Powhatan  caused  certain  malefac 
tors  to  be  bound  hand  and  foot,  then  a  great  quantity  of  burning 
coals  to  be  collected  from  a  number  of  fires,  and  raked  round  in 
the  form  of  a  cock-pit,  and  the  victims  of  his  barbarity  thrown 
in  the  midst  and  burnt  to  death. f  He  was  not  entirely  destitute 
of  some  better  qualities ;  in  him  some  touches  of  princely  magna 
nimity  are  curiously  blended  with  huckstering  cunning,  and  the 
tenderness  of  a  doating  father  with  the  cruelty  of  an  unrelenting 
despot. 

Powhatan  was  succeeded  by  his  second  brother,  Opitchapan, 
sometimes  called  Itopatin,  or  Oeatan,  who,  upon  his  accession, 
again  changed  his  name  to  Sasawpen;  as  Opechancanough,  upon 

Powhatantown  is  on  the  upper  part  of  Flower  de  Hundred  Plantation.     Nume 
rous  Indian  relics  have  been  found  there,  and  earthworks,  evidently  thrown  up 
for  fortification,  are  still  extant.     The  name  of  Powhatantown  was  given  to  this 
spot  by  the  whites.     Near  Jamestown  is  the  extensive  Powhatan  Swamp. 
*  Smith,  i.  143.  f  Smith,  i.  144. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  131 

the  like  occasion,  changed  his  to  Mangopeomen.  Opitchapan 
being  decrepid  in  body  and  inert  in  mind,  was  in  a  short  time 
practically  superseded  in  the  government  by  his  younger,  bolder, 
and  more  ambitious  brother,  the  famous  Opechancanough  ;  though 
for  a  time  he  was  content  to  be  styled  the  Werowance  of  Chicka- 
horniny.  Both  renewed  the  assurances  of  continued  friendship 
with  the  English. 


CHAPTER    X. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh — His  Birth  and  Parentage— Student  at  Oxford — Enlists  in 
Service  of  Queen  of  Navarre — His  stay  in  France — Returns  to  England — At 
the  Middle  Temple — Serves  in  Netherlands  and  Ireland — Returns  to  England — 
His  Gallantry — Undertakes  Colonization  of  Virginia— Member  of  Parliament — 
Knighted— In  Portuguese  Expedition — Loses  Favor  at  Court — Retires  to  Ire 
land—Spenser — Sir  Walter  in  the  Tower — His  Flattery  of  the  Queen — She 
grants  him  the  Manor  of  Sherborne — His  Expedition  to  Guiana — Joins  Expe 
dition  against  Cadiz — Wounded — Makes  another  Voyage  to  Guiana — Restored 
to  Queen's  Favor — Contributes  to  Defeat  of  Treason  of  Essex — Raleigh  made 
Governor  of  Jersey — His  Liberal  Sentiments — Elizabeth's  Death — Accession 
of  James  the  First — Raleigh  confined  in  the  Tower — Found  guilty  of  High 
Treason — Reprieved — Still  a  Prisoner  in  the  Tower — Devotes  himself  to  Study 
— His  Companions — His  "History  of  the  World" — Lady  Raleigh's  Petition — 
Raleigh  Released — His  Last  Expedition  to  Guiana^ — Its  Failure — His  Son 
tilled — Sir  Walter's  Return  to  England — His  Arrest,  Condemnation,  Execu 
tion,  Character. 

DURIXG-  the  same  year,  1618,  died  the  founder  of  Virginia 
colonization,  the  famous  Sir  Walter  Raleigh.  He  was  born  at 
Hayes,  a  farm  in  the  Parish  of  Budley,  Devonshire,  1552,  being 
the  fourth  son  of  Walter  Raleigh,  Esq.,  of  Fardel,  near  Ply 
mouth,  and  Catharine,  daughter  of  Sir  Philip  Champcrnon,  and 
widow  of  Otho  Gilbert,  of  Compton,  Devonshire.  After  passing 
some  time  at  Oriel  College,  Oxford,  about  the  year  1568,  where 
he  distinguished  himself  by  his  genius  and  attainments,  at  the 
age  of  seventeen  he  joined  a  volunteer  company  of  gentlemen, 
under  Henry  Champernon,  in  an  expedition  to  assist  the  Pro 
testant  Queen  of  Navarre.  He  remained  in  France  five  years, 
and  while  in  Paris,  under  the  protection  of  the  English  embassy, 
he  witnessed  the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew's  day.  On  re 
turning  to  England  he  was  for  a  while  in  the  Middle  Temple ; 
but  whether  as  a  student  is  uncertain.  His  leisure  hours  were 
devoted  to  poetry.  In  the  year  1578  he  accompanied  Sir  John 
Norris  to  the  Netherlands.  In  the  following  year  he  joined  in 
Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert's  first  and  unsuccessful  voyage.  Now, 
when  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven,  it  is  said  that  of  the  twenty- 
(132) 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  133 

four  hours  lie  allotted  four  to  study  and  only  five  to  sleep ;  but 
this  is  rather  improbable,  for  so  much  activity  of  employment  as 
always  characterized  him,  demanded  a  proportionate  degree  of 
repose.  In  1580  he  served  in  Ireland  as  captain  of  horse,  under 
Lord  Grey,  and  became  familiar  with  the  dangers  and  atrocities 
of  civil  war.  In  15*81,  the  following  year,  he  became  acquainted 
with  the  poet  Spenser,  then  resident  at  Kilcolman.  Disgusted 
with  a  painful  service,  Raleigh  returned  to  England  during 
this  year,  and  it  was  at  this  period  that  he  exhibited  a  famous 
piece  of  gallantry  to  the  queen.  She,  in  a  walk,  coming  to  a 
"plashy  place,"  hesitated  to  proceed,  when  he  "cast  and  spread 
his  new  plush  cloak  on  the  ground"  for  her  to  tread  on.  By  his 
graceful  wit  and  fascinating  manners,  he  rose  rapidly  in  Eliza 
beth's  favor,  and  "she  took  him  for  a  kind  of  oracle."  His 
munificent  and  persevering  efforts  in  the  colonization  of  Virginia 
ought  to  have  moderated  the  too  sweeping  charge  of  levity  and 
fickleness  brought  against  him  by  Hume. 

During  the  year  1583  Raleigh  became  member  of  Parliament 
for  Devonshire ;  was  knighted,  and  made  Seneschal  of  Cornwall 
and  Warden  of  the  Stannerics.  Engaged  in  the  expedition 
whose  object  was  to  place  Don  Antonio  on  the  throne  of  Portu 
gal,  Sir  Walter  for  his  good  conduct  received  a  gold  chain  from 
the  queen.  The  rivalship  of  the  Earl  of  Essex  having  driven 
Raleigh  into  temporary  exile  in  Ireland,  he  there  renewed  his 
acquaintance  with  the  author  of  the  "Faery  Queen,"  who  accom 
panied  him  on  his  return  to  England. 

Sir  Walter  was  arrested  in  1592,  and  confined  in  the  Tower, 
on  account  of  a  criminal  intrigue  with  one  of  the  maids  of  honor, 
who  was  imprisoned  at  the  same  time;  and  this  incident  is  alluded 
to  in  Sir  Walter  Scott's  "Fortunes  of  Nigel."  The  lady  was 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Sir  Nicholas  Throckmorton,  and  a  cele 
brated  beauty,  wrhom  Raleigh  afterwards  married.  In  a  letter 
written  from  the  Tower,  and  addressed  to  Sir  Robert  Cecil, 
Raleigh  indulged  in  a  vein  of  extravagant  flattery  of  the  queen : 
"I  that  was  wont  to  behold  her  riding  like  Alexander,  hunting 
like  Diana,  walking  like  Venus — the  gentle  wind  blowing  her  fair 
hair  about  her  pure  cheeks  like  a  nymph ;  sometime  sitting  in  the 
shade  like  a  goddess;  sometime  singing  like  an  angel;  sometime 


134  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

playing  like  Orpheus."    Elizabeth  was  at  this  time  about  sixty 
years  old. 

In  1593  she  granted  him  the  Manor  of  Sherbornc,  in  Dorset 
shire.  About  this  period  he  distinguished  himself  in  the  House 
of  Commons.  In  1595  he  commanded  an  expedition  to  Guiana, 
in  quest  of  the  golden  El  Dorado,  and  another  in  the  following 
year.  In  an  expedition  against  Cadiz  he  led  the  van  in  action, 
and  received  a  severe  wound  in  the  leg.  Upon  his  return  to  Eng 
land  he  embarked  in  his  third  voyage  to  Guiana.  In  1597  he 
was  restored  to  his  place  of  captain  of  the  guard,  and  entirely 
reinstated  in  the  queen's  favor. 

Essex  having  engaged  in  a  rash  treasonable  conspiracy,  the  ob 
ject  of  which  was  to  seize  upon  the  queen's  person,  so  as  thereby 
to  control  the  government,  Raleigh  aided  in  defeating  his  de 
signs.  But  after  the  execution  of  his  popular  rival,  Raleigh's 
fortune  began  to  wane.  Nevertheless,  in  1600  he  was  made  Go 
vernor  of  the  Isle  of  Jersey.  In  the  following  year,  in  a  speech 
made  in  Parliament  on  an  act  for  sowing  hemp,  Sir  Walter  said : 
"For  my  part,  I  do  not  like  this  constraining  of  men  to  manure 
or  use  their  grounds  at  our  wills,  but  rather  let  every  man  use 
his  ground  to  that  which  it  is  most  fit  for,  and  therein  use  his 
discretion."  Queen  Elizabeth  died  in  1603,  and  Raleigh's  happi 
ness  ended  with  her  life. 

James  the  First  came  to  the  throne  of  Great  Britain  prejudiced 
against  Raleigh.  He  was  also  at  this  time  extremely  unpopular, 
and  especially  odious  to  the  friends  of  the  highly  gifted,  but  rash 
and  unfortunate  Earl  of  Essex.  In  three  months  after  the  arrival 
of  King  James  in  England,  Sir  Walter  was  arrested  on  a  charge 
of  high  treason,  in  conspiring  with  the  Lords  Cobham  and  Grey 
to  place  the  Lady  Arabella  Stuart  on  the  throne.  Arraigned 
on  charges  frivolous  and  contradictory,  tried  under  circumstances 
of  insult  and  oppression,  he  was  found  guilty  without  any  suffi 
cient  evidence.  By  their  conduct  on  this  occasion,  Sir  Edward 
Coke,  Lord  Chief  Justice  Popham,  and  Sir  Robert  Cecil  proved 
themselves  fit  tools  for  the  abject  and  heartless  James.  Raleigh, 
though  reprieved,  remained  a  prisoner  in  the  Tower  at  the  king's 
mercy. 

Lady  Raleigh  and  her  son  were  not  excluded  from  the  Tower, 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  135 

and  Carew,  the  youngest,  was  born  there.  During  his  long  con 
finement,  Sir  Walter  devoted  himself  to  literature  and  science, 
and  enjoyed  the  society  of  a  few  friends,  among  them  Hariot  and 
the  Earl  of  Northumberland,  who  was  likewise  a  State  prisoner. 
Sir  Walter  was  also  frequently  visited  by  Prince  Henry,  the  heir- 
apparent,  who  was  devotedly  attached  to  him,  and  who  said  that 
"none  but  his  father  would  keep  such  a  bird  in  a  cage."  Prince 
Charles,  on  the  contrary,  appears  to  have  entertained  a  strong 
dislike  to  him.  In  the  Tower  Raleigh  composed  his  great  work, 
the  "History  of  the  World,"  the  first  volume  of  which  appeared 
in  the  year  1614;  it  extended  from  the  creation  to  the  close  of 
the  Macedonian  war,  and  embraced  a  period  of  about  four  thou 
sand  years.  It  was  dedicated  to  Prince  Henry.  Raleigh  in 
tended  to  compose  two  other  volumes,  but  owing  to  the  untimely 
death  of  that  prince,  and  to  the  suppression  of  it  by  King  James, 
on  the  ground  that  it  censured  princes  too  freely,  and  perhaps  to 
the  magnitude  of  the  task,  he  proceeded  no  further  than  the  first 
volume.  Oliver  Cromwell  recommended  this  work  to  his  son. 

During  his  confinement  the  king  gave  away  Raleigh's  estate  of 
Sherborne  to  his  favorite,  Sir  Robert  Carr,  afterwards  the  in 
famous  Viscount  Rochester  and  Earl  of  Somerset,  who  swayed 
the  influence  at  Court  from  1611  to  1615,  when  he  was  supplanted 
by  the  equally  corrupt  George  Yilliers,  Duke  of  Buckingham. 

When  Lady  Raleigh,  with  her  children  around  her,  kneeling  in 
tears,  besought  James  to  restore  this  estate,  the  only  answer  she 
received  was,  "I  maun  have  the  land,  I  maun  have  it  for  Carr." 
At  length,  owing  in  part  to  the  death  of  some  of  his  enemies,  and 
in  part  to  the  influence  of  money,  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  was  re 
leased  from  the  Tower  for  the  purpose  of  making  another  voyage 
to  Guiana.  The  expedition  failed  in  its  object,  and  Sir  Walter, 
after  losing  his  son  in  an  action  with  the  Spaniards,  returned  to 
England,  where  he  was  arrested.  , 

James  was  now  wholly  bent  on  effecting  a  match  between  his 
son,  Prince  Charles,  afterwards  Charles  the  First,  and  the  Spanish 
Infanta,  and  to  gratify  the  Court  of  Spain  and  his  own  malignity, 
he  resolved  to  sacrifice  Raleigh.  He4  was  condemned,  after  a 
most  eloquent  defence,  under  the  old  conviction  of  1603,  notwith 
standing  that  he  had  been  recently  commissioned  commander  of 


136  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

a  fleet  and  Governor  of  Guiana,  which  had  unquestionably  an 
nulled  that  conviction.  "He  was  condemned  (said  his  son  Carew) 
for  being  a  friend  of  the  Spaniards,  and  lost  his  life  for  being 
their  bitter  enemy." 

Queen  Anne,  then  in  declining  health,  interceded  for  him,  not 
long  before  his  execution,  in  the  following  note,  addressed  to  the 
Marquis  of  Buckingham: — 

"Mr  KIND  DOG: — 

"If  I  have  any  power  or  credit  with  you,  in  dealing  sincerely 
and  earnestly  with  the  king,  that  Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  life  may 
not  be  called  in  question.  If  you  do  it  so  that  the  success  answer 
my  expectation,  assure  yourself  that  I  will  take  it  extraordinarily 
kindly  at  your  hands,  and  rest  one  that  wisheth  you  well,  and 
desires  you  to  continue  still  (as  you  have  been)  a  true  servant  to 
your  master. 

"ANNE  R,"* 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh  was  executed  on  the  twenty-ninth  day  of 
October,  1618,  in  the  Old  Palace  Yard.  He  died  with  Christian 
heroism.  Distinguished  as  a  navigator  and  discoverer,  a  naval 
and  military  commander,  an  author  in  prose  and  verse,  a  wit,  a 
courtier,  a  statesman  and  philosopher,  there  is  perhaps  in  Eng 
lish  history  no  name  associated  with  such  lofty  and  versatile 
genius,  so  much  glorious  action,  and  so  much  wise  reflection.  He 
was  indeed  proud,  fond  of  splendor,  of  a  restless  and  fiery  ambition, 
sometimes  unscrupulous.  An  ardent  imagination,  excited  by  the 
enthusiasm  of  an  extraordinary  age,  infused  an  extravagance  and 
niarvellousness  into  some  of  his  relations  of  his  voyages  and  dis 
coveries,  that  gave  some  occasion  for  distrust.  The  ardor  of  his 
temperament  and  an  over-excited  imagination  involved  him  in 
several  projects  that  terminated  unhappily.  But  with  his  weak 
nesses  and  his  faults  he  united  noble  virtues,  and  Virginia  will 
ever  be  proud  of  so  illustrious  a  founder. f 


*  Miss  Strickland's  Lives  of  t  Queens  of  England,  vii.  357. 

f  Oldy's  Life  of  Raleigh,  74;  Belknap,  i.  art  Raleigh,  289,  370;  "A  Brief 
Relation  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  Troubles,"  Harleian  Mis.,  No.  100.  There  are 
also  lives  of  Raleigh  by  Birch,  Cayley,  Southey,  and  Mrs.  Thompson. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  137 

The  Queen  Anne,  of  Denmark,  who  had  in  vain  employed  her 
kind  offices  in  his  behalf,  did  not  long  survive  him ;  she  died  in 
March,  1619.  Without  any  extraordinary  qualities,  she  was  ac 
complished,  distinguished  for  the  easy  elegance  of  her  manners, 
amiable,  and  the  generous  friend  of  the  oppressed  and  unfortu 
nate. 


CHAPTER    XL 

1619. 

Sir  Edwin  Sandys,  Treasurer  of  London  Company — Powell,  Deputy  Governor — 
Sir  George  Yeardley,  Governor — First  Assembly  meets — Its  Proceedings. 

SIR  THOMAS  SMTJH,  Treasurer  or  Governor  of  the  Virginia 
Company,  was  displaced  in  1618,  and  succeeded  by  Sir  Edwin 
Sandys.*  This  enlightened  statesman  and  exemplary  man  was 
born  in  Worcestershire,  in  1561,  being  the  second  son  of  the 
Archbishop  of  York.  Educated  at  Oxford  under  the  care  of 
"the  judicious  Hooker,"  he  obtained  a  prebend  in  the  church  of 
York.  He  afterwards  travelled  in  foreign  countries,  and  pub 
lished  his  observations  in  a  work  entitled  "Europse  Speculum, 
or  a  View  of  the  State  of  Religion  in  the  Western  World."  He 
resigned  his  prebend  in  1602,  was  subsequently  knighted  by 
James,  in  1603,  and  employed  in  diplomatic  trusts.  His  appoint 
ment  as  treasurer  gave  great  satisfaction  to  the  colony ;  for  free 
principles  were  now,  under  his  auspices,  in  the  ascendant.  His 
name  is  spelt  sometimes  Saudis,  sometimes  Sands.  Sir  Thomas 
Smith  was  shortly  after  reappointed,  by  the  Virginia  Company, 
President  of  the  Somers  Islands. 

When  Argall,  in  April,  stole  away  from  Virginia,  he  left  for 
his  deputy,  Captain  Nathaniel  Powell, f  who  had  come  over  with 
Captain  Smith  in  1607,  and  had  evinced  courage  and  discretion. 
He  was  one  of  the  writers  from  whose  narratives  Smith  compiled 
his  General  History.  Powell  held  his  office  only  about  ten  days, 
when  Sir  George  Yeardley,  recently  knighted,  arrived  as  Go 
vernor-General,  bringing  with  him  new  charters  for  the  colony. 
He  added  to  the  council  Captain  Francis  West,  Captain  Nathaniel 

*  Court  and  Times  of  James  the  First,  i.  161.  -j-  A  Welsh  name. 

(138) 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  139 

Powell,  John  Rolfc,  William  Wickham,  and  Samuel  Macock.* 
John  Rolfe,  who  had  been  secretary,  now  lost  his  place,  probably 
owing  to  his  connivance  at  Argall's  malepractices,  and  was  suc 
ceeded  by  John  Pory.  He  was  educated  at  Cambridge,  where  he 
took  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts,  in  April,  1610.  It  is  sup 
posed  that  he  was  a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons.  He  was 
much  of  a  traveller,  and  was  at  Venice  in  1613,  at  Amsterdam 
in  1617,  and  shortly  after  at  Paris.  By  the  Earl  of  Warwick's 
influence  he  now  procured  the  place  of  Secretary  for  the  Colony 
of  Virginia,  having  come  over  in  April,  1619,  with  Sir  George 
Yeardley,  who  appointed  him  one  of  his  council. 

In  June,  Governor  Yeardley  summoned  the  first  legislative 
assembly  that  ever  met  in  America.  It  assembled  at  James  City 
or  Jamestown,  on  Friday,  the  30th  of  July,  1619,  upwards  of 
a  year  before  the  Mayflower  left  England  with  the  Pilgrims.  A 
record  of  the  proceedings  is  preserved  in  the  London  State  Paper 
Office,  in  the  form  of  a  Report  from  the  Speaker,  John  Pory.f 

John  Pory,  Secretary  of  the  Colony,  was  chosen  Speaker,  and 
John  Twine,  Clerk.  The  Assembly  sate  in  the  choir  of  the 
church,  the  members  of  the  council  sitting  on  either  side  of  the 
Governor,  and  the  Speaker  right  before  him,  the  Clerk  next  the 
Speaker,  and  Thomas  Pierse,  the  Sergeant,  standing  at  the  bar. 


*  Macocks,  the  seat  on  James  River,  opposite  to  Berkley,  was  called  after  this 
planter,  who  was  the  first  proprietor. 

•j-  This  interesting  document,  discovered  by  Mr.  Bancroft,  was  published  by  the 
New  York  Historical  Society  in  1857,  and  a  number  of  copies  were  sent  to  Rich 
mond  by  George  Henry  Moore,  Esq.,  Secretary  of  that  Society,  for  distribution 
among  the  members  of  the  Assembly.  The  attention  of  Virginians  was  first 
drawn  to  the  existence  of  this  document  by  Gonway  Robinson,  Esq.,  Chairman 
of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Virginia  Historical  Society. 

The  number  of  burgesses  was  twenty-two.  For  James  City,  Captain  William 
Powell,  Ensign  William  Spense;  for  Charles  City,  Samuel  Sharpe  and  Samuel 
Jordan:  for  the  City  of  Henricus,  Thomas  Dowse,  John  Polentine;  for  Kiccow- 
tan,  Captain  William  Tucker,  William  Capp;  for  Martin-Brandon,  Captain  John 
Martin's  Plantation,  Mr.  Thomas  Davis,  Mr.  Robert  Stacy;  for  Smythe's  Hun 
dred,  Captain  Thomas  Graves,  Mr.  Walter  Shelley;  for  Martin's  Hundred,  Mr. 
John  Boys,  John  Jackson;  for  Argall's  Gift,  Mr.  Pawlett,  Mr.  Gourgainy;  for 
Flowerdieu  Hundred,  Ensign  Rossingham,  Mr.  Jefferson;  for  Captain  Lawne's 
Plantation,  Captain  Christopher  Lawne,  Ensign  Washer;  for  Captain  Ward's 
Plantation,  Captain  Ward,  Lieutenant  Gibbes. 


140  HISTOKY    OF    THE    COLOXY   AND 

Before  commencing  business,  prayer  was  said  by  Mr.  Bucke, 
the  minister.  Each  burgess  then,  as  called  on,  took  the  oath  of 
supremacy.  When  the  name  of  Captain  Ward  was  called,  the 
Speaker  objected  to  him  as  having  seated  himself  on  land  without 
authority.  Objection  was  also  made  to  the  burgesses  appearing 
to  represent  Captain  Martin's  patent,  because  they  were,  by  its 
terms,  exempted  from  any  obligation  to  obey  the  laws  of  the  co 
lony.  Complaint  was  made  by  Opochancano,  that  corn  had  been 
forcibly  taken  from  some  of  his  people  in  the  Chesapeake,  by 
Ensign  Harrison,  commanding  a  shallop  belonging  to  this  Captain 
John  Martin,  "Master  of  the  Ordinance."  The  Speaker  read 
the  commission  for  establishing  the  Council  of  State  and  the 
General  Assembly,  and  also  the  charter  brought  out  by  Sir 
Thomas  Yeardley.  This  last  was  referred  to  several  committees  for 
examination,  so  that  if  they  should  find  anything  "not  perfectly 
squaring  with  the  state  of  the  colony,  or  any  law  pressing  or 
binding  too  hard,"  they  might  by  petition  seek  to  have  it  re 
dressed,  "especially  because  this  great  charter  is  to  bind  us  and 
our  heirs  forever."  Mr.  Abraham  Persey  was  the  Cape-mer 
chant.  The  price  at  which  he  was  to  receive  tobacco,  "either  for 
commodities  or  upon  bills,"  was  fixed  at  three  shillings  for  the 
best  and  eighteen  pence  for  the  second  rate.  After  inquiry  the 
burgesses  from  Martin's  patent  were  excluded,  and  the  Assembly 
"humbly  demanded"  of  the  Virginia  Company  an  explanation 
of  that  clause  in  his  patent  entitling  him  to  enjoy  his  lands  as 
amply  as  any  lord  of  a  manor  in  England,  adding,  "the  least  the 
Assembly  can  allege  against  this  clause  is,  that  it  is  obscure,  and 
that  it  is  a  thing  impossible  for  us  here  to  know  the  prerogatives 
of  all  the  manors  in  England."  And  they  prayed  that  the  clause 
in  the  charter  guaranteeing  equal  liberties  arid  immunities  to 
grantees,  might  not  be  violated,  so  as  to  "divert  out  of  the  true 
course  the  free  and  public  current  of  justice."  Thus  did  the 
first  Assembly  of  Virginia  insist  upon  the  principle  of  the  De 
claration  of  Rights  of  1776,  that  "no  man  or  set  of  men  are 
entitled  to  exclusive  or  separate  emoluments  or  privileges  from 
the  community,  but  in  consideration  of  public  services."  Certain 
of  the  instructions  sent  out  from  England  were  "drawn  into 
laws"  for  protection  of  the  Indians  from  injury,  and  regulating 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  141 

intercourse  with  them,  and  educating  their  children,  and  prepar 
ing  some  of  the  most  promising  boys  "for  the  college  intended 
for  them;  that  from  thence  they  may  be  sent  to  that  work  of 
conversion;"  for  regulating  agriculture,  tobacco,  and  sassafras, 
then  the  chief  merchantable  commodities  raised.  Upon  Cap 
tain  Powell's  petition,  "a  lewd  and  treacherous  servant  of  his" 
was  sentenced  to  stand  for  four  days  with  his  ears  nailed  to 
the  pillory,  and  be  whipped  each  day.  John  Rolfe  complained 
that  Captain  Martin  had  made  unjust  charges  against  him,  and 
cast  "some  aspersion  upon  the  present  government,  which  is  the 
most  temperate  and  just  that  ever  was  in  this  country — too  mild, 
indeed,  for  many  of  this  colony,  whom  unwonted  liberty  hath 
made  insolent,  and  not  to  know  themselves."  On  the  last  day 
of  the  session  were  enacted  such  laws  as  issued  "out  of  every 
man's  private  conceit."  "It  shall  be  free  for  every  man  to  trade 
with  the  Indians,  servants  only  excepted  upon  pain  of  whipping, 
unless  the  master  will  redeem  it  off  with  the  payment  of  an 
angel."  "No  man  to  sell  or  give  any  of  the  greater  hoes  to  the 
Indians,  or  any  English  dog  of  quality,  as  a  mastiff,  greyhound, 
bloodhound,  land  or  water  spaniel."  Any  man  selling  arms  or 
ammunition  to  the  Indians,  to  be  hanged  so  soon  as  the  fact  is 
proved.  All  ministers  shall  duly  "  read  divine  service,  and  exercise 
their  ministerial  function  according  to  the  ecclesiastical  laws  arid 
orders  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  every  Sunday,  in  the 
afternoon,  shall  catechise  such  as  are  not  ripe  to  come  to  the 
communion."  All  persons  going  up  or  down  the  James  River 
were  to  touch  at  James  City,  "to  know  whether  the  governor  will 
command  them  any  service."  "All  persons  whatsoever,  upon  the 
Sabbath  days,  shall  frequent  divine  service  and  sermons,  both 
forenoon •  arid  afternoon;  and  all  such  as  bear  arms  shall  bring 
their  pieces,  swords,  powder,  and  shot." 

Captain  Henry  Spellman,  charged  by  Robert  Poole,  inter 
preter,  with  speaking  ill  of  the  governor  "at  Opochancano's 
court,"  was  degraded  from  his  rank  of  captain,  and  condemned 
to  serve  the  colony  for  seven  years  as  interpreter  to  the  governor. 
Paspaheiga,  embracing  three  hundred  acres  of  land,  was  also 
called  Argallstown,  and  was  part  of  the  tract  appropriated  to  the 
governor.  To  compensate  the  speaker,  clerk,  sergeant,  and  pro- 


142  ANCIENT    DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA. 

vost  marshal,  a  pound  of  the  best  tobacco  was  levied  from  every 
male  above  sixteen  years  of  age.  The  Assembly  prayed  that  the 
treasurer,  council,  and  company  would  not  "take  it  in  ill  part  if 
these  laws,  which  we  have  now  brought  to  light,  do  pass  current, 
and  be  of  force  till  such  time  as  we  may  know  their  further  plea 
sure  out  of  England;  for  otherwise  this  people  (who  now  at  length 
have  got  their  reins  of  former  servitude  into  their  own  swindge) 
would,  in  short  time,  grow  so  insolent  as  they  would  shake  off  all 
government,  and  there  would  be  no  living  among  them."  They 
also  prayed  the  company  to  "give  us  power  to  allow  or  disallow 
of  their  orders  of  court,  as  his  majesty  hath  given  them  power  to 
allow  or  reject  our  laws."  So  early  did  it  appear,  that  from  the 
necessity  of  the  case,  the  colony  must  in  large  part  legislate  for 
itself,  and  so  early  did  a  spirit  of  independence  manifest  itself. 
Owing  to  the  heat  of  the  weather,  several  of  the  burgesses  fell 
sick,  and  one  died,  and  thus  the  governor  was  obliged  abruptly, 
on  the  fourth  of  August,  to  prorogue  the  Assembly  till  the  first 
of  March.*  There  being  as  yet  no  counties  laid  off,  the  repre 
sentatives  were  elected  from  the  several  towns,  plantations,  and 
hundreds,  styled  boroughs,  and  hence  they  were  called  burgesses. 


Proceedings  of  the  First  Assembly  of  Virginia,  in  1619. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

1619-1621. 

The  New  Laws — Yeardley,  Governor — Affairs  of  the  Colony — Landing  of  the 
Pilgrims  at  Plymouth — Negroes  Imported  into  Virginia — Supplies  sent  out 
from  England — Wives  for  the  Colonists — The  Bishops  directed  to  take  up  Col 
lections  for  aid  of  the  Colony  in  erecting  Churches  and  Schools — England 
claims  a  Monopoly  of  Virginia  Tobacco — Charitable  Donations. 

THUS  after  eleven  years  of  suffering,  peril,  discord,  and  tyranny, 
intermingled  with  romantic  adventure,  bold  enterprise,  the  dignity 
of  danger,  virtuous  fortitude,  and  generous  heroism,  were  at 
length  established  a  local  legislature  and  a  regular  administration 
of  right.  The  Virginia  planters  expressed  their  gratitude  to  the 
company,  and  begged  them  to  reduce  into  a  compend,  with  his 
majesty's  approbation,  such  of  the  laws  of  England  as  were  ap 
plicable  to  Virginia,  with  suitable  additions,  "because  it  was  not 
fit  that  his  subjects  should  be  governed  by  any  other  rules  than 
such  as  received  their  influence  from  him."  The  acts  of  the  As 
sembly  were  transmitted  to  England  for  the  approval  of  the 
treasurer  and  company.  They  were  thought  to  have  been  very 
judiciously  framed,  but  the  company's  committee  found  them 
"exceeding  intricate  and  full  of  labor."  There  was  granted  to 
the  old  planters  an  exemption  from  all  compulsive  service  to  the 
colony,  with  a  confirmation  of  their  estates,  which  were  to  be 
holden  as  by  English  subjects. 

It  is  remarkable,  that  from  about  1614,  for  some  seven  years, 
James  the  First  had  governed  England  without  a  parliament; 
and  the  Virginia  Company  was  during  this  period  a  rallying  point 
for  the  friends  of  civil  and  religious  freedom,  and  the  colony  en 
joyed  the  privilege,  denied  to  the  mother  country,  of  holding  a 
legislative  assembly. 

Yeardley  finding  a  scarcity  of  corn,  undertook  to  promote  the 
cultivation  of  it,  and  this  year  was  blessed  with  abundant  crops 
of  grain.  But  an  extraordinary  mortality  carried  off  not  less 

(143) 


144  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

than  three  hundred  of  the  people.  Three  thousand  acres  of  land 
were  allotted  to  the  governor,  and  twelve  thousand  to  the  com 
pany.  The  Margaret,  of  Bristol,  arrived  with  some  settlers,  and 
"also  many  devout  gifts."  The  Trial  brought  a  cargo  of  corn 
and  cattle.  The  expenditure  of  the  Virginia  Company  at  this 
period,  on  account  of  the  colony,  was  estimated  at  between  four 
and  five  thousand  pounds  a  year. 

A  body  of  English  Puritans,  persecuted  on  account  of  their 
nonconformity,  had,  in  1608,  sought  an  asylum  in  Holland.  In 
1617  they  conceived  the  design  of  removing  to  America,  and  in 
1619  they  obtained  from  the  Virginia  Company,  by  the  influence 
of  Sir  Edward  Sandys,  the  treasurer,  "a  large  patent,"  author 
izing  them  to  settle  in  Virginia.  They  embarked  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  year  1620,  in  the  Mayflower,  intending  to  settle  some 
where  near  the  Hudson  River,  which  lay  within  the  Virginia 
Company's  territory.  The  Pilgrims  were,  however,  conducted  to 
the  bleak  and  barren  coast  of  Massachusetts,  where  they  landed 
on  the  twenty-second  day  of  December,  (new  style,)  1620,  on  the 
rock  of  Plymouth.  Thus,  thirteen  years  after  the  settlement  of 
Jamestown,  was  laid  the  foundation  of  the  New  England  States. 
The  place  of  their  landing  was  beyond  the  limits  of  the  Virginia 
Company. 

In  the  month  of  August,  1619,  a  Dutch  man-of-war  visited 
Jamestown  and  sold  the  settlers  twenty  negroes,  the  first  intro 
duced  into  Virginia.  Some  time  before  this,  Captain  Argall  sent 
out,  at  the  expense  of  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  on  a  "  filibustering" 
cruise  to  the  West  Indies,  a  ship  called  the  Treasurer,  manned 
"with  the  ablest  men  in  the  colony,"  under  an  old  commission 
from  the  Duke  of  Savoy  against  the  Spanish  dominions  in  the 
yrestern  hemisphere.  She  returned  to  Virginia  after  some  ten 
months,  with  her  booty,  which  consisted  of  captured  negroes,  who 
were  not  left  in  Virginia,  because  Captain  Argall  had  gone  back 
to  England,  but  were  put  on  the  Earl  of  Warwick's  plantation  in 
the  Somer  Islands.* 


*  Belknap,  art.  Argall,  citing  Declaration  of  Va.  Council,  1628,  and  Burk's 
Hist,  of  Va.,  i.  319;  Smith,  ii.  39,  where  Rolfe  gives  the  true  date,  1619;  Stith, 
171;  Beverley,  B.  i.  37;  Chalmers'  Annals,  49;  Burk,  i.  211,  and  Hening,  i. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  145 

It  is  probable  that  the  planters  who  purchased  the  negroes 
from  the  Dutch  man-of-war  reasoned  but  little  on  the  morality 
of  the  act,  or  if  any  scruples  of  conscience  presented  themselves, 
they  could  be  readily  silenced  by  reflecting  that  the  negroes  were 
heathens,  descendants  of  Ham,  and  consigned  by  Divine  appoint 
ment  to  perpetual  bondage.*  The  planters  may,  if  they  reasoned 
at  all  on  the  subject,  have  supposed  that  they  were  even  perform- 
in  o-  a  humane  act  in  releasing  these  Africans  from  the  noisome 

o  o 

hold  of  the  ship.  They  might  well  believe  that  the  condition  of 
the  negro  slave  would  be  less  degraded  and  wretched  in  Virginia 
than  it  had  been  in  their  native  country.  This  first  purchase 
was  probably  not  looked  upon  as  a  matter  of  much  consequence, 
and  for  several  ages  the  increase  of  the  blacks  in  Virginia  was  so 
inconsiderable  as  not  to  attract  any  special  attention.  The  con 
dition  of  the  white  servants  of  the  colony,  many  of  them  convicts, 
was  so  abject,  that  men,  accustomed  to  see  their  own  race  in 
bondage,  could  look  with  more  indifference  at  the  worse  condition 
of  the  slaves. 

The  negroes  purchased  by  the  slavers  on  the  coast  of  Africa 
were  brought  from  the  interior,  convicts  sold  into  slavery,  chil 
dren  sold  by  heathen  parents  destitute  of  natural  affection,  kid 
napped  villagers,  and  captives  taken  in  war,  the  greater  part  of 
them  born  in  hereditary  bondage.  The  circumstances  under 
which  they  were  consigned  to  the  slave-ship  evince  the  wretched 
ness  of  their  condition  in  their  native  country,  where  they  were 
the  victims  of  idolatry,  barbarism,  and  war.  The  negroes  im 
ported  were  usually  between  the  ages  of  fourteen  and  thirty,  two- 
thirds  of  them  being  males.  The  new  negro,  just  transferred 
from  the  wilds  of  a  distant  continent,  was  indolent,  ignorant  of 
the  modes  and  implements  of  labor,  and  of  the  language  of  his 
master,  and  perhaps  of  his  fellow-laborers. f  To  tame  and  domes 
ticate,  to  instruct  in  the  modes  of  industry,  and  to  reduce  to 


146,  all  fas  Bancroft,  i.  177,  remarks,)  rely  on  Beverley.  It  maybe  added,  that 
they  were  all  misled  by  him  in  making  the  date  1620.  I  was  enabled  to  rectify 
this  date  by  an  intimation  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wm.  H.  Foote,  author  of  "Sketches 
of  Virginia." 

*  Burk,  i.  211.  f  Bancroft,  iii.  402. 

10 


146  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY  AND 

subordination  and  usefulness  a  barbarian,  gross,  obtuse,  perverse, 
must  have  demanded  persevering  efforts  and  severe  discipline. 

While  the  cruel  slave-trade  was  prompted  by  a  remorseless 
cupidity,  an  inscrutable  Providence  turned  the  wickedness  of 
men  into  the  means  of  bringing  about  beneficent  results.  The 
system  of  slavery,  doubtless,  entailed  many  evils  on  slave  and 
slave-holder,  and,  perhaps,  the  greater  on  the  latter.  These 
evils  are  the  tax  paid  for  the  elevation  of  the  negro  from  his 
aboriginal  condition. 

Among  the  vessels  that  came  over  to  Virginia  from  England, 
about  this  time,  is  mentioned  a  bark  of  five  tons.  A  fleet  sent 
out  by  the  Virginia  Company  brought  over,  in  1619,  more  than 
twelve  hundred  settlers.*  The  planters  at  length  enjoyed  the 
blessings  of  property  in  the  soil,  and  the  society  of  women.  The 
wives  were  sold  to  the  colonists  for  one  hundred  and  twenty 
pounds  of  tobacco,  and  it  was  ordered  that  this  debt  should  have 
precedence  of  all  others.  The  price  of  a  wife  afterwards  became 
higher.  The  bishops  in  England,  by  the  king's  orders,  collected 
nearly  fifteen  hundred  pounds  to  build  a  college  or  university  at 
Henrico,  intended  in  part  for  the  education  of  Indian  children. f 


*  They  were  disposed  of  in  the  following  way:  eighty  tenants  for  the  gover 
nor's  land,  one  hundred  and  thirty  for  the  company's  land,  one  hundred  for  the 
college,  fifty  for  the  glebe,  ninety  young  women  of  good  character  for  wives, 
fifty  servants,  fifty  whose  labors  were  to  support  thirty  Indian  children  ;  the  rest 
were  distributed  among  private  plantations. 

f  The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  letter  addressed  by  the  king  on  this  occasion 
to  the  archbishops,  authorizing  them  to  invite  the  members  of  the  church 
throughout  the  kingdom  to  assist  in  the  establishment  of  the  college,  and  such 
works  of  piety.  The  exact  date  of  the  letter  has  not  been  ascertained ;  but  it 
was  about  the  year  1620.  It  has  never  been  published  until  recently,  and  is  the 
first  document  of  the  kind  ever  issued  in  England  for  the  benefit  of  the  colonies. 
It  is  as  follows  : — 

"Most  reverend  father  in  God,  right,  trusty,  and  well-beloved  counsellor,  we 
greet  you  well.  You  have  heard  ere  this  time  of  the  attempt  of  divers  worthy 
men,  our  subjects,  to  plant  in  Virginia,  (under  the  warrant  of  our  letters  pa 
tents.)  people  of  this  kingdom  as  well  as  for  the  enlarging  of  our  dominions,  as 
for  the  propagation  of  the  gospel  amongst  infidels:  wherein  there  is  good  pro 
gress  made  and  hope  of  further  increase;  so  as  the  undertakers  of  that  planta 
tion  are  now  in  hand  with  the  erecting  of  some  churches  and  schools  for  the 
education  of  the  children  of  those  barbarians,  which  cannot  but  be  to  them  a 
very  great  charge  and  above  the  expense  which,  for  the  civil  plantation,  doth 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF    VIRGINIA.  147 

In  July,  1620,  the  population  of  the  colony  was  estimated  at 
four  thousand.  One  hundred  "disorderly  persons"  or  convicts,  sent 
over  during  the  previous  year  by  the  king's  order,  were  employed 
as  servants.*  For  a  brief  interval  the  Virginia  Company  had 
enjoyed  freedom  of  trade  with  the  Low  Countries,  where  they 
sold  their  tobacco;  but  in  October,  1621,  this  was  prohibited  by 
an  order  in  council;  and  from  this  time  England  claimed  a  mono 
poly  of  the  trade  of  her  plantations,  and  this  principle  was  gra 
dually  adopted  by  all  the  European  powers  as  they  acquired 
transatlantic  settlements. f 


come  to  them.  In  which  we  doubt  not  but  that  you  and  all  others  who  wish  well 
to  the  increase  of  Christian  religion,  will  be  willing  to  give  all  assistance  and 
furtherance,  you  may,  and  therein  to  make  experience  of  the  zeal  and  devotion 
of  our  well-minded  subjects,  especially  those  of  the  clergy.  Wherefore  we  do 
require  you,  and  hereby  authorize  you  to  write  your  letters  to  the  several  bishops 
of  the  dioceses  in  your  province,  that  they  do  give  order  to  the  ministers  and 
other  zealous  men  of  their  dioceses,  both  by  their  own  example  in  contribution 
and  by  exhortation  to  others  to  move  our  people  within  their  several  charges  to 
contribute  to  so  good  a  work,  in  as  liberal  a  manner  as  they  may;  for  the  better 
advancing  whereof  our  pleasure  is,  that  those  collections  be  made  in  all  the  parti 
cular  parishes,  four  several  times  within  these  two  years  next  coming;  and  that  the 
several  accounts  of  each  parish,  together  with  the  moneys  collected,  be  returned 
from  time  to  time  to  the  bishops  of  the  dioceses,  and  by  them  be  transmitted 
half  yearly  to  you ;  and  so  to  be  delivered  to  the  treasurer  of  that  plantation  to  be 
employed  for  the  godly  purposes  intended,  and  no  other."  (Anderson's  Hist,  of 
Col.  Church,  i.  315;  StitVs  Hist,  of  Va.,  159.) 

*  Mr.  Jeiferson  appears  to  have  fallen  into  a  mistake  as  to  the  period  of  time 
when  malefactors  were  first  shipped  over  to  this  country  from  England,  for  he 
says:  "  It  was  at  a  late  period  of  their  history  that  the  practice  began."  (  Writ 
ings  of  Jefferson,  i.  405.) 

f  Chalmers'  Introduc.,  i.  15.  The  following  letter  accompanied  a  shipment  of 
marriageable  females  sent  out  from  England  to  Virginia : — 

"LONDON,  August  21,  1621. 

"We  send  you  a  shipment,  one  widow  and  eleven  maids,  for  wives  of  the  people 
of  Virginia:  there  hath  been  especial  care  had  in  the  choice  of  them,  for  there 
hath  not  one  of  them  been  received  but  upon  good  commendations. 

"In  case  they  cannot  be  presently  married,  we  desire  that  they  may  be  put 
with  several  householders  that  have  wives,  until  they  can  be  provided  with  hus 
bands.  There  are  nearly  fifty  more  that  are  shortly  to  come,  and  are  sent  by 
our  honorable  lord  and  treasurer,  the  Earl  of  Southampton,  and  certain  worthy 
gentlemen,  who,  taking  into  consideration  that  the  plantation  can  never  nourish 
till  families  be  planted,  and  the  respect  of  wives  and  children  for  their  people  on 
the  soil,  therefore  having  given  this  fair  beginning;  reimbursing  of  whose 


148  ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA. 

Two  persons  unknown  presented  plate  and  ornaments  for  the 
communion-table  at  the  college,  and  at  Mrs.  Mary  Eobinson's 
Church,  so  called  because  she  had  contributed  two  hundred  pounds 
toward  the  founding  of  it.  Another  person  unknown  gave  five 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds  for  the  education  of  Indian  children  in 
Christianity;  he  subscribed  himself  "Dust  and  Ashes;"  and  was 
afterwards  discovered  to  be  Mr.  Gabriel  Barber,  a  member  of  the 
company. 


charges  it  is  ordered  that  every  man  that  marries  them,  give  one  hundred  and 
twenty  pounds  of  best  leaf  tobacco  for  each  of  them. 

"We  desire  that  the  marriage  be  free  according  to  nature,  and  we  would  not 
have  those  maids  deceived  and  married  to  servants,  but  only  to  such  freemen  or 
tenants  as  have  means  to  maintain  them.  We  pray  you,  therefore,  to  be  fathers 
of  them  in  this  business,  not  enforcing  them  to  marry  against  their  wills." 
(Ilubbard's  note  in  JBelknap,  art.  ARGALL.) 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

Proceedings  in  London  of  Virginia  Company — Lord  Southampton  elected  Trea 
surer — Sir  Francis  Wyat  appointed  Governor — New  frame  of  Government — 
Instructions  for  Governor  and  Council — George  Sandys,  Treasurer  in  Virginia 
— Notice  of  his  Life  and  published  Works — Productions  of  the  Colony. 

SIR  EDWIN  SANDYS  held  the  office  of  treasurer  of  the  com 
pany  but  for  one  year,  being  excluded  from  a  re-election  by 
the  arbitrary  interference  of  the  king.  The  election  was  by 
ballot.  The  day  for  it  having  arrived,  the  company  met,  con 
sisting  of  twenty  peers  of  the  realm,  near  one  hundred  knights, 
together  with  as  many  more  of  gallant  officers  and  grave  lawyers, 
and  a  large  number  of  worthy  citizens — an  imposing  array  of 
rank,  and  wealth,  and  talents,  and  influence.  Sir  Edwin  Sandys 
being  first  nominated  as  a  candidate,  a  lord  of  the  bedchamber 
and  another  courtier  announced  that  it  was  the  king's  pleasure 
not  to  have  Sir  Edwin  Sandys  chosen;  and  because  he  was  un 
willing  to  infringe  their  right  of  election,  he  (the  king)  would 
nominate  three  persons,  and  permit  the  company  to  choose  one 
of  them.  The  company,  nevertheless,  voted  to  proceed  to  an 
election,  as  they  had  a  right  to  do  under  the  charter.  Sir  Edwin 
Sandys  withdrew  his  name  from  nomination,  and,  at  his  sugges 
tion  it  was  finally  agreed  that  the  king's  messengers  should  name 
two  candidates,  and  the  company  one.  Upon  counting  the  bal 
lots,  it  was  ascertained  that  one  of  the  royal  candidates  received 
only  one  vote,  and  the  other  only  two.  The  Earl  of  Southampton 
received  all  the  rest. 

The  Virginia  Company  was  divided  into  two  parties,  the  mi 
nority  enjoying  the  favor  of  the  king,  and  headed  by  the  Earl  of 
Warwick ;  the  other,  the  liberal,  or  opposition,  or  reform  party, 
headed  by  the  Earl  of  Southampton.  The  Warwick  faction  were 
greatly  embittered  against  Yeardley,  and  their  virulence  was 
increased  by  his  having  intercepted  a  packet  from  his  own  secre 
tary,  Pory,  containing  proofs  of  Argall's  misconduct,  to  be  used 

(149) 


150  ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA. 

against  him  at  his  trial,  which  the  secretary  had  been  bribed  by 
his  friend,  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  to  convey  to  him.  The  mild  and 
gentle  Yeardley,  overcome  by  these  annoyances,  at  length  re 
quested  leave  to  retire  from  the  cares  of  office.  His  commission 
expired  in  November,  1621 ;  but  he  continued  in  the  colony,  was 
a  member  of  the  council,  and  enjoyed  the  respect  and  esteem  of 
the  people.  During  his  short  administration,  many  new  settle 
ments  were  made  on  the  James  and  York  rivers ;  and  the  planters, 
being  now  supplied  with  wives  and  servants,  began  to  be  more 
content,  and  to  take  more  pleasure  in  cultivating  their  lands. 
The  brief  interval  of  free  trade  with  Holland  had  enlarged  the 
demand  for  tobacco,  and  it  was  cultivated  more  extensively. 

Sir  George  Yeardley 's  term  of  office  having  expired,  the  com 
pany's  council,  upon  the  recommendation  of  the  Earl  of  South 
ampton,  appointed  Sir  Francis  Wyat  governor,  a  young  gentle 
man  of  Ireland,  whose  education,  family,  fortune,  and  integrity, 
well  qualified  him  for  the  place.  He  arrived  in  October,  1621, 
with  a  fleet  of  nine  sail,  and  brought  over  a  new  frame  of  govern 
ment  constituted  by  the  company,  and  dated  July  the  24th, 
1621,  establishing  a  council  of  State  and  a  general  assembly 
— vesting  the  governor  with  a  negative  upon  the  acts  of  the 
assembly;  this  body  to  be  convoked  by  him  in  general  once  a 
year,  and  to  consist  of  the  council  of  State  and  of  two  burgesses 
from  every  town,  hundred,  or  plantation;  the  trial  by  jury  se 
cured;  no  act  of  the  assembly  to  be  valid  unless  ratified  by  the 
company  in  England;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  no  order  of  the 
company  to  be  obligatory  upon  the  colony  "without  the  consent  of 
the  assembly.  This  last  feature  displays  that  spirit  of  constitu 
tional  freedom  which  then  pervaded  the  Virginia  Company.  A 
commission  bearing  the  same  date  with  the  new  frame  of  govern 
ment  recognized  Sir  Francis  Wyat  as  the  first  governor  under 
it;  and  this  famous  ordinance  became  the  model  of  every  subse 
quent  provincial  form  of  government  in  the  Anglo-American 
colonies.* 

*  Chalmers'  Introduc.,  i.  13-16  ;  Belknap,  art.  SIR  FRANCIS  WYAT.  Belknap 
is  an  excellent  authority,  as  accurate  as  Stith  without  his  diff useness ;  and  Hub- 
bard's  notes  are  worthy  of  the  text.  The  ordinance  and  commission  may  be 
seen  in  Hening's  Statutes  at  Large,  i.  110-113. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND  151 

"\Vyat  brought  with  him  also  a  body  of  instructions  intended 
for  the  permanent  guidance  of  the  governor  and  council.  He 
was  to  provide  for  the  service  of  God  in  conformity  with  the 
Church  of  England  as  near  as  may  be;  to  be  obedient  to  the 
king,  and  to  administer  justice  according  to  the  laws  of  England; 
not  to  injure  the  natives,  and  to  forget  old  quarrels  now  buried; 
to  be  industrious,  and  to  suppress  drunkenness,  gaming,  and  ex 
cess  in  clothes ;  not  to  permit  any  but  the  council  and  heads  of 
hundreds  to  wear  gold  in  their  clothes,  or  to  wear  silk,  till  they 
make  it  themselves ;  not  to  offend  any  foreign  prince ;  to  punish 
pirates ;  to  build  forts ;  to  endeavor  to  convert  the  heathen ;  and 
each  town  to  teach  some  of  the  Indian  children  fit  for  the  college 
which  was  to  be  built;  to  cultivate  corn,  wine,  and  silk;  to  search 
for  minerals,  dyes,  gums,  and  medicinal  drugs,  and  to  draw  off 
the  people  from  the  excessive  planting  of  tobacco;  to  take  a 
census  of  the  colony ;  to  put  'prentices  to  trades  and  not  let  them 
forsake  them  for  planting  tobacco,  or  any  such  useless  commo 
dity;  to  build  water-mills;  to  make  salt,  pitch,  tar,  soap,  and 
ashes;  to  make  oil  of  walnuts,  and  employ  apothecaries  in  dis 
tilling  lees  of  beer;  to  make  small  quantity  of  tobacco,  and  that 
very  good. 

Wyat,  entering  on  the  duties  of  his  office  on  the  eighteenth  of 
November,  dispatched  Mr.  Thorpe  to  renew  the  treaties  of  peace 
and  friendship  with  Opechancanough,  who  was  found  apparently 
well  affected  and  ready  to  confirm  the  pledges  of  harmony.  A 
vessel  from  Ireland  brought  in  eighty  immigrants,  who  planted 
themselves  at  Newport's  News.  The  company  sent  out  during 
this  year  twenty-one  vessels,  navigated  with  upwards  of  four  hun 
dred  sailors,  and  bringing  over  thirteen  hundred  men,  women, 
and  children.  The  aggregate  number  of  settlers  that  arrived 
during  1621  and  1622  was  three  thousand  five  hundred. 

With  Sir  Francis  Wyat  came  over  George  Sandys,  treasurer 
in  Virginia,  brother  of  Sir  Edwin  Sandys,  treasurer  of  the  com 
pany  in  England.  George  Sandys,  who  was  born  in  1577,  after 
passing  some  time  at  Oxford,  in  1610,  travelled  over  Europe  to 
Turkey,  and  visited  Palestine  and  Egypt.  He  published  his 
travels,  at  Oxford,  in  1615,  and  they  were  received  with  great 


152  ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA. 

favor.  The  first  poetical  production  in  Anglo-American  litera 
ture  was  composed  by  him,  while  secretary  of  the  colony ;  and  in 
the  midst  of  the  confusion  which  followed  the  massacre  of  1622, — 
"by  that  imperfect  light  which  was  snatched  from  the  hours  of 
night  and  repose," — he  translated  the  Metamorphoses  of  Ovid 
and  the  First  Book  of  Virgil's  JEneid,  which  was  published  in 
1626,  and  dedicated  to  King  Charles  the  First.  He  also  pub 
lished  several  other  works,  and  enjoyed  the  favor  of  the  literary 
men  of  the  day.  Dryden  pronounced  Sandys  the  best  versifier 
of  his  age.  Pope  declared  that  English  poetry  owed  much  of  its 
beauty  to  his  translations;  and  Montgomery,  the  poet,  renders 
his  meed  of  praise  to  the  beauty  of  the  Psalms  translated  by  him. 
Having  lived  chiefly  in  retirement,  he  died  in  1643,  at  the  house 
of  Sir  Francis  Wyat,  in  Bexley,  Kent.  A  fine  copy  of  the  trans 
lation  of  Ovid  and  Virgil,  printed  in  1632,  in  folio,  elegantly 
illustrated,  once  the  property  of  the  Duke  of  Sussex,  is  now  in 
the  library  of  Mr.  Grigsby.  Mr.  Thomas  H.  Wynne,  of  Rich 
mond,  also  has  a  copy  of  this  rare  work. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

Use  of  Tobacco  in  England — Raleigh's  Habits  of  Smoking — His  Tobacco-box — 
Anecdotes  of  Smoking — King  James,  his  Counterblast — Denunciations  against 
Tobacco — Amount  of  Tobacco  Imported. 

Ix  1615  twelve  different  commodities  had  been  shipped  from 
Virginia;  sassafras  and  tobacco  were  now  the  only  exports. 
During  the  year  1619  the  company  in  England  imported  twenty 
thousand  pounds  of  tobacco,  the  entire  crop  of  the  preceding 
year.  James  the  First  endeavored  to  draw  a  "prerogative" 
revenue  from  what  he  termed  a  pernicious  weed,  and  against 
which  he  had  published  his  "  Counterblast;"  but  he  was  restrained 
from  this  illegal  measure  by  a  resolution  of  the  House  of  Com 
mons.  In  1607  he  sent  a  letter  forbidding  the  use  of  tobacco  at 
St.  Mary's  College,  Cambridge. 

Smoking  was  the  first  mode  of  using  tobacco  in  England,  and 
when  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  first  introduced  the  custom  among 
people  of  fashion,  in  order  to  escape  observation  he  smoked  pri 
vately  in  his  house,  (at  Islington,)  the  remains  of  which  were  till 
of  late  years  to  be  seen,  as  an  inn,  long  known  as  the  Pied  Bull. 
This  was  the  first  house  in  England  in  which  it  wTas  smoked,  and 
Raleigh  had  his  arms  emblazoned  there,  with  a  tobacco-plant  on 
the  top.  There  existed  also  another  tradition  in  the  Parish  of 
St.  Matthew,  Friday  Street,  London,  that  Raleigh  was  accus 
tomed  to  sit  smoking  at  his  door  in  company  with  Sir  Hugh  Mid- 
dleton.  Sir  Walter's  guests  were  entertained  with  pipes,  a  mug 
of  ale,  and  a  nutmeg,  and  on  these  occasions  he  made  use  of  his 
tobacco-box,  which  was  of  cylindrical  form,  seven  inches  in 
diameter  and  thirteen  inches  long;  the  outside  of  gilt  leather,  and 
within  a  receiver  of  glass  or  metal,  which  held  about  a  pound  of 
tobacco.  A  kind  of  collar  connected  the  receiver  with  the  case, 
and  on  every  side  the  box  was  pierced  with  holes  for  the  pipes. 
This  relic  was  preserved  in  the  museum  of  Ralph  Thoresby,  of 

(153) 


154  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

Leeds,  in  1719,  and  about  1843  was  added,  by  the  late  Duke  of 
Sussex,  to  his  collection  of  the  smoking  utensils  of  all  nations.* 

Although  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  first  introduced  the  custom  of 
smoking  tobacco  in  England,  yet  its  use  appears  to  have  been  not 
entirely  unknown  before,  for  one  Kemble,  condemned  for  heresy 
in  the  time  of  Queen  Mary  the  Bloody,  while  walking  to  the  stake 
smoked  a  pipe  of  tobacco.  Hence  the  last  pipe  that  one  smokes 
was  called  the  Kemble  pipe. 

The  writer  of  a  pamphlet,  supposed  to  have  been  Milton's 
father,  describes  many  of  the  play-books  and  pamphlets  of  that 
day,  1609,  as  "conceived  over  night  by  idle  brains,  impregnated 
with  tobacco  smoke  and  mulled  sack,  and  brought  forth  by  the 
help  of  midwifery  of  a  caudle  next  morning."  At  the  theatres  in 
Shakespeare's  time,  the  spectators  were  allowed  to  sit  on  the 
stage,  and  to  be  attended  by  pages,  wlio  furnished  them  with 
pipes  and  tobacco. 

About  the  time  of  the  settlement  of  Jamestown,  in  1607,  the 
characteristics  of  a  man  of  fashion  were,  to  wear  velvet  breeches, 
with  panes  or  slashes  of  silk,  an  enormous  starched  ruff,  a  gilt- 
handled  sword,  and  a  Spanish  dagger;  to  play  at  cards  or  dice 
in  the  chamber  of  the  groom-porter,  and  to  smoke  tobacco  in  the 
tilt-yard,  or  at  the  playhouse. 

The  peers  engaged  in  the  trial  of  the  Earls  of  Essex  and 
Southampton  smoked  much  while  they  deliberated  on  their  ver 
dict.  It  was  alleged  against  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  that  he  used 
tobacco  on  the  occasion  of  the  execution  of  the  Earl  of  Essex,  in 
contempt  of  him;  and  it  was  perhaps  in  allusion  to  this  circum 
stance  that  when  Raleigh  was  passing  through  London  to  Win 
chester,  to  stand  his  trial,  he  wras  followed  by  the  execrations  of 
the  populace,  and  pelted  with  tobacco-pipes,  stones,  and  mud. 
On  the  scaffold,  however,  he  protested  that  during  the  execution 
of  Essex  he  had  retired  far  off  into  the  armory,  where  Essex 
could  not  see  him,  although  he  saw  Essex,  and  shed  tears  for 
him.  Raleigh  used  tobacco  on  the  morning  of  his  own  execution. 

As  early  as  the  year  1610  tobacco  was  in  general  use  in  Eno-- 


*  Introduction  to  "A  Counterblast  to  Tobacco,  by  James  the  First,  King  of 
England,"  published  at  Newcastle-upon-Tyne,  1843. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  155 

land.  The  manner  of  using  it  was  partly  to  inhale  the  smoke 
and  blow  it  out  through  the  nostrils,  and  this  was  called  "  drink 
ing  tobacco,"  and  this  practice  continued  until  the  latter  part  of 
the  reign  of  James  the  First.  In  1614  the  number  of  tobacco- 
houses  in  or  near  London  was  estimated  at  seven  thousand.  In 
1620  was  chartered  the  Society  of  Tobacco-pipe  Makers  of  Lon 
don;  they  bore  on  their  shield  a  tobacco-plant  in  full  blossom. 

The  "  Counterblast  against  Tobacco,"  attributed  to  James  the 
First,  if  in  some  parts  absurd  and  puerile,  yet  is  not  without  a 
good  deal  of  just  reasoning  and  good  sense;  some  fair  hits  are 
made  in  it,  and  those  who  have  ridiculed  that  production  might 
find  it  not  easy  to  controvert  some  of  its  views.  King  James,  in 
his  Counterblast,  does  not  omit  the  opportunity  of  expressing  his 
hatred  toward  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  in  terms  worthy  of  that  des 
picable  monarch.  He  continued  his  opposition  to  tobacco  as 
long  as  he  lived,  and  in  his  ordinary  conversation  oftentimes 
argued  and  inveighed  against  it. 

The  Virginia  tobacco  in  early  times  was  imported  into  England 
in  the  leaf,  in  bundles,  as  at  present ;  the  Spanish  or  West  Indian 
tobacco  in  balls.  Molasses  or  other  liquid  preparation  was  used 
in  preparing  those  balls.  Tobacco  was  then,  as  now,  adulterated 
in  various  ways.  The  nice  retailer  kept  it  in  what  were  called 
lily-pots,  that  is,  white  jars.  The  tobacco  was  cut  on  a  maple 
block ;  juniper-wood,  which  retains  fire  well,  was  used  for  light 
ing  pipes,  and  among  the  rich  silver  tongs  were  employed  for 
taking  up  a  coal  of  it.  Tobacco  was  sometimes  called  the  Ameri 
can  Silver  Weed. 

The  Turkish  Vizier  thrust  pipes  through  the  noses  of  smokers ; 
and  the  Shah  of  Persia  cropped  the  ears  and  slit  the  noses  of 
those  who  made  use  of  the  fascinating  leaf.  The  Counterblast 
says  of  it:  "And  for  the  vanity  committed  in  this  filthy  custom, 
is  it  not  both  great  vanity  and  uncleanness,  that  at  the  table — a 
place  of  respect  of  cleanliness,  of  modesty — men  should  not  be 
ashamed  to  sit  tossing  of  tobacco-pipes  and  puffing  of  smoke,  one 
at  another,  making  the  filthy  smoke  and  stink  thereof  to  exhale 
athwart  the  dishes,  and  infect  the  air,  when  very  often  men  who 
abhor  it  are  at  their  repast?  Surely  smoke  becomes  a  kitchen 
far  better  than  a  dining- chamber;  and  yet  it  makes  the  kitchen 


156  HISTORY    OF    THE   COLONY   AND 

oftentimes  in  the  inward  parts  of  man,  soiling  and  infecting  them 
with  an  unctuous  and  oily  kind  of  soot,  as  hath  been  found  in 
some  great  tobacco-takers  that  after  their  deaths  were  opened." 

"A  Counterblast  to  Tobacco,"  by  James  the  First,  King  of 
England,  was  first  printed  in  quarto,  without  name  or  date,  at 
London,  1616.  In  the  frontispiece  was  engraved  the  tobacco- 
smoker's  coat  of  arms,  consisting  of  a  blackamoor's  head,  cross- 
pipes,  cross-bones,  death's-head,  etc.  It  is  not  improbable  that 
it  was  intended  to  foment  the  popular  prejudice  against  Sir 
Walter  Raleigh,  who  first  introduced  the  use  of  tobacco  into  Eng 
land,  and  who  was  put  to  death  in  the  same  year,  1616.  King 
James  alludes  to  the  introduction  of  the  use  of  tobacco  and  of 
Raleigh  as  follows:  "It  is  not  so  long  since  the  first  entry  of 
this  abuse  among  us  here,  as  that  this  present  age  cannot  very 
well  remember  both  the  first  author  and  the  form  of  the  first  in 
troduction  of  it  among  us.  It  was  neither  brought  in  by  king, 
great  conqueror,  nor  learned  doctor  of  physic.  With  the  report 
of  a  great  discovery  for  a  conquest,  some  tAvo  or  three  savage 
men  were  brought  in  together  with  this  savage  custom ;  but  the 
pity  is,  the  poor  wild  barbarous  men  died,  but  that  vile  barbarous 
custom  is  still  alive,  yea,  in  fresh  vigor ;  so  as  it  seems  a  miracle 
to  me  how  a  custom  springing  from  so  vile  a  ground,  and  brought 
in  by  a  father  so  generally  hated,  should  be  welcomed  upon 
so  slender  a  warrant." 

The  king  thus  reasons  against  the  Virginia  staple:  "Secondly, 
it  is,  as  you  use  or  rather  abuse  it,  a  branch  of  the  sin  of  drunken 
ness,  wThich  is  the  root  of  all  sins,*  for  as  the  only  delight  that 
drunkards  love  any  weak  or  sweet  drink,  so  are  not  those  (I  mean 
the  strong  heat  and  fume)  the  only  qualities  that  make  tobacco 
so  delectable  to  all  the  lovers  of  it?  And  as  no  man  loves  strong 
heavy  drinks  the  first  day,  (because  nemo  repente  fuit  turpissi- 
mus,)  but  by  custom  is  piece  and  piece  allured,  while  in  the  end 
a  drunkard  will  have  as  great  a  thirst  to  be  drunk  as  a  sober  man 
to  quench  his  thirst  with  a  draught  when  he  hath  need  of  it ;  so 
is  not  this  the  true  case  of  all  the  great  takers  of  tobacco,  which 
therefore  they  themselves  do  attribute  to  a  bewitching  quality  in 

*  And  one  from  which  the  king  himself  was  not  free. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  157 

it?  Thirdly,  is  it  not  the  greatest  sin  of  all  that  you,  the  people 
of  all  sorts  of  this  kingdom,  who  are  created  and  ordained  by 
God  to  bestow  both  your  persons  and  goods  for  the  maintenance 
both  of  the  honor  and  safety  of  your  king  and  commonwealth, 
should  disable  yourself  to  this  shameful  imbecility,  that  you  are 
not  able  to  ride  or  walk  the  journey  of  a  Jew's  Sabbath  but  you 
must  have  a  reeky  coal  brought  you  from  the  next  poor-house  to 
kindle  your  tobacco  with?  whereas  he  cannot  be  thought  able  for 
any  service  in  the  wars  that  cannot  endure  oftimes  the  want  of 
meat,  drink,  and  sleep;  much  more  then  must  he  endure  the 
want  of  tobacco."  A  curious  tractate  on  tobacco,  by  Dr.  Tobias 
Venner,  was  published  at  London  in  1621.  The  author  was  a 
graduate  of  Oxford,  and  a  physician  at  Bath,  and  is  mentioned 
in  the  Oxoniae  Athenienses.* 

The  amount  of  tobacco  imported  in  1619  into  England,  from 
Virginia,  being  the  entire  crop  of  the  preceding  year,  was  twenty 
thousand  pounds.  At  the  end  of  seventy  years  there  were  annu 
ally  imported  into  England  more  than  fifteen  millions  of  pounds 
of  it,  from  which  was  derived  a  revenue  of  upwards  of  c£100,000.f 

In  April,  1621,  the  House  of  Commons  debated  whether  it  was 
expedient  to  prohibit  the  importation  of  tobacco  entirely;  and 
they  determined  to  exclude  all  save  from  Virginia  and  the  Somer 
Isles.  It  was  estimated  that  the  consumption  of  England 
amounted  to  one  thousand  pounds  per  diem.  This  seductive 
narcotic  leaf,  which  soothes  the  mind  and  quiets  its  perturba 
tions,  has  found  its  way  into  all  parts  of  the  habitable  globe, 
from  the  sunny  tropics  to  the  snowy  regions  of  the  frozen 
pole.  Its  fragrant  smoke  ascends  alike  to  the  blackened  rafters 
of  the  lowly  hut,  and  the  gilded  ceilings  of  luxurious  wealth. 


*  A  copy  of  this  rare  pamphlet  was  lent  me  by  N.  S.  Walker,  Esq.,  of  Rich 
mond. 

f  Chalmers,  Introduc.  to  Hist,  of  Revolt  of  Amer.  Colonies,  i.  13. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

16S1-1GSS. 

Silk  in  Virginia — Endowment  of  East  India  School — Ministers  in  Virginia — Ser 
mon  at  BOAV  Church — Corporation  of  Henrico. 

IN  November  and  December,  1621,  at  an  assembly  held  at 
James  City,  acts  were  passed  for  encouraging  the  planting  of 
mulberry-trees,  and  the  making  of  silk ;  but  this  enterprise,  so 
early  commenced  in  Virginia,  and  so  earnestly  revived  of  late 
years,  is  still  unsuccessful;  and  it  may  be  concluded  that  the 
climate  of  Virginia  is  unpropitious  to  that  sort  of  production. 

-The  Rev.  Mr.  Copeland,  Chaplain  on  board  of  the  Royal 
James,  East  Indiaman,  on  the  return  voyage  from  the  East 
Indies,  prevailed  upon  the  officers  and  crew  of  that  ship  to  con 
tribute  seventy  pounds  toward  the  establishment  of  a  church  and 
school  in  Virginia,  and  Charles  City  County  was  selected  as  the 
site  of  it,  and  it  was  to  be  called  the  East  India  School,  and  to 
be  dependent  upon  the  college  at  Henrico.  The  Virginia  Com 
pany  allotted  one  thousand  acres  of  land  for  the  maintenance  of 
the  master  and  usher,  and  presented  three  hundred  acres  to  Mr. 
Copeland.  Workmen  were  accordingly  sent  out  early  in  1622,  to 
begin  the  building.  The  clergymen  in  Virginia  at  this  time  were 
Messrs.  Whitaker,  Mease,  Wickham,  Stockham,  and  Bargrave.* 

The  following  is  found  in  the  early  records: — 

THE  CORPORATION  OF  HENRICO. 

On  the  northerly  ridge  of  James  Paver,  from  the  falls  down  to  Henrico,  con 
taining  ten  miles  in  length,  are  the  public  lands,  surveyed  and  laid  out ;  whereof, 
ten  thousand  acres  for  the  university  lands,  three  thousand  acres  for  the  com 
pany's  lands,  with  other  lands  belonging  to  the  college.  The  common  land  for 
that  corporation,  fifteen  hundred  acres. 

On  the  southerly  side,  beginning  from  the  falls,  there  are  there  patented, 
viz. : — 

(158) 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA. 


159 


Early  in  1622  very  favorable  intelligence  from  Virginia  reached 
England,  and  upon  this  occasion,  on  the  seventeenth  of  April, 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Copeland,  by  appointment,  preached  before  the  Vir 
ginia  Company,  at  Bow  Church.  He  was  shortly  afterwards 
appointed  a  member  of  the  Virginia  Council  and  rector  of  the 
college  established  for  the  conversion  of  the  Indians;  but  all 
these  benevolent  purposes  and  hopeful  anticipations  were  sud 
denly  darkened  and  defeated  by  the  news  of  a  catastrophe  which 
had,  in  a  few  hours,  blasted  the  labors  of  so  many  years. 


Acres. 
John  Petterson 100 

Anthony  Edwards 100 

Nathaniel  Norton 100 

John  Proctor 200 

Thomas  Tracy 100 

John  Vithard 100 

Francis  Weston 300 

Phettiplace  Close 100 

John  Price...  150 


Acres. 
Peter  Nemenart 110 

William  Perry 100 

John  Plower 100 

Surveyed  for  the  use  of  the 
iron-work. 

Edward  Hudson 100 

Thomas  Morgan 150 

Thomas  Sheffield...  ,.  150 


Cosendale,  within  the  Corporation  of  Henrico : — 

Acres. 

Lieut,  Edward  Barckley 112 

Richard  Poulton 100 

Robert  Analand 200 

John  Griffin...  50 


Acres. 
Peter  Nemenart 40 

Thomas  Tindall 100 

Thomas  Reed 100 

John  Laydon 200 


CHAPTER    XVI. 


1623. 


The  Massacre — Its  Origin,  Nemattanow — Opechancanough — Security  of  Colo 
nists — Perfidy  of  the  Indians — Particulars  of  Massacre — Its  Consequences — 
Brave  Defence  of  some — Supplies  sent  from  England — Captain  Smith's  Offer. 

ON  the  twenty-second  day  of  March,  1622,  there  occurred  in 
the  colony  a  memorable  massacre,  which  originated,  as  was  be 
lieved,  in  the  following  circumstances:  There  was  among  the 
Indians  a  famous  chief,  named  Nemattanow,  or  "Jack  of  the 
Feather,"  as  he  was  styled  by  the  English,  from  his  fashion  of 
decking  his  hair.  He  was  reckoned  by  his  own  people  invulner 
able  to  the  arms  of  the  English.  This  Nemattenow  coming  to 
the  store  of  one  of  the  settlers  named  Morgan,  persuaded  him  to 
go  to  Pamunkey  to  trade,  and  murdered  him  by  the  way.  Ne 
mattanow,  in  two  or  three  days,  returned  to  Morgan's  house, 
and  finding  there  tw^o  young  men,  Morgan's  servants,  who 
inquired  for  their  master,  answered  them  that  he  was  dead.  The 
young  men,  seeing  their  master's  cap  on  the  Indian's  head,  sus 
pected  the  murder,  and  undertook  to  conduct  him  to  Mr.  Thorpe, 
who  then  lived  at  Berkley,  on  the  James  River,  since  well  known 
as  a  seat  of  the  Harrisons,  and  originally  called  "Brickley." 
Nemattanow  so  exasperated  the  young  men  on  the  way  that  they 
shot  him,  and  he  falling,  they  put  him  into  a  boat  and  conveyed 
him  to  the  governor  at  Jamestown,  distant  seven  or  eight  miles. 
The  wounded  chief  in  a  short  time  died.  Feeling  the  approaches 
of  death,  he  entreated  the  young  men  not  to  disclose  that  he  had 
been  mortally  wounded  by  a  bullet:  so  strong  is  the  desire  for 
posthumous  fame  even  in  the  breast  of  a  wild,  untutored  savage  ! 

Opechancanough,  the  ferocious  Indian  chief,  agitated  with  min 
gled  emotions  of  grief  and  indignation  at  the  loss  of  his  favorite 
Nemattanow,  at  first  muttered  threats  of  revenge;  but  the  re 
torted  defiance  of  the  English  made  him  for  a  time  smother  his 
resentment  and  dissemble  his  dark  designs  under  the  guise  of 
(160) 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OE    VIRGINIA.  161 

friendship.  Accordingly,  upon  Sir  Francis  Wyat's  arrival,  all 
suspicion  of  Indian  treachery  had  died  away;  the  colonists,  in 
delusive  security,  were  in  general  destitute  of  arms;  the  planta 
tions  lay  dispersed,  as  caprice  suggested,  or  a  rich  vein  of  land 
allured,  as  for  as  the  Potomac  River;*  their  houses  everywhere 
open  to  the  Indians,  who  fed  at  their  tables  and  lodged  under 
their  roofs.  About  the  middle  of  March,  a  messenger  being  sent 
upon  some  occasion  to  Opechancanough,  he  entertained  him 
kindly,  and  protested  that  he  held  the  peace  so  firm  that  "the 
sky  should  fall  before  he  broke  it."  On  the  twentieth  of  the 
same  month,  the  Indians  guided  some  of  the  English  safely 
through  the  forest,  and  the  more  completely  to  lull  all  suspicion, 
they  sent  one  Brown,  who  was  sojourning  among  them  for  the 
purpose  of  learning  their  language,  back  home  to  his  master. 
They  even  borrowed  boats  from  the  whites  to  cross  the  river  when 
about  holding  a  council  on  the  meditated  attack.  The  massacre 
took  place  on  Friday,  the  twenty-second  of  March,  1622.  On 
the  evening  before,  and  on  that  very  morning,  the  Indians,  as 
usual,  came  unarmed  into  the  houses  of  the  unsuspecting  colo 
nists,  with  fruits,  fish,  turkeys,  and  venison  for  sale :  in  some  places 
they  actually  sate  down  to  breakfast  with  the  English.  At  about 
the  hour  of  noon  the  savages,  rising  suddenly  and  everywhere  at 
the  same  time,  butchered  the  colonists  with  their  own  implements, 
sparing  neither  age,  nor  sex,  nor  condition ;  and  thus  fell  in  a  few 
hours  three  hundred  and  forty-nine  men,  women,  and  children. 
The  infuriated  savages  wreaked  their  vengeance  even  on  the  dead, 
dragging  and  mangling  the  lifeless  bodies,  smearing  their  hands 
in  blood,  and  bearing  off  the  torn  and  yet  palpitating  limbs  as 
trophies  of  a  brutal  triumph. 

Among  their  victims  was  Mr.  George  Thorpe,  (a  kinsman  of  Sir 
Thomas  Dale,)  who  had  been  of  the  king's  bedchamber,  deputy 
to  the  college  lands,  and  one  of  the  principal  men  of  the  colony 
— a  pious  gentleman,  who  had  labored  zealously  for  the  conver 
sion  of  the  Indians,  and  had  treated  them  with  uniform  kindness. 
As  an  instance  of  this,  they  having  at  one  time  expressed  their 
fears  of  the  English  mastiff  dogs,  he  had  caused  some  of  them 


Beverley,  39. 
11 


162  HISTORY  OF  THE  COLONY  AND 

to  be  put  to  death,  to  the  great  displeasure  of  their  owners. 
Opechancanough  inhabiting  a  paltry  cabin,  Mr.  Thorpe  had  built 
him  a  handsome  house  after  the  English  manner.*  But  the 
savage  miscreants,  equally  deaf  to  the  voice  of  humanity  and  the 
emotions  of  gratitude,  murdered  their  benefactor  with  every  cir 
cumstance  of  remorseless  cruelty.  He  had  been  forewarned  of 
his  danger  by  a  servant,  but  making  no  effort  to  escape,  fell  a 
victim  to  his  misplaced  confidence.  With  him  ten  other  persons 
were  slain  at  Berkley. 

Another  of  the  victims  was  Captain  Nathaniel  Powell,  one  of 
the  first  settlers,  a  brave  soldier,  and  who  had  for  a  brief  interval 
filled  the  place  of  governor  of  the  colony.  His  family  fell  with 
him.  Nathaniel  Causie,  another  of  Captain  Smith's  old  soldiers, 
when  severely  wounded  and  surrounded  by  the  Indians,  slew  one 
of  them  with  an  axe,  and  put  the  rest  to  flight.  At  Warras- 
queake  a  colonist  named  Baldwin,  by  repeatedly  firing  his  gun, 
saved  himself  and  family,  and  divers  others.  The  savages  at  the 
same  time  made  an  attempt  upon  the  house  of  a  planter  named 
Harrison,  (near  Baldwin's,)  where  were  Thomas  Hamor  with 
some  men,  and  a  number  of  women  and  children.  The  Indians 
tried  to  inveigle  Hamor  out  of  the  house,  by  pretending  that 
Opechancanough  was  hunting  in  the  neighboring  woods  and  de 
sired  to  have  his  company ;  but  he  not  coming  out,  they  set  fire  to 
a  tobacco-house;  the  men  ran  toward  the  fire,  and  were  pursued 
by  the  Indians,  who  pierced  them  with  arrows  and  beat  out  their 
brains.  Hamor  having  finished  a  letter  that  he  was  writing,  and 
suspecting  no  treachery,  went  out  to  see  what  was  the  matter, 
when,  being  wounded  in  the  back  with  an  arrow,  he  returned  to 
the  house  and  barricaded  it.  Meanwhile  Harrison's  boy,  find 
ing  his  master's  gun  loaded,  fired  it  at  random,  and  the  Indians 
fled.  Baldwin  still  continuing  to  discharge  his  gun,  Hanior,  with 
twenty-two  others,  withdrew  to  his  house,  leaving  their  own  in 
flames.  Hamor  next  retired  to  a  new  house  that  he  was  building, 
and  there  defending  himself  with  spades,  axes,  and  brickbats, 
escaped  the  fury  of  the  savages.  The  master  of  a  vessel  lying 


*  The  chief  was  so  charmed  with  it,  especially  with  the  lock  and  key,  that  he 
locked  and  unlocked  the  door  a  hundred  times  a  day. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA. 

in  the  James  River  sent  a  file  of  musqueteers  ashore,  who  re 
captured  from  the  enemy  the  Merchant's  store-house.  In  the 
neighborhood  of  Martin's  Hundred  seventy-three  persons  were 
butchered ;  yet  a  small  family  there  escaped,  and  heard  nothing 
of  the  massacre  until  two  days  after. 

Thus  fell  in  so  short  a  space  of  time  one-twelfth  part  of  the 
colonists  of  Virginia,  including  six  members  of  the  council.  The 
destruction  might  have  been  universal  but  for  the  disclosure  of  a 
converted  Indian,  named  Chanco,  who,  during  the  night  preced 
ing  the  massacre,  revealed  the  plot  to  one  Richard  Pace,  with 
whom  he  lived.  Pace,  upon  receiving  this  intelligence,  after  for 
tifying  his  own  house,  repaired  before  day  to  Jamestown,  and  gave 
the  alarm  to  Sir  Francis  Wyat,  the  Governor;  his  vigilance 
saved  a  large  part  of  the  colony  from  destruction.*  Eleven  were 
killed  at  Berkley,  fifty  at  Edward  Bonit's  plantation,  two  at 
Westover,  five  at  Macocks,  four  on  Appomattox  River,  six  at 
Flower-de-Hun dred,  twenty-one  of  Sir  George  Yeardley's  people 
at  Weyanoke,  and  seventy-three  at  Martin's  Hundred,  seven 
miles  from  Jamestown. 

The  horrors  of  famine  threatened  to  follow  in  the  train  of 
massacre,  and  the  consternation  of  the  survivors  was  such  that 
twenty  or  thirty  days  elapsed  before  any  plan  of  defence  was 
concerted.  Many  were  urgent  to  abandon  the  James  River,  and 
take  refuge  on  the  eastern  shore,  where  some  newly  settled  plan 
tations  had  escaped.  At  length  it  was  determined  to  abandon 
the  weaker  plantations,  and  to  concentrate  their  surviving  popu 
lation  in  five  or  six  well  fortified  places,  Shirley,  Flower-de-Hun- 
dred,  Jamestown,  with  Paspahey,  and  the  plantations  opposite  to 
Kiquotan,  and  Southampton  Hundred.  In  consequence  a  large 
part  of  the  cattle  and  effects  of  the  planters  fell  a  prey  to  the 
enemy.  Nevertheless,  a  planter,  "Master  Gookins,"  at  New 
port's  News,  refused  to  abandon  his  plantation,  and  with  thirty- 
five  men  resolutely  held  it. 

The  family  of  Gookins  is  ancient,  and  appears  to  have  been 
found  originally  at  Canterbury,  in  Kent,  England.  The  name 

*  Purclias,  his  Pilgrim,  iv.  1788;  Smith,  ii.  65:  a  list  of  the  slain  may  be 
found  on  page  70. 


164  HISTORY   OF   TEE   COLONY   AND 

has  undergone  successive  changes — Colkin,  Cockin,  Cockayn, 
Cocyn,  Cokain,  Cokin,  Gockin,  Gokin,  Gookin,  Gookins,  Gook- 
ing,  and  others.  The  early  New  England  chroniclers  spelled  it 
"  Goggin."*  Daniel  Gookin  removed  to  County  Cork,  in  Ireland, 
and  thence  to  Virginia,  arriving  in  November,  1621,  with  fifty 
men  of  his  own  and  thirty  passengers,  exceedingly  well  furnished 
with  all  sorts  of  provision  and  cattle,  and  planted  himself  at  New 
port's  News.  In  the  massacre  he  held  out  with  a  force  of  thirty- 
five  men  against  the  savages,  disregarding  the  order  to  retire. 
It  is  probable  that  he  affected  to  make  a  settlement  independent 
of  the  civil  power  of  the  colony,  and  it  appears  to  have  been 
styled  by  his  son  a  "lordship."  It  was  above  Newport's  News, 
and  was  called  "Mary's  Mount,  "f 

To  return  to  the  incidents  of  the  massacre.  Samuel  Jordan, 
with  the  aid  of  a  few  refugees,  maintained  his  ground  at  Beg 
gar's  Bush;J  as  also  did  Mr.  Edward  Hill,  at  Elizabeth  City. 
"Mrs.  Proctor,  a  proper,  civil,  modest  gentlewoman,"  defended 
herself  and  family  for  a  month  after  the  massacre,  until  at  last 
constrained  to  retire  by  the  English  officers,  who  threatened,  if 
she  refused,  to  burn  her  house  down ;  which  was  done  by  the  In 
dians  shortly  after  her  withdrawal.  Captain  Newce,  of  Elizabeth 
City,  and  his  wife,  distinguished  themselves  by  their  liberality  to 
the  sufferers.  Several  families  escaped  to  the  country  afterwards 
known  as  North  Carolina,  and  settled  there. § 

When  intelligence  of  this  event  reached  England,  the  king 
granted  the  Virginia  Company  some  unserviceable  arms  out  of 


*  ARMS.  Quarterly :  First,  gules,  a  chevron  ermine  between  three  cocks  or, 
two  in  chief,  one  in  base,  Gookin.  Second  and  third,  sable,  a  cross  crosslet, 
ermine.  Fourth,  or,  a  lion  rampant,  gules  between  six  crosses  fitchee.  CREST. 
On  a  mural  crown,  gules,  a  cock  or,  beaked  and  legged  azure,  combed  and 
•wattled  gu. 

f  Article  by  J.  AVingate  Thornton,  Esq.,  of  Boston,  in  Mass.  Gen.  and  Antiq. 
Eegister,  vol.  for  1847,  page  345,  referring,  among  other  authorities,  to  Records 
of  General  Court  of  Virginia. 

J  Afterwards  called  and  still  known  as  Jordan's  Point,  in  the  County  of  Prince 
George,  the  seat  of  the  revolutionary  patriot  Richard  Bland.  Beggar's  Bush,  as 
already  mentioned,  was  the  title  of  one  of  Fletcher's  comedies  then  in  vogue  in 
England.  (HallanCs  Hist,  of  Literature,  ii.  210.) 

2  Martin's  Hist,  of  North  Carolina,  i.  87. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  165 

the  Tower,  and  "lent  them  twenty  barrels  of  powder;"  Lord  St. 
John  of  Basing  gave  sixty  coats  of  mail;  the  privy  council  sent 
out  supplies,  and  the  City  of  London  dispatched  one  hundred 
settlers.* 

One  effect  of  the  massacre  was  the  ruin  of  the  iron-works  at 
Falling  Creek,  on  the  south  side  of  the  James  River,  (near  Ampt- 
hill  in  the  present  County  of  Chesterfield,)  where,  of  twenty-four 
people,  only  a  boy  and  girl  escaped  by  hiding  themselves. f  Lead 
was  found  near  these  iron-works.  King  James  promised  to  send 
over  four  hundred  soldiers  for  the  protection  of  the  colony;  but 
he  never  could  be  induced  to  fulfil  his  promise.  Captain  John 
Smith  offered,  if  the  company  would  send  him  to  Virginia,  with 
a  small  force,  to  reduce  the  savages  to  subjection,  and  protect  the 
colony  from  future  assaults.  His  project  failed  on  account  of  the 
dissensions  of  the  company,  and  the  niggardly  terms  proposed 
by  the  few  members  that  were  found  to  act  on  the  matter.  The 
Rev.  Jonas  Stockham,  in  May,  1621,  previous  to  the  massacre, 
had  expressed  the  opinion  that  it  was  utterly  in  vain  to  under 
take  the  conversion  of  the  savages,  until  their  priests  and  "an 
cients"  were  put  to  the  sword.  Captain  Smith  held  the  same 
opinion,  and  he  states  that  the  massacre  drove  all  to  believe  that 
Mr.  Stockham  was  right  in  his  view  on  this  point. J  The  event 
justified  the  policy  of  Argall  in  prohibiting  intercourse  with  the 
natives,  and  had  that  measure  been  enforced,  the  massacre  would 
probably  have  been  prevented.  The  violence  and  corruption  of 
such  rulers  as  Argall  serve  to  disgrace  and  defeat  even  good 
measures ;  while  the  virtues  of  the  good  are  sometimes  perverted 
to  canonize  the  most  pernicious. 

*  Smith,  ii.  79  ;  Chalmers'  Introduction,  i.  19 ;  Belknap,  art.  WYAT. 

•j-  Beverley,  43. 

+  Anderson's  Hist,  of  Col.  Church,  i.  343;  Smith,  139;  Stith,  233. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

1623. 

Crashaw  and  Opechancanough — Captain  Madison  massacres  a  Party  of  the 
Natives — Yeardley  invades  the  Nansemonds  and  the  Pamunkies — They  are 
driven  back — Reflections  on  their  Extermination. 

DURING  these  calamitous  events  that  had  befallen  the  colony, 
Captain  Raleigh  Crashaw  had  been  engaged  in  a  trading  cruise 
up  the  Potomac.  While  he  was  there,  Opechancanough  sent  two 
baskets  of  beads  to  Japazaws,  the  chief  of  the  Potomacs,  to  bribe 
him  to  slay  Crashaw  and  his  party,  giving  at  the  same  time  tidings 
of  the  massacre,  with  an  assurance  that  "before  the  end  of  two 
moons"  there  should  not  be  an  Englishman  left  in  all  the  country. 
Japazaws  communicated  the  message  to  Crashaw,  and  he  there 
upon  sent  Opechancanough  word  "that  he  would  nakedly  fight 
him,  or  any  of  his,  with  their  own  swords."  The  challenge  was 
declined.  Not  long  afterwards  Captain  Madison,  who  occupied 
a  fort  on  the  Potomac  River,  suspecting  treachery  on  the  part  of 
the  tribe  there,  rashly  killed  thirty  or  forty  men,  women,  and 
children,  and  carried  off  the  werowance  and  his  son,  and  two  of 
his  people,  prisoners  to  Jamestown.  The  captives  were  in  a  short 
time  ransomed. 

When  the  corn  was  ripe,  Sir  George  Yeardley,  with  three 
hundred  men,  invaded  the  country  of  the  Nansemonds,  who,  set 
ting  fire  to  their  cabins,  and  destroying  whatever  they  could  not 
carry  away,  fled;  whereupon  the  English  seized  their  corn,  and 
completed  the  work  of  devastation.  Sailing  next  to  Opechanca- 
nough's  seat,  at  the  head  of  York  River,  Yeardley  inflicted  the 
same  chastisement  on  the  Pamunkies.  uln  New  England  it 
was  said:  "Since  the  news  of  the  massacre  in  Virginia,  though 
the  Indians  continue  their  wonted  friendship,  yet  are  we  more 
wary  of  them  than  before,  for  their  hands  have  been  embrued  in 
much  English  blood,  only  by  too  much  confidence,  but  not  by 
force."* 

*  Purchas,  iv.  1810. 

(166) 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  167 

The  red  men  of  Virginia  were  driven  back,  like  hunted  wolves, 
from  their  ancient  haunts.  While  their  fate  cannot  fail  to  excite 
commiseration,  it  may  reasonably  be  concluded  that  the  per 
petual  possession  of  this  country  by  the  aborigines  would  have 
been  incompatible  with  the  designs  of  Providence  in  promoting 
the  welfare  of  mankind.  A  productive  soil  could  make  little  re 
turn  to  a  people  so  destitute  of  the  art  and  of  the  implements  of 
agriculture,  and  habitually  indolent.  Navigable  rivers,  the  natu 
ral  channels  of  commerce,  would  have  failed  in  their  purpose  had 
they  borne  no  freight  but  that  of  the  rude  canoe ;  primeval  forest's 
would  have  slept  in  gloomy  inutility,  where  the  axe  was  unknown ; 
and  the  mineral  and  metallic  treasures  of  the  earth  would  have 
remained  forever  entombed.  In  Virginia,  since  the  aboriginal 
population  was  only  about  one  to  the  square  mile,  they  could  not 
be  justly  held  occupants  of  the  soil.  However  well-founded  their 
title  to  those  narrow  portions  which  they  actually  occupied,  yet 
it  was  found  impossible  to  take  possession  of  the  open  country,  to 
which  the  savages  had  no  just  claim,  without  also  exterminating 
them  from  those  particular  spots  that  rightfully  belonged  to  them. 
This  inevitable  necessity  actuated  the  pious  Puritans  of  Plymouth 
as  well  as  the  less  scrupulous  settlers  of  Jamestown;  and  force 
was  resorted  to  in  all  the  Anglo-American  settlements  except  in 
that  effected,  at  a  later  day,  by  the  gentle  and  sagacious  Penn. 
The  unrelenting  hostility  of  the  savages,  their  perfidy  and  vindic 
tive  implacability,  made  sanguinary  measures  necessary.  In 
Virginia,  the  first  settlers,  a  small  company,  in  an  unknown  wil 
derness,  were  repeatedly  assaulted,  so  that  resistance  and  retalia 
tion  were  demanded  by  the  natural  law  of  self-defence.  Nor 
were  these  settlers  voluntary  immigrants ;  the  bulk  of  them  had 
been  sent  over,  without  regard  to  their  choice,  by  the  king  or 
the  Virginia  Company.  Nor  did  the  king  or  the  company  author 
ize  any  injustice  or  cruelty  to  be  exercised  toward  the  natives; 
on  the  contrary,  the  colonists,  however  unfit,  were  enjoined  to  in 
troduce  the  Christian  religion  among  them,  and  to  propitiate  their 
good  will  by  a  humane  and  lenient  treatment.  Smith  and  his 
comrades,  so  far  from  being  encouraged  to  maltreat  the  Indians, 
were  often  hampered  in  making  a  necessary  self-defence,  by  a 
fear  of  offending  an  arbitrary  government  at  home. 


168  ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA. 

It  has  been  remarked  by  Mr.  Jefferson,*  that  it  is  not  so  gene 
ral  a  truth,  as  has  been  supposed,  that  the  lands  of  Virginia  were 
taken  from  the  natives  by  conquest,  far  the  greater  portion  having 
been  purchased  by  treaty.  It  may  be  objected,  that  the  con 
sideration  was  often  inadequate;  but  a  small  consideration  may 
have  been  sufficient  to  compensate  for  a  title  which,  for  the  most 
part,  had  but  little  validity;  besides,  a  larger  compensation  would 
oftentimes  have  been  thrown  away  upon  men  so  ignorant  and  in 
dolent.  Groping  in  the  dim  twilight  of  nature,  and  slaves  of  a 
gross  idolatry,  their  lives  were  circumscribed  within  a  narrow 
uniform  circle  of  animal  instincts  and  the  necessities  of  a  preca 
rious  subsistence.  Cunning,  bloody,  and  revengeful,  engaged  in 
frequent  wars,  they  were  strangers  to  that  Arcadian  innocence 
and  the  Elysian  scenes  of  a  golden  age  of  which  youthful  poets 
so  fondly  dream.  If  an  occasional  exception  occurs,  it  is  but  a 
solitary  ray  of  light  shooting  across  the  surrounding  gloom.  Yet 
we  cannot  be  insensible  to  the  many  injuries  they  have  suffered, 
and  cannot  but  regret  that  their  race  could  not  be  united  with 
our  own.  The  Indian  has  long  since  disappeared  from  Virginia; 
his  cry  no  longer  echoes  in  the  woods,  nor  is  the  dip  of  his  paddle 
heard  on  the  water.  The  exterminating  wave  still  urges  them 
onward  to  the  setting  sun,  and  their  tribes  are  fading  one  by  one 
forever  from  the  map  of  existence.  Geology  shows  that  in  the 
scale  of  animal  life,  left  impressed  on  the  earth's  strata,  the  in 
ferior  species  has  still  given  place  to  the  superior:  so  likewise  is 
it  with  the  races  of  men. 

*  Notes  on  Va.,  102. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

1632-16SS. 

James  the  First  jealous  of  Virginia  Company — Gondomar — The  King  takes 
Measures  to  annul  the  Charter — Commissioners  appointed — Assembly  Peti 
tions  the  King — Disputes  between  Commissioners  and  Assembly — Butler's 
Account  of  the  Colony — Nicholas  Ferrar — Treachery  of  Sharpless,  and  his 
Punishment — The  Charter  of  Virginia  Company  dissolved — Causes  of  this 
Proceeding — Character  of  the  Company — Records  of  the  Company — Death  of 
James  the  First — Charles  the  First  succeeds  him — The  Virginia  Company — 
Earl  of  Southampton — Sir  Edwin  Sandys  and  Nicholas  Ferrar — The  Rev.  Jonas 
Stockham's  Letter — Injustice  of  the  Dissolution  of  the  Charter — Beneficial 
Results— Assembly  of  1624. 

THE  Court  of  James  the  First,  already  jealous  of  the  growing 
power  and  republican  spirit  of  the  Virginia  Company,  was  ren 
dered  still  more  inimical  by  the  malign  influence  of  Count  Gondo 
mar,  the  Spanish  ambassador,  who  was  jealous  of  any  encroach 
ment  on  the  Spanish  colony  of  Florida.  He  remarked  to  King 
James,  of  the  Virginia  Company,  that  "they  were  deep  politi 
cians,  and  had  further  designs  than  a  tobacco-plantation ;  that  as 
soon  as  they  should  get  to  be  more  numerous,  they  intended  to 
step  beyond  their  limits,  and,  for  aught  he  knew,  they  might  visit 
his  master's  mines."  The  massacre  afforded  an  occasion  to  the 
enemies  of  the  company  to  attribute  all  the  calamities  of  the 
colony  to  its  mismanagement  and  neglect,  and  thus  to  frame  a 
plausible  pretext  for  dissolving  the  charter. 

Captain  Nathaniel  Butler,  a  dependent  of  the  Earl  of  Warwick, 
had,  by  his  influence,  been  sent  out  Governor  of  Bermudas  for 
three  years,  where  he  exercised  the  same  oppression  and  extor 
tion  as  Argall  had  exhibited  in  Virginia.  Upon  finding  himself 
compelled  to  leave  those  islands,  he  came  to  Virginia,  in  the 
midst  of  the  winter  succeeding  the  massacre.  He  was  hospitably 
entertained  by  Governor  Wyat,  which  kindness  he  proved  himself 
wholly  unworthy  of,  his  conduct  being  profligate  and  disorderly. 

(169) 


170  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

He  demanded  a  seat  in  the  council,  to  which  he  was  in  no  way 
entitled.  He  went  up  the  James  as  far  as  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Chickahominy,  where  "he  plundered  Lady  Dale's  cattle;"  and 
after  a  three  months'  stay,  he  set  sail  for  England.  Upon  his 
return,  Butler  was  introduced  to  the  king,  and  published  "The 
Unmasked  Face  of  our  Colony  in  Virginia,  as  it  was  in  the  "Winter 
of  1622,"  in  which  he  took  advantage  of  the  misfortunes  of  the 
colony,  and  exaggerated  its  deplorable  condition.  The  Rev. 
William  Mease,  (who  had  been  for  ten  years  resident  in  the 
colony,)  with  several  others,  replied  to  this  defamatory  pam 
phlet.* 

The  company  was  divided  into  two  parties,  the  one  headed  by 
the  Earl  of  Southampton,  Lord  Cavendish,  Sir  Edward  Sackville, 
Sir  John  Ogle,  Sir  Edwin  Sandys,  with  several  others  of  less 
note;  on  the  other  side,  the  leaders  were  the  Earl  of  Warwick, 
Sir  Thomas  Smith,  Sir  Nathaniel  Rich,  Sir  Henry  Mildmay, 
Alderman  Johnson,  etc.  They  appeared  before  the  king,  the 
Earl  of  Warwick's  faction  presenting  their  accusations  against 
the  company,  and  the  other  side  defending  it;  and  Sir  Edward 
Sackville  used  such  freedom  of  language  that  "the  king  was  fain 
to  take  him  down  soundly  and  roundly."  However,  by  the  lord 
treasurer's  intervention,  the  matter  was  reconciled  on  the  next 
day.f 

In  May,  1623,  a  commission  was  issued  authorizing  Sir  Wil 
liam  Jones,  a  justice  of  the  common  pleas,  Sir  Nicholas  Fortescue, 
Sir  Francis  Goston,  Sir  Richard  Sutton,  Sir  William  Pitt,  Sir 
Henry  Bourchier,  and  Sir  Henry  Spilman,J  to  inquire  into  the 
affairs  of  the  colony.  By  an  order  of  the  privy  council  the  records 
of  the  company  were  seized,  and  the  deputy  treasurer,  Nicholas 
Ferrar,  imprisoned,  and  on  the  arrival  of  a  ship  from  Virginia, 
her  packets  were  seized  and  laid  before  the  privy  council. 

Nicholas  Ferrar,  Jr.,  was  born  in  London  in  1592,  educated  at 
Cambridge,  where  he  was  noted  for  his  talents,  acquirements, 


*  Stith,  243,  268. 

f  Court  and  Times  of  James  the  First,  ii.  889. 

J  Stith  calls  him  Spilman;  Burk,  Spiller.    (See  Belknap.  art,  WYAT.) 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  171 

and  piety.*  Upon  leaving  the  university  he  made  the  tour  of 
Europe,  winning  the  esteem  of  the  learned,  passing  through  many 
adventures  and  perils  with  Christian  heroism,  and  maintaining 
everywhere  an  unsullied  character.  Upon  his  return  to  England, 
in  1518,  he  was  appointed  king's  counsel  for  the  Virginia  Planta 
tion.  In  the  year  1622  he  was  chosen  deputy  treasurer  of  the 
Virginia  Company,  (which  office  his  brother  John  also  filled  for 
some  years,)  and  so  remained  till  its  dissolution.  In  the  House 
of  Commons  he  distinguished  himself  by  his  opposition  to  the 
political  corruption  of  that  day,  and  abandoned  public  life  when 
little  upwards  of  thirty  years  of  age,  "in  obedience  to  a  religious 
fancy  he  had  long  entertained,"  and  formed  of  his  family  and  re 
lations  a  sort  of  little  half-popish  convent,  in  which  he  passed  the 
remainder  of  his  life.f 

CarlyleJ  thus  describes  this  singular  place  of  retirement: 
"Crossing  Huntingdonshire  in  his  way  northward,  his  majesty§ 
had  visited  the  establishment  of  Nicholas  Ferrar,  at  Little  Gid- 
ding,  on  the  western  border  of  that  county.  A  surprising  esta 
blishment  now  in  full  flower,  wherein  above  fourscore  persons, 
including  domestics,  with  Ferrar  and  his  brother,  and  aged 
mother  at  the  head  of  them,  had  devoted  themselves  to  a  kind 
of  Protestant  monachism,  and  were  getting  much  talked  of  in 
those  times.  They  followed  celibacy  and  merely  religious  duties ; 
employed  themselves  in  binding  of  prayer-books,  embroidering  of 
hassocks,  in  almsgiving  also,  and  what  charitable  work  was  pos 
sible  in  that  desert  region ;  above  all,  they  kept  up,  night  and  day, 
a  continual  repetition  of  the  English  liturgy,  being  divided  into 
relays  and  watches,  one  watch  relieving  another,  as  on  shipboard, 
and  never  allowing  at  any  hour  the  sacred  fire  to  go  out." 

In  October,  1623,  the  king  declared  his  intention  to  grant  a 
new  charter  modelled  after  that  of  1606.  This  astounding  order 


*  His  father,  of  the  same  name,  a  London  merchant,  was  one  of  the  leading 
stockholders  in  the  Virginia  Company.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  Sir  John  Hawkins, 
Sir  Francis  Drake,  Sir  Edwin  Sandys,  and  the  like,  were  frequent  guests  at  his 
table. 

j-  Belknap,  art.  WTAT,  in  note ;  Foster's  Miscellanies,  368. 

+  Letters  and  Speeches  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  i   G9. 

2  Charles  the  First. 


172  HISTORY   OF    THE   COLONY   AND 

was  read  three  times,  at  a  meeting  of  the  company,  before  they 
could  credit  their  own  ears ;  then,  by  an  overwhelming  vote,  they 
refused  to  relinquish  their  charter,  and  expressed  their  determina 
tion  to  defend  it. 

The  king,  in  order  to  procure  additional  evidence  to  be  used 
against  the  company,  appointed  five  commissioners  to  make  in 
quiries  in  Virginia  into  the  state  and  condition  of  the  colony. 
In  November,  1623,  when  two  of  these  commissioners  had  just 
sailed  for  Virginia,  the  king  ordered  a  writ  of  quo  warranto  to  be 
issued  against  the  Virginia  Company. 

In  the  colony,  hitherto,  the  proclamations  of  the  governors, 
which  had  formed  the  rule  of  action,  were  now  enacted  into  laws ; 
and  it  was  declared  that  the  governor  should  no  more  impose 
taxes  on  the  colonists  without  the  consent  of  the  Assembly,  and 
that  he  should  not  withdraw  the  inhabitants  from  their  private 
labor  to  any  service  of  his ;  and  further,  that  the  burgesses  should 
be  free  from  arrest  during  the  session  of  the  Assembly.  These 
acts  of  the  legislature  of  the  infant  colony,  while  under  the  con 
trol  of  the  Virginia  Company,  render  it  certain  that  there  was 
more  of  constitutional  and  well-regulated  freedom  in  Virginia 
then,  than  in  the  mother  country. 

Of  the  commissioners  appointed  to  make  inquiries  in  Virginia, 
John  Harvey  and  John  Pory  arrived  there  early  in  1624; 
Samuel  Matthews  and  Abraham  Percy  were  planters  resident  in 
the  colony,  and  the  latter  a  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses ; 
John  Jefferson,  the  other  commissioner,  did  not  come  over  to  Vir 
ginia,  nor  did  he  take  any  part  in  the  matter,  being  a  hearty 
friend  to  the  company.*  Thomas  Jefferson,  in  his  memoir  of 
himself, f  says  that  one  of  his  name  was  secretary  to  the  Virginia 
Company.  The  Virginia  planters  at  first  looking  on  it  as  a  dis 
pute  between  the  crown  and  the  company,  in  which  they  were 
not  essentially  interested,  paid  little  attention  to  it;  but  two  pe 
titions,  defamatory  of  the  colony  and  laudatory  of  Sir  Thomas 
Smith's  arbitrary  rule,  having  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
Assembly,  in  February,  1624,  that  body  prepared  spirited  re 
plies,  and  drafted  a  petition  to  the  king,  which,  with  a  letter  to 

*  Stith,  297.  f  Writings  of  Jefferson,  i.  1. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF  VIRGINIA.  173 

the  privy  council,  and  other  papers,  were  entrusted  to  Mr.  John 
Pountis,  a  member  of  the  council.*  He  died  during  the  voyage 
to  England.  The  letter  addressed  to  the  privy  council  prayed 
"that  the  governors  may  not  have  absolute  power,  that  they 
might  still  retain  the  liberty  of  popular  assemblies,  than  which 
nothing  could  more  conduce  to  the  public  satisfaction  and  public 
utility."  At  the  same  time  the  Virginia  Company,  in  England, 
presented  a  petition  to  the  House  of  Commons  against  the 
arbitrary  proceedings  of  the  king;  but  although  favorably  re 
ceived,  it  was  withdrawn  as  soon  as  the  king's  disapprobation  was 
announced. 

In  Virginia  the  commissioners  refused  to  exhibit  their  commis 
sion  and  instructions,  and  the  Assembly  therefore  refused  to  give 
them  access  to  their  records.  Pory,  one  of  the  commissioners, 
who  had  formerly  lost  his  place  of  secretary  of  the  colony  by 
betraying  its  secrets  to  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  suborned  Edward 
Sharplcss,  clerk  of  the  council,  to  expose  to  him  copies  of  the 
journal  of  that  body,  and  of  the  House  of  Burgesses.  Sharp- 
less  being  convicted  of  this  misdemeanor  was  sentenced  to  the 
pillory,  with  the  loss  of  his  ears.f  Only  a  part  of  one  ear  was 
actually  cut  off. 

The  commissioners,  having  failed  to  obtain  from  the  Assembly 
a  declaration  of  their  willingness  to  submit  to  the  king's  purpose 
of  revoking  the  charter,  made  a  report  against  the  company's 
management  of  the  colony  and  the  government  of  it,  as  too  po 
pular,  that  is,  democratic,  under  the  present  charter.  The  king, 
by  a  proclamation  issued  in  July,  suppressed  the  meetings  of  the 
company,  and  ordered  for  the  present  a  committee  of  the  privy 
council,  and  others,  to  sit  every  Thursday,  at  the  house  of  Sir 
Thomas  Smith,  in  Philpot  Lane,  for  conducting  the  affairs  of  the 
colony.  Viscount  Mandeville  was  at  the  head  of  this  committee : 
Sir  George  Calvert,  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges,  Sir  Samuel  Argall, 
John  Pory,  Sir  John  Wolstenholme,  and  others,  were  members. 
At  the  instance  of  the  attorney-general,  to  enable  the  company 
to  make  a  defence,  their  books  were  restored  and  the  deputy 
treasurer  released.  In  Trinity  term,  1624,  the  writ  of  quo  war- 

*  Hening,  i.  120.  f  Stith,  315. 


174  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

ranto  was  tried  in  the  Court  of  King's  Bench,  and  the  charter  of 
the  Virginia  Company  was  annulled.  The  case  was  determined 
only  upon  a  technicality  in  the  pleadings. 

In  one  of  the  hearings  against  the  company,  before  the  privy 
council,  the  Marquis  of  Hamilton  said  of  the  letters  and  instruc 
tions  of  the  company,  written  by  Nicholas  Ferrar,  Jr. :  "  They 
are  papers  as  admirably  well  penned  as  any  I  ever  heard."  And 
the  Earl  of  Pembroke  remarked:  "They  all  deserve  the  highest 
commendation :  containing  advices  far  more  excellent  than  I  could 
have  expected  to  have  met  with  in  the  letters  of  a  trading  com 
pany.  For  they  abound  with  soundness  of  good  matter  and  pro 
fitable  instruction,  with  respect  both  to  religion  and  policy;  and 
they  possess  uncommon  elegance  of  language."* 

The  company  had  been  long  obnoxious  to  the  king's  ill  will 
for  several  reasons;  it  had  become  a  nursery  for  rearing  and 
training  leaders  of  the  opposition,  many  of  its  members  being 
likewise  members  of  parliament.  It  was  a  sort  of  reform  club. 
The  king,  in  a  speech,  swore  that  "the  Virginia  Company  was  a 
seminary  for  a  seditious  parliament."  The  company  had  chosen 
a  treasurer  in  disregard  of  the  king's  nomination ;  and  in  electing 
Carew  Raleigh,  a  member,  they  had  made  allusions  to  his  father, 
Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  which  were  doubtless  unpalatable  to  the 
author  of  his  judicial  murder.  The  king  was  greedy  of  power 
and  of  money,  wilich  he  wanted  the  sense  and  the  virtue  to  make 
a  good  use  of;  and  he  hoped  to  find  in  Virginia  a  new  field  for 
extortion.  Fortunately  for  the  history  of  the  colony,  copies  of 
the  company's  records  were  made  by  the  precaution  of  Nicholas 
Ferrar:  these  being  deposited  in  the  hands  of  the  Earl  of  South 
ampton,  after  his  death,  which  took  place  in  1624,  descended  to 
his  son.  After  his  death,  in  1667,  they  were  purchased  from  his 
executors,  for  sixty  guineas,  by  the  first  Colonel  William  Byrd, 
then  in  England.  From  these  two  folio  volumes,  in  possession  of 
Sir  John  Randolph,  and  from  the  records  of  the  colony,  Stith 
compiled  much  of  his  History  of  Virginia,  which  comes  down  to 
the  year  1624.f 

*  Hist.  Mag.,  ii.  34. 

|  It  has  been  said  that  these  folios  were  sent  back  to  England  by  John  Ran 
dolph  of  Roanoke,  (Belknap,  art.  WTAT  ;)  but  it  appears  that  they  came  into 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OP   VIRGINIA.  175 

On  the  sixth  day  of  April,  1625,  died  King  James  the  First, 
aged  fifty-nine,  after  a  reign  of  twenty  years.  By  his  consort, 
Anne  of  Denmark,  he  had  issue,  Henry  and  Robert,  who  died 
young,  Charles,  his  successor,  and  Elizabeth,  who  married  Frederic 
the  Fifth,  elector  Palatine.  Charles  the  First  succeeding  to  the 
crown  and  the  principles  of  his  father,  took  the  government  of 
Virginia  into  his  own  hands. 

The  company  thus  dissolved,  had  expended  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  pounds  in  establishing  the  colony,  and  had 
transported  nine  thousand  settlers  without  the  aid  of  govern 
ment.  The  number  of  stockholders  was  about  one  thousand; 
and  the  annual  value  of  exports  from  Virginia  was,  at  the  pe 
riod  of  the  dissolution  of  the  charter,  only  twenty  thousand 
pounds. 

The  company  embraced  much  of  the  rank,  wealth,  and  talents 
of  the  kingdom — near  fifty  noblemen,  several  hundred  knights, 
and  many  gentlemen,  merchants,  and  citizens.  Among  the 
leaders  in  its  courts  were  Lord  Cavendish,  afterwards  Earl  of 
Devonshire;  Sir  Edwin  Sandys;  and  Sir  Edward  Sackville, 
afterwards  the  celebrated  Earl  of  Dorset;  and,  above  all,  the 
Earl  of  Southampton,  the  friend  of  Essex,  and  the  patron  of 
Shakespeare.  Henry  Wriothesley,  third  Earl  of  Southampton, 
in  1601,  was  implicated  wTith  the  Earl  of  Essex  in  his  hair-brained 
and  abortive  conspiracy  to  seize  the  person  of  Queen  Elizabeth. 
Essex  lost  his  life.  Southampton  was  convicted,  attainted  and 
imprisoned  during  the  queen's  life.  Upon  the  accession  of  James 
the  First  he  was  liberated,  and  restored  in  1603.  He  was  after 
wards  made  Captain  of  the  Isle  of  Wight  and  Governor  of  Caris- 
brokc  Castle;  and  in  1618  a  member  of  the  privy  council. 


possession  of  Congress  as  part  of  Mr.  Jefferson's  library,  and  are  now  in  the  Law 
Library  at  Washington.  There  is  to  be  found  there  also  a  volume  of  papers  and 
records  of  the  Virginia  Company,  from  1621  tp  1625.  (See  article  by  J.  Wingate 
Thornton,  Esq.,  of  Boston,  in  Hist.  Mag.,  ii.  33,  recommending  that  these  docu 
ments  should  be  published  by  Congress.)  There  are  also  valuable  MS.  historical 
materials  in  Richmond  which  ought  to  be  published.  The  recent  destruction  of 
the  library  of  William  and  Mary  College  shows  the  precarious  tenure  by  which 
the  collections  of  the  Virginia  Historical  Society,  and  the  records  preserved  in 
the  State  Capitol,  are  held. 


176  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

Brave  and  generous,  but  haughty  and  impetuous,  he  was  by  no 
means  adapted  to  the  court  and  cabinet  of  James,  where  fawning 
servility  and  base  intrigue  were  the  ordinary  stepping-stones  of 
political  advancement. 

About  the  year  1619,  the  Earl  of  Southampton  was  imprisoned 
through  the  influence  of  Buckingham,  "whom  he  rebuked  with 
some  passion  for  speaking  often  to  the  same  thing  in  the 
house,  and  out  of  order."  In  1620  he  wTas  chosen  Treasurer, 
or  Governor  of  the  Virginia  Company,  contrary  to  the  king's 
wishes;  but  he,  nevertheless,  continued  in  that  office  until  the 
charter  wTas  dissolved,  and  at  its  meetings,  and  in  parliament, 
opposed  the  measures  of  a  feeble  and  corrupt  court.  He  and 
Sir  Edwin  Sandys,  the  leaders,  together  with  the  bulk  of  the 
members  of  the  company,  shared  largely  in  the  spirit  of  civil 
and  religious  freedom,  which  was  then  manifesting  itself  so 
strongly  in  England.  In  the  hostile  course  pursued  against 
the  company,  the  attacks  were  especially  directed  against  the 
earl  and  his  associates  Sir  Edwin  Sandys  and  Nicholas  Ferrar. 
These  three  were  celebrated:  Lord  Southampton  for  wisdom, 
eloquence,  and  sweet  deportment;  Sir  Edwin  Sandys  for  great 
knowledge  and  integrity;  and  Nicholas  Ferrar  for  wonderful 
abilities,  unwearied  diligence,  and  the  strictest  virtue.*  The  earl 
and  Sir  Edwin  were  particular  objects  of  the  king's  hatred.  Sir 
Edwin,  a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons,  was  arbitrarily  im 
prisoned  in  1621,  during  the  session  of  parliament;  and  the  earl 
was  arrested  after  its  dissolution.  Spain  had,  at  this  time, 
acquired  the  ascendancy  in  the  English  Court,  and  this  malign 
influence  was  skilfully  maintained  by  the  intrigues  of  her  crafty 
ambassador,  Count  Gondomar.  It  was  believed  by  many  that 
James  was  even  willing  to  sacrifice  the  interests  of  the  English 
colonies  for  the  benefit  of  those  of  Spain.  The  Rev.  Jonas 
Stockham,  a  minister  in  Virginia,  in  a  letter  dated  in  May,  1621, 
and  addressed  to  the  Council  of  the  Virginia  Company,  said: 
"There  be  many  Italianated  and  Spaniolized  Englishmen  envies 
our  prosperities,  and  by  all  their  ignominious  scandals  they  can 


*  Packard's  Life  of  Ferrar — a  work  which  throws  much  light  on  the  early  his 
tory  of  Virginia. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  177 

devise,  seeks  to  dishearten  what  they  can  those  that  are  willing 
to  further  this  glorious  enterprise.  To  such  I  wish,  according  to 
the  decree  of  Darius,  that  whosoever  is  an  enemy  to  our  peace, 
and  seeketh  either  by  getting  monipolical  patents,  or  by  forging 
unjust  tales  to  hinder  our  welfare — that  his  house  were  pulled 
down,  and  a  pair  of  gallows  made  of  the  wood,  and  he  hanged  on 
them  in  the  place." 

The  Earl  of  Southampton  was  grandson  of  Wriothesley,  the 
famous  Chancellor  of  Edward  the  Sixth,  father  to  the  excellent 
and  noble  Treasurer  Southampton,  grandfather  to  Rachel  Lady 
Russel.  In  his  later  years  he  commanded  an  English  regiment 
in  the  Dutch  service,  and  died  in  the  Netherlands,  1624.  Shake 
speare  dedicated  some  of  his  minor  poems  to  him  ;  the  County  of 
Southampton,  in  Virginia,  probably  also  took  its  name  from  him. 
Captain  Smith,  who  had  been  unjustly  displaced  by  the  company, 
approved  of  the  dissolution  of  their  charter.  Yet,  as  no  com 
pensation  was  rendered  for  the  enormous  expenditure  incurred,  it 
can  be  looked  upon  as  little  better  than  confiscation  effected  by 
chicane  and  tyranny.  A  parliamentary  committee,  of  which  Sir 
Edwin  Sandys  was  a  member,  in  the  same  year,  1624,  drew  up 
articles  of  impeachment  against  Lord  Treasurer  Cranfield  for  his 
agency  in  bringing  about  the  dissolution  of  the  charter.*  Ne 
vertheless,  the  result  was  undoubtedly  favorable  to  the  colony,  as 
is  candidly  acknowledged  by  that  honest  chronicler,  Stith,  although 
no  one  could  be  more  strenuously  opposed  to  the  arbitrary  means 
employed. 

An  Assembly  had  been  held  in  March,  1624,  and  its  acts  are 
preserved:  they  are  brief  and  simple,  coming  directly  to  the 
point,  without  the  redundancy  of  modern  statutes;  and  refer 
mainly  to  agriculture,  the  church  establishment,  and  defence 
against  the  Indians. f  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  members  of 
this  early  Assembly: — 

Sir  Francis  Wyat,  Knt.,  Governor,  etc. 
Captain  Francis  West,  John  Pott, 

Sir  George  Yeardley,  Captain  Roger  Smith, 

George  Sandys,  Treasurer,  Captain  Ralph  Hamor, 

And  John  Pountis,  of  the  Council. 

*  Belknap.  f  Hening's  Statutes,  i.  119,  129. 


178 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA. 


BUKGESSES. 

William  Tucker, 
Jabez  Whitakers, 
William  Peeine, 
Raleigh  Crashaw, 
Eichard  Kingsmell, 
Edward  Blany, 
Luke  Boyse, 
John  Pollington, 
Nathaniel  Causey, 
Robert  Adams, 
Thomas  Harris, 
Richard  Stephens, 


BURGESSES. 

Nathaniel  Bass, 
John  Willcox, 
Nicolas  Marten, 
Clement  Dilke, 
Isaac  Chaplin, 
John  Chew, 
John  Utie, 
John  Southerne, 
Richard  Bigge, 
Henry  Watkins, 
Gabriel  Holland, 
Thomas  Morlatt, 

R.  Hickmau,  Clerk. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

1GS4-163S. 

Charles  the  First  commissions  Sir  Thomas  "Wyat,  Governor — Assemblies  not 
allowed — Royal  Government  virtually  established  in  Virginia — Other  Colonies 
on  Atlantic  Coast — Wyat  returns  to  Ireland  —  Succeeded  by  Yeardley — 
Yeardley  succeeded  by  West — Letter  of  Charles  the  First  directing  an  Assem 
bly  to  meet — Assembly's  Reply — John  Pott,  Governor — Condition  of  Colony — 
Statistics — Diet — Pott  superseded  by  Harvey — Dr.  John  Pott  Convicted  of 
Stealing  Cattle — Sir  John  Harvey — Lord  Baltimore  visits  Virginia — Refuses 
to  take  the  Oaths  tendered  to  him — Procures  from  Charles  the  First  a  Grant 
of  Territory — Acts  relative  to  Ministers,  Agriculture,  Indians,  etc 

Ix  August,  1624,  King  Charles  the  First  granted  a  commis 
sion  appointing  Sir  Thomas  Wyat  Governor,  with  a  council  during 
pleasure,  and  omitting  all  mention  of  an  assembly,  thinking  so 
"popular  a  course"  the  chief  source  of  the  recent  troubles  and 
misfortunes.  The  eleven  members  of  the  council  were,  Francis 
West,  Sir  George  Yeardley,  George  Sandys,  Roger  Smith,  Ralph 
Ilamor,  who  had  been  of  the  former  council,  with  the  addition  of 
John  Martin,  John  Harvey,  Samuel  Matthews,  Abraham  Percy, 
Isaac  Madison,  and  William  Clayborne.  Several  of  these  were 
then,  or  became  afterwards,  men  of  note  in  the  colony.  This  is 
the  first  mention  of  William  Clayborne,  who  was  destined  to  play 
an  important  part  in  the  future  annals  of  Virginia. 

Thus  in  effect  a  royal  government  was  now  established  in  Vir 
ginia;  hitherto  she  had  been  subject  to  a  complex  threefold 
government  of  the  company,  the  crown,  and  her  own  president  or 
governor  and  council.* 

*  Chalmers'  Introduction,  i.  22.  Beverley,  B.  i.  47,  says  expressly  that  an 
assembly  was  allowed.  Burk,  ii.  15,  asserts  that  "assemblies  convened  and 
deliberated  in  the  usual  form,  unchecked  and  uninterrupted  by  royal  interfer 
ence,  from  the  dissolution  of  the  proprietary  government  to  the  period  when  a 
regular  constitution  was  sent  over  with  Sir  W.  Berkeley  in  1639."  For  author 
ity  reference  is  made  to  a  document  in  the  Appendix,  which  document,  however, 
is  not  to  be  found  there.  The  opinions  of  Chalmers — who,  as  clerk  of  the  privy 

(1T9) 


180  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

From  1624  to  1628  there  is  no  mention  in  the  statute-book  of 
Virginia,  or  in  the  journal  of  the  Virginia  Company,  of  any 
assembly  having  been  held  in  the  colony,  and  in  1628  appeals 
were  made  to  the  governor  and  council;  whereas  had  there  been 
an  assembly,  it  would  have  been  the  appellate  court. 

The  French  had  established  themselves  as  early  as  1625  in 
Canada;  the  Dutch  were  now  colonizing  the  New  Netherlands ; 
a  Danish  colony  had  been  planted  in  New  Jersey;  the  English 
were  extending  their  confines  in  New  England  (where  New  Ply 
mouth  numbered  thirty-two  houses  and  one  hundred  and  eighty 
settlers)  and  Virginia;  while  the  Spaniards,  the  first  settlers  of 
the  coast,  still  held  some  feeble  posts  in  Florida. 

Sir  Thomas  Wyat,  the  governor  of  the  colony  of  Virginia,  on 
the  death  of  his  father,  Sir  George  Wyat,  returning,  in  1626,  to 
Ireland,  to  attend  to  his  private  affairs  there,  was  succeeded  by 
Sir  George  Yeardley.  He,  during  the  same  year,  by  proclama 
tion,  which  now  again  usurped  the  place  of  law,  prohibited  the 
selling  of  corn  to  the  Indians ;  made  some  commercial  regulations, 
and  directed  houses  to  be  palisaded.  Yeardley  dying,  was  suc 
ceeded  in  November,  1627,  by  Francis  West,  elected  by  the 
council.  He  was  a  younger  brother  of  Lord  Delaware.* 

At  a  court  held  at  James  City,  November  the  sixteenth,  Lady 
Temperance  Yeardley  came  and  confirmed  the  conveyance  made 
by  her  late  husband,  Sir  George  Yeardley,  knight,  late  governor, 
to  Abraham  Percy,  Esq.,  for  the  lands  of  Flowerdieu  Hundred, 
being  one  thousand  acres,  and  of  Weanoke,  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  water,  being  two  thousand  two  hundred  acres.  This  lady's 
Christian  name  is  Puritanical;  another  such  was  Obedience 
Robins,  a  burgess  of  Accomac  in  1630. 

James  the  First  had  extorted  a  revenue  from  the  tobacco  of 
Virginia  by  an  arbitrary  resort  to  his  prerogative,  and  in  viola 
tion  of  the  charter.  Charles  the  First,  in  a  letter  dated  June, 
1628,  proposed  that  a  monopoly  of  the  tobacco  trade  should  be 
granted  to  him,  and  recommended  the  culture  of  several  new  pro- 
council,  had  access  to  the  archives  in  England — and  Hening,  confirmed  by  a  cor 
responding  hiatus  in  the  records,  appear  conclusive  against  the  unsupported 
statements  of  Beverley  and  Burk. 

*  Belknap,  art.  WYAT,  errs  in  making  Sir  John  Harvey  the  successor. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  181 

ducts,  and  desired  that  an  assembly  should  be  called  to  take  these 
matters  into  consideration.  The  ensuing  assembly  replied,  de 
manding  a  higher  price  and  more  favorable  terms  than  his  majesty 
was  disposed  to  yield.  As  to  the  introduction  of  new  staples, 
they  explained  why,  in  their  opinion,  that  was  impracticable. 
This  letter  was  signed  by  Francis  West,  Governor,  five  members 
of  the  council,  and  thirty-one  members  of  the  House  of  Burgesses. 

Sir  George  Yeardley,  the  late  governor,  with  two  or  three  of 
the  council,  had  resided  for  the  most  part  at  Jamestown;  the  rest 
of  the  council  repaired  there  as  occasion  required.  There  was  a 
general  meeting  of  the  governor  and  council  once  in  every  three 
months.  The  population  of  the  colony  was  estimated  at  not  less 
than  fifteen  hundred;  they  inhabited  seventeen  or  eighteen  plan 
tations,  of  these  the  greater  part,  lying  toward  the  falls  of  the 
James  River,  were  well  fortified  against  the  Indians  by  means  of 
palisades.  The  planters  dwelling  above  Jamestown,  found  means 
to  procure  an  abundant  supply  of  fish.  On  the  banks  of  that 
river  the  red  men  themselves  were  now  seldom  seen,  but  their 
fires  were  occasionally  observed  in  the  woods.* 

There  was  no  family  in  the  colony  so  poor  as  not  to  have  a 
sufficient  stock  of  tame  hogs.  Poultry  was  equally  abundant ; 
bread  plenty  and  good.  For  drink  the  colonists  made  use  of  a 
home-made  ale;  but  the  better  sort  of  people  were  well  supplied 
with  sack,  aqua-vit^e,  and  good  English  beer.  The  common  diet 
of  the  servants  was  milk-hominy,  that  is,  bruised  Indian-corn, 
pounded  and  boiled  thick,  and  eaten  with  milk.  This  dish  was 
also  in  esteem  with  the  better  sort.  Hominy,  according  to 

«/  o 

Strachey,  is  an  Indian  word;  Lord  Bacon  calls  it  "the  cream  of 
maize,"  and  commends  it  as  a  nutritious  diet.  The  planters  were 
generally  provided  with  arms  and  armor,  and  on  every  holiday 
each  plantation  exercised  its  men  in  the  use  of  arms,  by  which 
means,  together  with  hunting  and  fowling,  the  greater  part  of 
them  became  excellent  marksmen.  Tobacco  was  the  only  staple 
cultivated  for  sale.  The  health  of  the  country  was  greatly  im- 


*  The  number  of  cattle  amounted  to  several  thousand  head;  the  stock  of  goats 
was  large,  and  their  increase  rapid;  the  forests  abounded  with  wild  hogs,  which 
were  killed  and  eaten  by  the  savages. 


182  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AKD 

proved  by  clearing  the  land,  so  that  the  sun  had  power  to  exhale 
up  the  humid  vapors.  Captain  Francis  West  continued  governor 
till  March,  1628,  and  he  then  being  about  to  embark  for  Eng 
land,  John  Pott  was  elected  governor  by  the  council. 

In  the  year  1629  most  of  the  land  about  Jamestown  was  cleared; 
little  corn  planted;  but  all  the  ground  converted  into  pasture 
and  gardens,  "  wherein  doth  grow  all  manners  of  English  herbs 
and  roots  and  very  good  grass."  Such  is  the  cotcmporaneous 
statement,  but  after  the  lapse  of  more  than  two  centuries  Eastern 
Virginia  depends  largely  on  the  Northern  States  for  her  supply 
of  hay.  The  greater  portion  of  the  cattle  of  the  colony  was  kept 
near  Jamestown,  the  owners  being  dispersed  about  on  plantations, 
and  visiting  Jamestown  as  inclination  prompted,  or,  at  the  arrival 
of  shipping,  come  to  trade.  In  this  year  the  population  of  Vir 
ginia  amounted  to  five  thousand,  and  the  cattle  had  increased  in 
the  like  proportion.  The  colony's  stock  of  provisions  was  suffi 
cient  to  feed  four  hundred  more  than  its  own  number  of  inhabit 
ants.  Vessels  procured  supplies  in  Virginia;  the  number  of 
arrivals  in  1629  was  twenty-three.  Salt  fish  was  brought  from 
New  England;  Kecoughtan  supplied  peaches. 

Mrs.  Pearce,  an  honest  industrious  woman,  after  passing  twenty 
years  in  Virginia,  on  her  return  to  England  reported  that  she  had 
a  garden  at  Jamestown,  containing  three  or  four  acres,  where  in 
one  year  she  had  gathered  a  hundred  bushels  of  excellent  figs, 
and  that  of  her  own  provision  she  could  keep  a  better  house  in 
Virginia,  than  in  London  for  three  or  four  hundred  pounds 
a  year,  although  she  had  gone  there  with  little  or  nothing.  The 
planters  found  the  Indian-corn  so  much  better  for  bread  than 
wheat,  that  they  began  to  quit  sowing  it. 

An  assembly  met  at  Jamestown  in  October,  1629;  it  consisted 
of  John  Pott,  Governor,  four  councillors,  and  forty-six  burgesses, 
returned  from  twenty-three  plantations.  Pott  was  superseded  in 
the  same  year  by  Sir  John  Harvey,  at  some  time  between  Octo 
ber  and  March.  In  March,  the  quarter  court  ordered  an  assembly 
to  be  called,  to  meet  Sir  John  Harvey  on  the  twenty-fourth  of 
that  month;  and  nothing  was  done  in  Pott's  name  after  October, 
BO  far  as  can  be  found  in  the  records. 

The  late  governor  was,  during  the  ensuing  year,  Rob-Roy-like, 


ANCIENT    DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  183 

convicted  of  stealing  cattle.  The  trial  commenced  on  the  ninth 
of  July,  1630;  the  number  of  jurors  was  thirteen,  of  whom  three 
were  members  of  the  council.  The  first  day  was  wholly  spent  in 
pleading,  the  next  in  unnecessary  disputations,  Dr.  John  Pott 
endeavoring  to  prove  Mr.  Kingsmell,  one  of  the  witnesses  against 
him,  a  hypocrite  by  the  story  of  "  Gusman  of  Alfrach,  the  Rogue." 
Pott  was  found  guilty,  but  in  consideration  of  his  rank  and  station, 
judgment  was  suspended  until  the  king's  pleasure  should  be 
known ;  and  all  the  council  became  his  security. 

Sir  John  Harvey,  the  new  governor,  had  been  one  of  the  com 
missioners  sent  out  by  King  James  to  Virginia,  in  1623,  for  the 
purpose  of  investigating  the  state  and  condition  of  the  colony, 
and  of  procuring  evidence  which  might  serve  to  justify  the  disso 
lution  of  the  charter  of  the  Virginia  Company.  Harvey. had  also 
been  a  member  of  the  provisional  government  in  the  year  1625. 
Returning  now  to  Virginia,  no  doubt  with  embittered  recollec 
tions  of  the  collisions  with  the  assembly  in  which  he  had  been 
formerly  involved,  he  did  not  fail  to  imitate  the  arbitrary  rule 
that  prevailed  aat  home,"  and  to  render  himself  odious  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  colony. 

Sir  George  Calvert,  the  first  Lord  Baltimore,  descended  from 
a  noble  family  in  Flanders,  born  at  Kipling,  in  Yorkshire,  Eng 
land,  was  educated  partly  at  Trinity  College,  Oxford,  and  partly 
on  the  continent.  Sir  Robert  Cecil,  lord  treasurer,  employed 
him  as  his  secretary,  and  he  was  promoted  to  the  clerkship  of  the 
council.  In  1618  he  was  knighted,  and  in  the  succeeding  year 
he  was  made  a  secretary  of  state,  and  one  of  the  committee  of 
trade  and  plantations,  with  a  pension  of  one  thousand  pounds. 
Through  the  influence  of  Sir  Thomas  Wentworth,  afterwards  Earl 
of  Straflbrd,  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  Parliament.  Receiving 
a  patent  for  the  southeastern  peninsula  of  Newfoundland,  he 
undertook  to  establish,  in  1621,  the  plantation  of  Ferryland, 
which  he  called  the  Province  of  Avalon — a  name  derived  from 
some  mediaeval  legend.  In  1624  he  professed  the  Romish  faith, 
and  resigned  his  place  of  secretary  of  state ;  but  James  the  First 
still  retained  this  strenuous  defender  of  royal  prerogative  as  a 
member  of  his  privy  council,  and  created  him*  Baron  of  Balti- 

*  1625. 


184  HISTORY   OF   THE   COLONY  AND 

more,  in  the  County  of  Longford,  in  Ireland,  he  being  at  this 
time  the  representative  of  the  University  of  Oxford  in  the  House 
of  Commons.  Still  bent  upon  establishing  a  colony  in  America, 
for  the  promotion  of  his  private  interests,  and  to  provide  an 
asylum  for  the  unmolested  exercise  of  his  religion,  embarking  in 
a  ship  lent  him  by  King  Charles  the  First,  he  came  over  to  Vir 
ginia  in  the  year  1629. 

Virginia  was  founded  by  men  devoted  to  the  principles  of  the 
Reformation,  amid  vivid  recollections  of  the  persecutions  of  Mary, 
the  Spanish  armada,  and  the  recent  gunpowder  plot,  and  when 
horror  of  papists  was  at  its  height.  The  charter  of  the  colony 
expressly  required  that  the  oaths  of  allegiance  and  supremacy 
should  be  taken  for  the  purpose  of  guarding  against  "the  super 
stitions  of  the  Church  of  Rome."* 

The  assembly  being  in  session  at  the  time  of  Lord  Baltimore's 
arrival,  proposed  these  oaths  to  him  and  those  with  him.  He  de 
clined  complying  with  the  requisition,  submitting,  however,  a  form 
which  he  was  ready  to  accept,  whereupon  the  assembly  determined 
to  refer  the  matter  to  the  privy  council.  The  virtues  of  this  able 
and  estimable  nobleman  did  not  secure  him  from  personal  indig 
nity.  In  the  old  records  is  found  this  entry:  "March  25th, 
1630,  Thomas  Tindall  to  be  pilloried  two  hours  for  giving  my 
Lord  Baltimore  the  lie,  and  threatening  to  knock  him  down."f 

Finding  the  Virginians  unanimously  averse  to  the  very  name 
of  papist,  he  proceeded  to  the  head  of  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  ob 
serving  an  attractive  territory  on  the  north  side  of  the  Potomac 
River  unoccupied,  returned  to  England,  and,  in  violation  of  the 
territorial  rights  of  Virginia,  obtained  from  Charles  the  First  a 
grant  of  the  country,  afterwards  called  Maryland,;];  but  died  be 
fore  the  sealing  of  his  patent. 

During  the  session  of  1629-30  ministers  were  ordered  to  con 
form  themselves  in  all  things  "according  to  the  canons  of  the 
Church  of  England."  It  would  appear  that  Puritanism  had  be 
gun  to  develope  itself  among  the  clergy  as  well  as  the  laity  of  the 
colony.  Measures  were  adopted  for  erecting  a  fort  at  Point 


*  Burk,  ii.  25;  Hen.,  i.  73,  97.  f  1  Hen.,  552. 

J  Belknap,  iii.  206;  Allen's  Biog.  Die.,  art.  CALYERT. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  185 

Comfort ;  new-comers  were  exempted  from  military  service  during 
the  first  five  years  after  their  arrival ;  engrossing  and  forestalling 
were  prohibited.  For  the  furtherance  of  the  production  of  pot 
ashes  and  saltpetre,  experiments  were  ordered  to  be  made;  to 
prevent  a  scarcity  of  corn,  it  was  enacted  that  two  acres  of  land, 
or  near  thereabouts,  be  planted  for  every  head  that  works  in  the 
ground;  regulations  were  established  for  the  improvement  of  the 
staple  of  tobacco.  An  act  provided  that  the  war  commenced 
against  the  Indians  be  effectually  prosecuted,  and  that  no  peace 
be  concluded  with  them.* 

The  first  act  of  the  session  of  February,  1632,  provides  that 
there  be  a  uniformity  throughout  this  colony,  both  in  substance 
and  circumstance,  to  the  canons  and  constitution  of  the  Church 
of  England,  as  near  as  may  be,  and  that  every  person  yield  ready 
obedience  to  them,  upon  penalty  of  the  pains  and  forfeitures  in 
that  case  appointed.  Another  act  directs  that  ministers  shall 
not  give  themselves  to  excess  in  drinking,  or  riot,  spending  their 
time  idly,  by  day  or  night,  playing  at  dice,  cards,  or  any  other 
unlawful  game.  Another  order  was,  that  all  the  council  and 
burgesses  of  the  assembly  shall  in  the  morning  be  present  at 
divine  service,  in  the  room  where  they  sit,  at  the  third  beating  of 
the  drum,  an  hour  after  sunrise.  No  person  was  suffered  to 
"tend"  above  fourteen  leaves  of  the  tobacco-plant,  nor  to  gather 
more  than  nine  leaves,  nor  to  tend  any  slips  of  old  stalks  of 
tobacco,  or  any  of  the  second  crop;  and  it  was  ordained  that  all 
tobacco  should  be  taken  down  before  the  end  of  November.  No 
person  was  permitted  to  speak  or  parley  with  the  Indians,  either 
in  the  woods  or  on  any  plantation,  "if  he  can  possibly  avoid  it  by 
any  means."  The  planters,  however,  were  required  to  observe  all 
terms  of  amity  with  them,  taking  care,  nevertheless,  to  keep  upon 
their  guard.  The  spirit  of  constitutional  freedom  exhibited  itself 
in  an  act  declaring  that  the  governor  and  council  shall  not  lay 
any  taxes  or  impositions  upon  the  colony,  their  land,  or  commo 
dities,  otherwise  than  by  authority  of  the  grand  assembly,  to  be 
levied  and  employed  as  by  the  assembly  shall  be  appointed. 

Act  XL.  provides,  that  the  governor  shall  not  withdraw  the 

*  1  Hening,  149. 


186  ANCIENT    DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA. 

inhabitants  from  their  private  labors  to  service  of  his  own,  upon 
any  color  whatsoever.  In  case  of  emergency,  the  levying  of  men 
shall  be  ordered  by  the  governor,  with  the  consent  of  the  whole 
body  of  the  council.  For  the  encouragement  of  men  to  plant  a 
plenty  of  corn,  it  was  enacted,  that  the  price  shall  not  be  re 
stricted,  but  it  shall  be  free  for  every  man  to  sell  it  as  dear  as  he 
can.  Men  were  not  allowed  to  work  in  the  grounds  without  their 
arms,  and  a  sentinel  on  guard ;  due  watch  to  be  kept  at  night 
when  necessary;  no  commander  of  any  plantation  shall  either 
himself  spend,  or  suffer  others  to  spend,  powder  unnecessarily, 
that  is  to  say,  in  drinking  or  entertainments.  All  men  fit  to  bear 
arms  were  required  to  bring  their  pieces  to  the  church  on  occa 
sion  of  public  worship.  No  person  within  the  colony,  upon  any 
rumor  of  supposed  change  and  alteration,  was  to  presume  to  be 
disobedient  to  the  present  government,  nor  servants  to  their  pri 
vate  officers,  masters,  and  overseers,  at  their  uttermost  peril.  No 
boats  were  permitted  to  go  and  trade  to  Canada  or  elsewhere  that 
be  not  of  the  burthen  of  ten  tons,  and  have  a  flush  deck,  or  fitted 
with  a  grating  and  a  tarpauling,  excepting  such  as  be  permitted 
for  discovery  by  a  special  license  from  the  governor.* 

*  1  Hening,  155,  175. 


CHAPTER    XX. 

163S-1635. 

Charles  the  First  appoints  Council  of  Superintendence  for  Virginia — Acts  of 
Assembly — William  Clayborne  authorized  by  the  Crown  to  make  Discoveries 
and  Trade— George  Lord  Baltimore  dies — The  Patent  of  Territory  granted  is 
confirmed  to  his  Son  Cecilius,  Lord  Baltimore — Virginia  remonstrates  against 
the  grant  to  Baltimore — Lord  Baltimore  employs  his  Brother,  Leonard  Calvert, 
to  found  the  Colony  of  Maryland — St.  Mary's  Settled — Harvey  visits  Calvert 
— Clayborne's  Opposition  to  the  New  Colony — Character  of  Baltimore's  Patent 
— Contest  between  Clayborne  and  the  Marylanders — He  is  convicted  of  High 
Crimes — Escapes  to  Virginia — Goes  to  England  for  trial  of  the  Case. 

Ix  the  year  1632  King  Charles  issued  a  commission  appointing 
a  Council  of  Superintendence  over  Virginia,  empowering  them  to 
ascertain  the  state  and  condition  of  the  colony.  The  commis 
sioners  were  Edward,  Earl  of  Dorset,  Henry,  Earl  of  Derby, 
Dudley,  Viscount  Dorchester,  Sir  John  Coke,  Sir  John  Davers, 
Sir  Robert  Killegrew,  Sir  Thomas  Rowe,  Sir  Robert  Heath,  Sir 
Kineage  Tench,  Sir  Dudley  Diggs,  Sir  John  Holstenholm,  Sir 
Francis  "\Vyat,  Sir  John  Brooks,  Sir  Kenelm  Digby,  Sir  John 
Tench,  John  Banks,  Esq.,  Thomas  Gibbs,  Esq.,  Samuel  Rott, 
Esq.,  George  Sands,  Esq.,  John  Wolstenholm,  Esq.,  Nicholas 
Ferrar,  Esq.,  Gabriel  Barber,  and  John  Ferrar,  Esquires.* 

Elaborate  acts  passed  by  the  Colonial  Legislature  at  this  pe 
riod,  for  improving  the  staple  of  tobacco  and  regulating  the  trade 
in  it,  evince  the  increasing  importance  of  that  crop.  Tithes  were 
imposed  of  tobacco  and  corn;  and  the  twentieth  "calfe,  kidd  of 
goatcs  and  pigge"  granted  unto  the  minister.  During  the  year 
1633  every  fortieth  man  in  the  neck  of  land  between  the  James 
River  and  the  York,  (then  called  the  Charles,)  was  directed  to 
repair  to  the  plantation  of  Dr.  John  Pott,  to  be  employed  in 
building  of  houses  and  securing  that  tract  of  land  lying  between 
Queen's  Creek,  emptying  into  Charles  River,  and  Archer's  Hope 

*  2  Burk's  Hist,  of  Va.,  35. 

(1ST) 


188  HISTORY   OF   THE   COLONY  AND 

Creek,  emptying  into  James  River.  This  was  Middle  Plantation, 
(now  Williamsburg,)  so  called  as  being  midway  between  the  James 
River  and  the  York.  Each  person  settling  there  was  entitled  to 
fifty  acres  of  land  and  exemption  from  general  taxes.  All  new 
comers  were  ordered  to  pay  sixty-four  pounds  of  tobacco  toward 
the  maintenance  of  the  fort  at  Point  Comfort.*  Thus  far,  under 
Harvey's  administration,  the  Assembly  had  met  regularly,  and 
several  judicious  and  wholesome  acts  had  been  passed. 

The  Chesapeake  Bay  is  supposed  to  have  been  discovered  by 
the  Spaniards  as  early  as  the  year  1566  or  before,  being  called 
by  them  the  Bay  of  Santa  Maria. f  It  was  discovered  by  the 
English  in  1585,  when  Ralph  Lane  was  Governor  of  the  first 
Colony  of  Virginia.  In  1620  John  Pory  made  a  voyage  of  dis 
covery  in  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  found  one  hundred  English 
happily  settled  on  its  borders,  (in  what  particular  place  is  not 
known,)  animated  with  the  hope  of  a  very  good  trade  in  furs.J 
During  the  years  1627,  1628,  and  1629  the  governors  of  Virgi 
nia  gave  authority  to  William  Clayborne,  "  Secretary  of  State  of 
this  Kingdom,"  as  the  Ancient  Dominion  was  then  styled,  to  dis 
cover  the  source  of  the  bay,  or  any  part  of  that  government 
from  the  thirty-fourth  to  the  forty-first  degree  of  north  latitude. § 
In  May,  1631,  Charles  the  First  granted  a  license  to  "our  trusty 
and  well-beloved  William  Clayborne,"  one  of  the  council  and  Se 
cretary  of  State  for  the  colony,  authorizing  him  to  make  discove 
ries,  and  to  trade.  This  license  was,  by  the  royal  instructions, 
confirmed  by  Governor  Harvey;  and  Clayborne  shortly  after 
wards  established  a  trading  post  on  Kent  Island,  in  the  Chesa- 


*  1  Hening,  188,  190,  199,  208,  222.      The  pay  of  the  officers  at  Point  Com 
fort  "was  at  this  time: — 

Lbs.  Tobacco.  Bbls.  Corn. 

To  the  captain  of  the  fort 2000  10 

To  the  gunner 1000  6 

To  the  drummer  and  porter 1000  G 

For  four  other  men,  each  of  them  500  pounds  of 

tobacco,  4  bbls.  corn 2000  16 

Total 6000  38 

f  Early  Voyages  to  America,  483.  J  Chalmers'  Polit.  Annals,  206. 

2  Chalmers'  Annals,  227. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  189 

peake  Bay,  not  far  from  the  present  capital  of  Maryland, 
Annapolis;  and  subsequently  another  at  the  mouth  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna  River.  In  the  year  1632  a  burgess  was  returned  from 
the  Isle  of  Kent  to  the  Assembly  at  Jamestown.*  In  1633  a 
warehouse  was  established  in  Southampton  River  for  the  inhabit 
ants  of  Mary's  Mount,  Elizabeth  City,  Accomac,  and  the  Isle  of 
Kent, 

In  the  mean  time,  George,  the  elder  Lord  Baltimore,  dying  on 
the  fifteenth  of  April,  1632,  aged  fifty,  at  London,  before  his  pa 
tent  was  issued,  it  was  confirmed  June  twentieth  of  this  year,  to 
his  son  Cecilius,  Baron  of  Baltimore.  The  new  province  was 
named  Maryland  in  honor  of  Henrietta  Maria,  Queen  Consort  of 
Charles  the  First  of  England,  and  daughter  of  Henry  the  Fourth 
of  France.  For  eighteen  months  from  the  signing  of  the  Mary 
land  charter,  the  expedition  to  the  new  colony  wras  delayed  by 
the  strenuous  opposition  made  to  the  proceeding.  The  Virgi 
nians  felt  no  little  aggrieved  at  this  infraction  of  their  chartered 
territory;  and  they  remonstrated  to  the  king  in  council  in  1633, 
against  the  grant  to  Lord  Baltimore,  alleging  that  "it  will  be  a 
general  disheartening  to  them,  if  they  shall  be  divided  into  several 
governments."  Future  events  were  about  to  strengthen  their 
sense  of  the  justice  of  their  cause.  In  July  of  this  year  the 
case  was  decided  in  the  Star  Chamber,  the  privy  council,  influenced 
by  Laud,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  the  Earl  of  Strafford, 
deeming  it  fit  to  leave  Lord  Baltimore  to  his  patent  and  the  com 
plainants  to  the  course  of  law  "  according  to  their  desire,"  re 
commending,  at  the  same  time,  a  spirit  of  amity  and  good  cor 
respondence  between  the  planters  of  the  two  colonies.  So  futile 
a  decision  could  not  terminate  the  contest,  and  Clayborne  con 
tinued  to  claim  Kent  Island,  and  to  abnegate  the  authority  of  the 
proprietary  of  Maryland. 

At  length,  Lord  Baltimore  having  engaged  the  services  of  his 
brother,  Leonard  Calvert,  for  founding  the  colony,  he  with  two 
others,  one  of  them  probably  being  another  brother,  were  ap- 
appointed  commissioners.  The  expedition  consisted  of  some 
twenty  gentlemen  of  fortune,  and  two  or  three  hundred  of  the 

*  1  Hening,  154. 


190  HISTORY  OF  THE  COLONY  AND 

laboring  class,  nearly  all  of  them  Roman  Catholics.  Imploring 
the  intercession  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  St.  Ignatius,  and  all  the 
guardian  angels  of  Maryland,  they  set  sail  from  Cowes,  in  the 
Isle  of  Wight,  in  November,  1633,  St.  Cecilia's  day.  The 
canonized  founder  of  the  order  of  the  Jesuits,  Ignatius  Loyola, 
was  the  patron  saint  of  the  infant  Maryland.  February  twenty- 
seventh,  1634,  they  reached  Point  Comfort,  filled  with  apprehen 
sions  of  the  hostility  of  the  Virginians  to  their  colonial  enter 
prise.  Letters  from  King  Charles  and  the  chancellor  of  the 
exchequer  conciliated  Governor  Harvey,  who  hoped,  by  his  kind 
ness  to  the  Maryland  colonists,  to  insure  the  recovery  of  a  large 
sum  of  money  due  him  from  the  royal  treasury.  The  Virginians 
were  at  this  time  all  under  arms  expecting  the  approach  of  a  hos 
tile  Spanish  fleet.  Calvert,  after  a  hospitable  entertainment, 
embarked  on  the  third  of  March  for  Maryland.  Clayborne,  who 
had  accompanied  Harvey  to  Point  Comfort  to  see  the  strangers, 
did  not  fail  to  intimidate  them  by  accounts  of  the  hostile  spirit 
which  they  would  have  to  encounter  in  the  Indians  of  that  part 
of  the  country  to  which  they  were  destined.  Calvert,  on  arriving 
in  Maryland,  was  accompanied  in  his  explorations  of  the  country 
by  Captain  Henry  Fleet,  an  early  Virginia  pioneer,  who  was 
familiar  with  the  settlements  and  language  of  the  savages,  and  in 
much  favor  with  them;  and  it  was  under  his  guidance  and  direc 
tion  that  the  site  of  St.  Mary's,  the  ancient  capital  of  Maryland, 
was  selected.*  White,  a  Jesuit  missionary,  says  of  Fleet:  "At 
the  first  he  was  very  friendly  to  us;  afterwards,  seduced  by  the 
evil  counsels  of  a  certain  Clayborne,  who  entertained  the  most 
hostile  disposition,  he  stirred  up  the  minds  of  the  natives  against 
us."f  White  mentions  that  the  Island  of  Monserrat,  in  the  West 
Indies,  where  they  touched,  was  inhabited  by  Irishmen  who  had 

*  White's  Relation,  4;   Force's  Hist.  Tracts. 

j-  White's  Relation  of  the  Colony  of  the  Lord  Baron  of  Baltimore  in  Maryland, 
near  Virginia,  and  a  Narrative  of  the  Voyage  to  Maryland,  was  copied  from  the 
archives  of  the  Jesuit's  College  at  Rome,  by  Rev.  William  McSherry,  of  George 
town  College,  and  translated  from  the  Latin.  An  abstract  of  it  may  be  found  in 
chapter  first  of  History  of  Maryland,  by  James  McSherry.  The  first  part  of  the 
Relation  is  a  description  of  the  country,  and  appears  to  have  been  written  at  Lon 
don  previous  to  the  departure  of  Calvert;  the  remainder  details  the  incidents  of 
the  voyage  and  the  first  settlement  of  the  colony,  especially  of  the  proceedings 
of  the  Jesuit  missionaries  down  to  the  year  1677. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  191 

been  expelled  by  the  English  of  Virginia  "on  account  of  their 
profession  of  the  Catholic  faith." 

In  a  short  time  after  the  landing  of  Leonard  Calvert  in  Mary 
land,  Sir  John  Harvey,  Governor  of  Virginia,  visited  him  at  St. 
Mary's.  His  arrival  attracted  to  the  same  place  the  Indian  chief 
of  Patuxent,  who  said:  "When  I  heard  that  a  great  werowance 
of  the  English  was  come  to  Yoacomoco,  I  had  a  great  desire  to 
see  him;  but  when  I  heard  the  werowance  of  Pasbie-haye  was 
come  thither  also  to  see  him,  I  presently  start  up,  and  without 
further  counsel  came  to  see  them  both."* 

In  March,  1634,  at  a  meeting  of  the  governor  and  council, 
Clayborne  inquired  of  them  how  he  should  demean  himself 
toward  Lord  Baltimore  and  his  deputies  in  Maryland,  who 
claimed  jurisdiction  over  the  colony  at  Kent  Isle.  The  governor 
and  council  replied  that  the  right  of  his  lordship's  patent  being 
yet  undetermined  in  England,  they  were  bound  in  duty  and  by 
their  oaths  to  maintain  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  colony  of 
Virginia.  Nevertheless,  in  all  humble  submission  to  his  majesty's 
pleasure,  they  resolved  to  keep  and  observe  all  good  correspond 
ence  with  the  Maryland  new-comers,  f 

The  Maryland  patent  conferred  upon  Lord  Baltimore,  a  popish 
recusant,  the  entire  government  of  the  colony,  including  the  pa 
tronage  and  advowson  of  all  churches,  the  same  to  be  dedicated 
and  consecrated  according  to  the  ecclesiastical  law.  This  charter 
was  illegal,  inasmuch  as  it  granted  powers  which  the  king  him 
self  did  not  possess ;  the  grantee  being  a  papist  could  not  conform 
to  the  ecclesiastical  laws  of  England;  and,  therefore,  the  provi 
sions  of  this  extraordinary  instrument  could  not  be,  and  were  not 
designed  to  be,  executed  according  to  the  plain  and  obvious  mean 
ing.  Such  was  the  character  of  the  instrument  by  which  King 
Charles  the  First  despoiled  Virginia  of  so  large  a  portion  of  her 
territory.  It  is  true,  indeed,  that  the  Virginia  charter  had  been 
annulled,  but  this  was  done  upon  the  condition  explicitly  and  re- 

*  Anderson's  Hist,  of  Col.  Church,  ii.  120,  referring  to  "Relation  of  the  suc 
cessful  beginnings  of  the  Lord  Baltimore's  Plantation,  in  Maryland,"  signed  by 
Captain  Wintour,  and  others,  adventurers  in  the  expedition,  and  published  'in 
1634. 

y  Chalmers'  Annals.  Chalmers  is  the  more  full  and  satisfactory  in  his  account 
of  Maryland,  because  he  had  resided  there  for  many  years. 


192  ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA. 

peatedly  declared  by  the  royal  government,  that  vested  rights 
should  receive  no  prejudice  thereby.* 

Clayborne,  rejecting  the  authority  of  the  new  plantation,  Lord 
Baltimore  gave  orders  to  seize  him  if  he  should  not  submit  him 
self  to  the  proprietary  government  of  Maryland.  The  Indians 
beginning  to  exhibit  some  indications  of  hostility  toward  the  set 
tlers,  they  attributed  it  to  the  machinations  of  Clayborne,  alleg 
ing  that  it  was  he  who  stirred  up  the  jealousy  of  the  savages, 
persuading  them  that  the  new-comers  were  Spaniards  and  ene 
mies  to  the  Virginians,  and  that  he  had  also  infused  his  own 
spirit  of  insubordination  into  the  inhabitants  of  Kent  Island.  A 
trading  vessel  called  the  Longtail,  employed  by  Clayborne  in  the 
Indian  trade  in  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  was  captured  by  the  Mary- 
landers.  He  thereupon  fitted  out  an  armed  pinnace  with  a  crew 
of  fourteen  men  under  one  of  his  adherents,  Lieutenant  Warren, 
to  rescue  the  vessel.  Two  armed  pinnaces  were  sent  out  by  Cal- 
vert  under  Captain  Cornwallis;  and  in  an  engagement  that  en 
sued  in  the  Potomac,  or,  as  some  accounts  have  it,  the  Pocomoke 
River,  one  of  the  Marylanders  fell,  and  three  of  the  Virginians, 
including  Lieutenant  Warren.  The  rest  were  carried  prisoners 
to  St.  Mary's.  Clayborne  was  indicted  although  not  arrested, 
and  convicted  of  murder  and  piracy,  constructive  crimes  inferred 
from  his  opposition.  The  chief  of  Patuxent  was  interrogated  as 
to  Clayborne's  intrigues  among  the  Indians. f 

Harvey,  either  from  fear  of  the  popular  indignation,  or  from 
some  better  motive,  refused  to  surrender  the  fugitive  Clayborne 
to  the  Maryland  commissioners,  and  according  to  one  authority^ 
sent  him  to  England,  accompanied  by  the  witnesses.  Chalmers, 
good  authority  on  the  subject,  makes  no  allusion  to  the  circum 
stance,  and  it  appears  more  probable  that  Clayborne  having  ap 
pealed  to  the  king,  went  voluntarily  to  England. §  It  is  certain 
that  he  was  not  brought  to  trial  there. 

*  Force's  Hist.  Tracts,  ii. ;  Virginia  and  Maryland,  7  et  seq. ;  and  Anderson's 
Hist,  of  Col.  Church,  ii.  113. 

f  McSherry's  Maryland,  40;  Chalmers'  Annals,  211,  232;  Force's  Historical 
Tracts,  ii.  13. 

J  Burk's  Hist,  of  Va.,  ii.  41,  referring  to  "Ancient  Records"  of  the  London 
Company. 

\  Force's  Hist.  Tracts,  ii. ;  Maryland  and  Virginia,  22. 


CHAPTER    XXL 

1635-1G39. 

Eight  Shires — Harvey's  Grants  of  Territory — His  Corrupt  and  Tyrannical  Ad> 
ministration — The  Crown  guarantees  to  the  Virginians  the  Rights  which  they 
enjoyed  before  the  Dissolution  of  the  Charter — Burk's  Opinion  of  Clayborne — • 
Governor  Harvey  deposed — Returns  to  England — Charles  the  First  reinstates 
him — Disturbances  in  Kent  Island — Charles  reprimands  Lord  Baltimore  for  his 
Maltreatment  of  Clayborne — The  Lords  Commissioners  decide  in  favor  of  Balti 
more — Threatening  State  of  Affairs  in  England — Harvey  recalled — Succeeded 
by  Sir  Francis  Wyat. 

Ix  the  year  1634  Virginia  was  divided  into  eight  shires:  James 
City,  Hcnrico,  Charles  City,  Elizabeth  City,  Warrasqueake, 
Charles  River,  and  Accomac.  The  original  name  of  Pamaunkee, 
or  Pamimkey,  had  then  been  superseded  by  Charles  River,  which 
afterwards  gave  way  to  the  present  name  of  York.  Pamunkey, 
at  first  the  name  of  the  whole  river,  is  now  restricted  to  one  of 
its  branches.  The  word  Pamaunkee  is  said  to  signify  "  where 
we  took  a  sweat." 

The  grant  of  Maryland  to  Lord  Baltimore  opened  the  way  for 
similar  grants  to  other  court-favorites,  of  lands  lying  to  the  north 
and  to  the  south  of  the  settled  portion  of  the  Ancient  Colony  and 
Dominion  of  Virginia.  While  Charles  the  First  was  lavishing 
vast  tracts  of  her  territory  upon  his  favorites,  Sir  John  Harvey, 
a  worthy  pacha  of  such  a  sultan,  in  collusion  with  the  royal  com 
missioners,  imitated  the  royal  munificence  by  giving  away  large 
bodies  not  only  of  the  public,  or  crown  lands,  but  even  of  such  as 
belonged  to  private  planters.*  In  the  contests  between  Clayborne 
and  the  proprietary  of  Maryland,  while  the  people  of  Virginia 
warmly  espoused  their  countryman's  cause,  Harvey  sided  with 
Baltimore,  and  proved  himself  altogether  a  fit  instrument  of  the 
administration  then  tyrannizing  in  England.  He  was  extor- 


*  Beverley,  B.  i.  50. 

13  (193) 


194  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY  AND 

tionate,  proud,  unjust,  and  arbitrary;  he  issued  proclamations  in 
derogation  of  the  legislative  powers  of  the  assembly;  assessed, 
levied,  held,  and  disbursed  the  colonial  revenue,  without  check 
or  responsibility;  transplanted  into  Virginia  exotic  English  sta 
tutes;  multiplied  penalties  and  exactions,  and  appropriated  fines 
to  his  own  use;  he  added  the  decrees  of  the  court  of  high  com 
mission  of  England  to  'the  ecclesiastical  constitutions  of  Virginia. 
The  assembly,  nevertheless,  met  regularly ;  and  the  legislation  of 
the  colony  expanded  itself  in  accordance  with  the  exigencies  of 
an  increasing  population.  Tobacco  was  subjected,  by  royal  ordi 
nances,  to  an  oppressive  monopoly;  and  in  those  days  of  pre 
rogative,  a  remonstrance  to  the  Commons  for  redress  proved 
fruitless. 

At  length,  in  July,  1634,  the  council's  committee  for  the  colo 
nies,  either  from  policy  or  from  compassion,  transmitted  instruc 
tions  to  the  governor  and  council,  saying :  "  That  it  is  not  intended 
that  interests  which  men  have  settled  when  you  were  a  corpora 
tion,  should  be  impeached;  that  for  the  present  they  may  enjoy 
their  estates  with  the  same  freedom  and  privilege  as  they  did  be 
fore  the  recalling  of  their  patents,"  and  authorizing  the  appropria 
tion  of  lands  to  the  planters,  as  had  been  the  former  custom.* 

Whether  these  concessions  were  inadequate  in  themselves,  or 
were  not  carried  into  effect  by  Harvey,  upon  the  petition  of  many 
of  the  inhabitants,  an  assembly  was  called  to  meet  on  the  7th  of 
May,  1635,  to  hear  complaints  against  that  obnoxious  functionary. 
There  is  hardly  any  point  on  which  a  people  are  more  sensitive 
than  in  regard  to  their  territory,  and  it  may  therefore  be  con 
cluded,  that  one  of  Harvey's  chief  offences  was  his  having  sided 
with  Lord  Baltimore  in  his  infraction  of  the  Virginia  territory. 

Burk,  in  his  History  of  Virginia,  has  stigmatized  Clayborne 
as  "an  unprincipled  incendiary"  and  "execrable  villain;"  other 
writers  have  applied  similar  epithets  to  him.  It  appears  to  have 
been  only  his  resolute  defence  of  his  own  rights  and  those  of  Vir- 


*  By  the  words  "for  the  present,"  was  probably  intended  "at  present," 
''now,"  otherwise  their  interests  might  be  impeached  at  a  future  day,  although 
not  immediately.  Chalmers,  Hist,  of  Revolt  of  Amer.  Colonies,  30,  so  inter 
prets  the  expression. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  195 

ginia  that  subjected  him  to  this  severe  denunciation.  He  was 
long  a  member  of  the  council;  long  filled  the  office  of  secretary; 
was  held  in  great  esteem  by  the  people,  and  was  for  many  years 
a  leading  spirit  of  the  colony.  Burk*  denounces  Sir  John  Har 
vey  for  refusing  to  surrender  the  fugitive  Clayborne  to  the  de 
mand  of  the  Maryland  Commissioners,  and  adds:  "But  the  time 
was  at  hand  when  this  rapacious  and  tyrannical  prefect  (Harvey) 
would  experience  how  vain  and  ineffectual  are  the  projects  of 
tyranny  when  opposed  to  the  indignation  of  freemen."  Thus  the 
governor,  who  excited  the  indignation  of  the  Virginians  by  his 
collusion  with  the  Marylanders,  was  afterwards  reprobated  by 
historians  for  sympathizing  with  Clayborne  in  his  defence  of  the 
rights  of  Virginia,  and  opposition  to  the  Marylanders.  If  Har 
vey,  in  violation  of  the  royal  license  granted  to  Clayborne  in 
1631,  had  surrendered  him  to  the  Maryland  Commissioners,  he 
would  have  exposed  himself  to  the  royal  resentment ;  and  nothing 
could  have  more  inflamed  the  indignation  of  freemen  than  such 
treatment  of  the  intrepid  vindicator  of  their  territorial  rights. 

Before  the  assembly  (called  to  hear  complaints  against  the 
governor)  met,  Harvey,  having  consented  to  go  to  England  to 
answer  them,  was  "thrust  out  of  the  government"  by  the  council 
on  the  28th  of  April,  1G35,  and  Captain  John  West  was  authorized 
to  act  as  governor  until  the  king's  pleasure  should  be  known. 
The  assembly  having  collected  the  evidence,  deputed  two  members 
of  the  council  to  go  out  with  Harvey  to  prefer  the  charges  against 
him.  It  was  also  ordered  that  during  the  vacancy  in  the  office 
of  governor,  the  secretary  (Clayborne)  should  sign  commissions 
and  passes,  and  manage  the  affairs  of  the  Indians. f 

King  Charles  the  First,  offended  at  the  presumption  of  the 
council  and  assembly,  reinstated  Sir  John,  and  he  resumed  his 
place,  in  or  before  the  month  of  January,  1636.  Chalmers J  says 
that  he  returned  in  April,  1637.  Thus  the  first  open  resistance 
to  tyranny,  and  vindication  of  constitutional  right,  took  place  in 
the  colony  of  Virginia;  and  the  deposition  of  Harvey  fore 
shadowed  the  downfall  of  Charles  the  First.  The  laws  that  had 


Hist,  of  Va.,  ii.  40.  f  Hen.,  i.  223. 

Hist,  of  Revolt  of  Amer.  Colonies,  i.  36. 


196  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

been  enacted  by  the  first  assembly  of  Maryland,  having  been  sent 
over  to  England  for  his  approval,  he  rejected  them,  on  the  ground 
that  the  right  of  framing  them  was  vested  in  himself;  and  he 
directed  an  assembly  to  be  summoned  to  meet  in  January,  1688, 
to  have  his  dissent  announced  to  them. 

Early  in  1637  a  court  was  established  by  the  Maryland  authori 
ties,  in  Kent  Island,  and  toward  the  close  of  that  year  Captain 
George  Evelin  was  appointed  commander  of  the  island.  Many 
of  Clayborne's  adherents  there  refused  to  submit  to  the  jurisdic 
tion  of  Lord  Baltimore's  colony,  and  the  governor,  Leonard  Cal- 
vert,  found  it  necessary  to  repair  there  in  March,  1638,  in  person, 
with  a  military  force,  to  reduce  to  submission  these  Virginia 
malecontents.  The  Maryland  legislature,  convened  in  compliance 
with  Lord  Baltimore's  orders,  refused  to  acquiesce  in  his  claim 
of  the  legislative  power,  and  in  the  event  they  gained  their  point, 
his  lordship  being  satisfied  with  a  controlling  influence  in  the 
choice  of  the  delegates,  and  his  v.cto. 

The  Virginians  captured  by  Cornwallis  in  his  engagement  with 
Warren,  had  been  detained  prisoners  without  being  brought  to 
trial,  there  being  no  competent  tribunal  in  the  colony.  At  length 
Thomas  Smith,  second  in  command  to  Warren,  was  brought  to 
trial  for  the  murder  of  William  Ashmore,  (who  had  been  killed  in 
the  skirmish,)  and  wTas  found  guilty,  and  sentenced  to  death;  but 
it  is  not  certain  that  he  was  executed.  Clayborne  was  attainted, 
and  his  property  confiscated;  and  these  proceedings  probably 
produced  those  disturbances  in  Kent  Island  which  required  the 
governor's  presence. 

Harvey,  after  his  restoration,  continued  to  be  governor  of  Vir 
ginia  for  about  three  years,  during  which  period  there  appears  to 
have  been  no  meeting  of  the  assembly,  and  of  this  part  of  his  ad 
ministration  no  record  is  left. 

In  July,  1638,  Charles  the  First  addressed  a  letter  to  Lord 
Baltimore,  referring  to  his  former  letters  to  "  Our  Governor  and 
Council  of  Virginia,  and  to  others,  our  officers  and  subjects  in 
these  parts,  (in  which)  we  signified  our  pleasure  that  William 
Clayborne,  David  Morehead,  and  other  planters  in  the  island  near 
Virginia,  which  they  have  nominated  Kentish  Island,  should  in 
no  sort  be  interrupted  by  you  or  any  other  in  your  right,  but 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  197 

rather  be  encouraged  to  proceed  in  so  good  a  work."  The  king 
complains  to  Baltimore  that  his  agents,  in  spite  of  the  royal  in 
structions,  had  "  slain  three  of  our  subjects  there,  and  by  force 
possessed  themselves  by  night  of  that  island,  and  seized  and  car 
ried  away  both  the  persons  and  estates  of  the  said  planters." 
His  majesty  concludes  by  enjoining  a  strict  compliance  with  his 
former  orders.* 

In  1639  Father  John  Gravener,  a  Jesuit  missionary,  resided 
at  Kent  Island.  In  April  of  this  year  the  Lords  Commissioners 
of  Plantations,  with  Laud,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  at  their 
head,  held  a  meeting  at  Whitehall,  and  determined  the  contro 
versy  between  Clayborne  and  Lord  Baltimore.  This  decision 
was  made  in  consequence  of  a  petition  presented  in  1637  by  Clay- 
borne  to  the  king,  claiming,  by  virtue  of  discovery  and  settlement, 
Kent  Island  and  another  plantation  at  the  mouth  of  the  Susque- 
hanna  River,  and  complaining  of  the  attempts  of  Lord  Baltimore's 
agents  there  to  dispossess  him  and  his  associates,  and  of  outrages 
committed  upon  them.  The  decision  was  now  absolute  in  favor 
of  Baltimore;  and  Clayborne,  despairing  of  any  peaceable  re 
dress,  returned  to  Virginia,  and  having  in  vain  prayed  for  the 
restoration  of  his  property,  awaited  some  future  opportunity  to 
vindicate  his  rights,  and  to  recover  property  amounting  in  value 
to  six  thousand  pounds,  of  which  he  had  been  despoiled.f 

The  Governor  of  Maryland,  engaged  in  hostilities  with  the  In 
dians,  obtained  a  supply  of  arms,  ammunition,  and  provision 
from  the  Governor  of  Virginia. 

Charles  the  First,  bred  in  all  the  arts  of  corrupt  and  arbitrary 
government,  had  now  for  many  years  governed  England  by  pre 
rogative,  without  a  parliament,  until  at  length  his  necessities  con 
strained  him  to  convene  one;  and  his  apprehensions  of  that  body, 
and  the  revolt  of  the  Scotch,  and  other  alarming  ebullitions  of 
discontent,  admonished  him  and  his  advisers  to  mitigate  the  high 
handed  measures  of  administration.  The  severity  of  colonial 
rule  was  also  relaxed,  and  in  November,  1639,  the  unpopular  Sir 


*  Chalmers'  Annals,  232. 

f  Clayborne  is  the  same  name  with  Claiborne;  it  is  found  sometimes  spelt 
Claiborn,  and  sometimes  Cleyborue. 


198  ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA. 

John  Harvey  was  displaced,  and  succeeded  by  Sir  Francis  Wyat.* 
But  Harvey  remained  in  Virginia,  and  continued  to  be  a  member 
of  the  council.  About  this  time  mention  is  made  of  the  exporta 
tion  of  cattle  from  Virginia  to  New  England. 


*  1  Hening's  Stat.  at  Large,  4.     Burk,  Hist,  of  Va.,  ii.  46,  erroneously  makes 
Sir  William  Berkley  succeed  Harvey. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

164O-1644. 

Alarming  State  of  Affairs  in  England — The  Long  Parliament  summoned — In  Vir 
ginia  Stephen  Reekes  pilloried — Sir  William  Berkley  made  Governor — Assem 
bly  declare  against  Restoration  of  Virginia  Company — The  King's  Letter — 
Puritans  in  Virginia — Act  against  Non-conformists — Massacre  of  1644 — Ope- 
chancanough  captured — His  Death — Civil  War  in  England — Sir  William  Berk 
ley  visits  England — Clayborne  expels  Calvert  from  Maryland,  and  seizes  the 
Government — Treaty  with  Necotowance — Statistics  of  the  Colony. 

THE  spirit  of  constitutional  freedom  awakened  by  the  Refor 
mation,  and  which  had  been  long  gradually  gaining  strength, 
began  to  develope  itself  with  new  energy  in  England.  The  arbi 
trary  temper  of  Charles  the  First  excited  so  great  dissatisfaction 
in  the  people,  and  such  a  strenuous  opposition  in  parliament,  as 
to  exact  at  length  his  assent  to  the  "Petition  of  Right."  The 
public  indignation  was  carried  to  a  high  pitch  by  the  forced  levy 
ing  of  ship-money,  that  is,  of  money  for  the  building  of  ships-of- 
war,  and  John  Hampden  stood  forth  in  a  personal  resistance  to 
this  unconstitutional  mode  of  raising  money.  The  Puritans 
found  within  the  pale  of  the  Established  Church,  as  well  as  with 
out,  were  arrayed  against  the  despotic  rule  of  the  crown  and  the 
hierarchy;  and  Scotland  was  not  less  offended  against  the  king, 
who  undertook  to  obtrude  the  Episcopal  liturgy  upon  the  Presbyte 
rian  land  of  his  birth.  In  the  year  1640  Charles  the  First  found 
himself  compelled  to  call  together  the  Long  Parliament.  Virgi 
nia  meantime  remained  loyal;  the  decrees  of  the  courts  of  high 
commission  were  the  rule  of  conduct,  and  the  authority  of  Arch 
bishop  Laud  was  as  absolute  in  the  colony  as  in  the  fatherland. 
Stephen  Reekes  was  pilloried  for  two  hours,  with  a  label  on  his 
back  signifying  his  offence,  fined  fifty  pounds,  and  imprisoned 
during  pleasure,  for  saying  "that  his  majesty  was  at  confession 
with  the  Lord  of  Canterbury,"  that  is,  Archbishop  Laud. 

In  May,  1641,  the  Earl  of  Strafford  was  executed,  and  Arch 
bishop  Laud  sent  to  the  Tower,  where  he  was  destined  to  remain 

(199) 


200  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

until  he  suffered  the  same  fate.  The  massacre  of  the  Protestants 
in  Ireland  occurring  in  the  latter  part  of  this  year,  rendered  still 
more  portentous  the  threatening  storm.  January  tenth,  the  king 
left  London,  to  which  he  was  not  destined  to  return  till  brought 
back  a  prisoner. 

In  February,  1642,  Sir  Francis  Wyat  gave  way  to  Sir  William 
Berkley,  whose  destiny  it  was  to  hold  the  office  of  governor  for  a 
period  longer  than  any  other  governor,  and  to  undergo  extraor 
dinary  vicissitudes  of  fortune.  His  commission  and  instructions 
declared  that  it  was  intended  to  give  due  encouragement  to  the 
plantation  of  Virginia,  and  that  ecclesiastical  as  well  as  tem 
poral  matters  should  be  regulated  according  to  the  laws  of  Eng 
land;  provision  was  also  made  for  securing  to  England  a  mono 
poly  of  the  trade  of  the  colony.  By  some  salutary  measures 
which  Sir  William  Berkley  introduced  shortly  after  his  arrival, 
and  by  his  prepossessing  manners,  he  soon  rendered  himself  very 
acceptable  to  the  Virginians. 

In  April,  1642,  the  assembly  made  a  declaration  against  the 
restoration  of  the  Virginia  Company  then  proposed,  denouncing 
the  company  as  having  been  the  source  of  intolerable  calamities 
to  the  colony  by  its  illegal  proceedings,  barbarous  punishments, 
and  monopolizing  policy.  They  insisted  that  its  restoration 
would  cause  them  to  degenerate  from  the  condition  of  their  birth 
right,  and  convert  them  from  subjects  of  a  monarchy  to  the 
creatures  of  a  popular  and  tumultuary  government,  to  which  they 
would  be  obliged  to  resign  their  lands  held  from  the  crown; 
which  they  intimate,  if  necessary,  would  be  more  fitly  resigned 
to  a  branch  of  the  royal  family  than  to  a  corporation.  They 
averred  that  the  revival  of  the  company  would  prove  a  death 
blow  to  freedom  of  trade,  "the  life-blood  of  a  commonwealth." 
Finally,  the  assembly  protested  against  the  restoration  of  the 
company,  and  decreed  severe  penalties  against  any  who  should 
countenance  the  scheme.* 

At  a  court  holden  at  James  City,  June  the  29th,  1642,  present 
Sir  William  Berkley,  knight,  governor,  etc.,  Captain  John  West, 
Mr.  Rich.  Kemp,  Captain  William  Brocas,  Captain  Christo- 

*  1  Hening,  230;  Burk,  ii.  68. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF    VIRGINIA.  201 

pher  Wormley,  Captain  Humphrey  Higginson.  The  commission 
for  the  monthly  court  of  Upper  Norfolk  was  renewed,  and  the 
commissioners  appointed  were,  Captain  Daniel  Gookin,  com 
mander,  Mr.  Francis  Hough,  Captain  Thomas  Burbage,  Mr. 
John  Hill,  Mr.  Oliver  Spry,  Mr.  Thomas  Den,  Mr.  Randall 
Crew,  Mr.  Robert  Bennett,  Mr.  Philip  Bennett.  The  captains 
of  trained  bands:  Captain  Daniel  Gookin,  Captain  Thomas  Bur 
bage.* 

Among  the  converts  made  by  one  of  the  New  England  mis 
sionaries,  named  Thompson,  was  Daniel  Gookin  (son  of  the  early 
settler  of  that  name.)  He  removed  to  Boston  in  May,  1644, 
being  probably  one  of  those  who  were  driven  away  from  Virginia 
for  non-conformity.  He  went  away  with  his  family  in  a  ship 
bought  by  him  from  the  governor,  and  was  received  with  distinc 
tion  at  Boston.  He  soon  became  eminent  in  New  England,  and 
afterwards  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  Cromwell,  of  whom  he  was 
a  devoted  adherent.  He  was  author  of  several  historical  works. 
He  died  in  March,  IGSG-Tf. 

The  alarming  crisis  in  the  affairs  of  Charles  the  First  strongly 
dictated  the  necessity  of  a  conciliatory  course;  and  the  remon 
strance,  together  with  a  petition,  being  communicated  to  him,  then 
at  York,  just  on  the  eve  of  the  "  Grand  Rebellion,"  he  replied  to 
it,  firmly  engaging  never  to  restore  the  Virginia  Company. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  king's  letter : — 

"C.  R. 

"Trusty  and  well-beloved,  we  greet  you  all.  Whereas,  we 
have  received  a  petition  from  you,  our  governor,  council  and  bur 
gesses  of  the  grand  assembly  in  Virginia,  together  with  a  de 
claration  and  protestation  of  the  first  of  April,  against  a  petition 
presented  in  your  names  to  our  House  of  Commons  in  this  our 
kingdom,  for  restoring  of  the  letters  patent  for  the  incorporation 
of  the  late  treasurer  and  council,  contrary  to  our  intent  and 
meaning,  and  against  all  such  as  shall  go  about  to  alienate  you 
from  our  immediate  protection.  And  whereas,  you  desire  by 


*  Art.  by  J.  Wingate  Thornton,  Esq.,  in  Mass  Gen.  and  Antiq.  Register  for 
1847,  page  348.  f  Ibid.,  352. 


202  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

your  petition  that  we  should  confirm  this  your  declaration  and 
protestation  under  our  royal  signet,  and  transmit  the  same  to 
that  our  colony ;  these  are  to  signify,  that  your  acknowledgments 
of  our  great  bounty  and  favors  toward  you,  and  your  so  earnest 
desire  to  continue  under  our  immediate  protection,  are  very  ac 
ceptable  to  us;  and  that  as  we  had  not  before  the  least  intention 
to  consent  to  the  introduction  of  any  company  over  that  our  co 
lony  ;  so  we  are  by  it  much  confirmed  in  our  former  resolutions, 
as  thinking  it  unfit  to  change  a  form  of  government  wherein 
(besides  many  other  reasons  given,  and  to  be  given,)  our  subjects 
there  (having  had  so  long  experience  of  it)  receive  so  much  con 
tent  and  satisfaction.  And  this  our  approbation  of  your  petition 
and  protestation  we  have  thought  fit  to  transmit  unto  you  under 
our  royal  signet. 

"  Given  at  our  Court,  at  York,  the  5th  of  July,  1642. 

"To  our  trusty  and  well-beloved  our  Governor,  Council,  and 
Burgesses  of  the  Grand  Assembly  of  Virginia."^ 

It  was  in  this  year  that  the  name  of  Charles  City  County  was 
changed  into  York. 

As  early  as  1619  a  small  party  of  English  Puritans  had  come 
over  to  Virginia ;  and  a  larger  number  would  have  followed  them, 
but  they  were  prevented  by  a  royal  proclamation  issued  at  the 
instance  of  Bancroft,  the  persecuting  Archbishop  of  Canterbury. 
In  1642  a  deputation  was  sent  from  some  Virginia  dissenters  to 
Boston,  soliciting  a  supply  of  pastors  from  the  New  England 
churches ;  three  clergymen  were  accordingly  sent,  with  letters  re 
commending  them  to  the  governor,  Sir  William  Berkley.  On 
their  arrival  in  Virginia  they  began  to  preach  in  various  parts  of 
the  country,  and  the  people  flocked  eagerly  to  hear  them.  The 
following  year  the  assembly  passed  the  following  act:  "For  the 
preservation  of  the  purity  of  doctrine  and  unity  of  the  church, 
it  is  enacted,  that  all  ministers  whatsoever,  which  shall  reside  in 
the  colony,  are  to  be  conformable  to  the  orders  and  constitutions 
of  the  Church  of  England  and  the  laws  therein  established ;  and 
not  otherwise  to  be  admitted  to  teach  or  preach,  publickly  or 

*  Chalmers'  Annals,  133. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  203 

privately ;  and  that  the'  governor  and  council  do  take  care,  that 
all  non-conformists,  upon  notice  of  them,  shall  be  compelled  to 
depart  the  colony  with  all  convenience."*  Sir  William  Berkley, 
equally  averse  to  the  religious  tenets  and  political  principles  of 
the  Puritan  preachers,  issued  a  proclamation  in  consonance  with 
this  exclusive  act.  Mather  says  of  the  three  New  England  mis 
sionaries  :  "  They  had  little  encouragement  from  the  rulers  of  the 
place,  but  they  had  a  kind  entertainment  with  the  people;"  and 
Winthrop:  "  Though  the  State  did  silence  the  ministers,  because 
they  would  not  conform  to  the  order  of  England,  yet  the  people 
resorted  to  them  in  private  houses  to  hear  them."  In  a  short 
time  the  preachers  returned  to  their  own  country. 

The  Indians,  whose  hatred  to  the  whites,  although  dissembled, 
had  never  been  abated,  headed  by  Opechancanough,  committed  a 
second  massacre  on  the  18th  day  of  April,  1644.  It  was  attri 
buted  to  the  encroachments  made  upon  them  by  some  of  Sir  John 
Harvey's  grants;  but  it  was  suspected  by  some  that  Opechanca 
nough  was  instigated  to  this  massacre  by  certain  of  the  colonists 
themselves,  who  informed  him  of  the  civil  war  then  raging  in 
England,  and  of  the  dissensions  that  disturbed  the  colony,  and 
told  him,  that  now  was  his  time  or  never,  to  root  out  all  of  the 
English.  This  is  improbable.  Had  the  Indians  followed  up  the 
first  blow,  the  colonists  must  have  all  been  cut  off;  but  after  their 
first  treacherous  onslaught,  their  courage  failed  them,  and  they 
fled  many  miles  from  the  settlements.  The  colonists  availed 
themselves  of  this  opportunity  to  gather  together,  call  an  assem 
bly,  secure  their  cattle,  and  to  devise  some  plan  of  defence  and 
attack. 

Opechancanough,  the  fierce  and  implacable  enemy  of  the  whites, 
was  now  nearly  a  hundred  years  old,  and  the  commanding  form, 
which  had  so  often  shone  conspicuous  in  scenes  of  blood,  was  worn 
down  by  the  fatigues  of  war,  and  bending  under  the  weight  of 
years.  No  longer  able  to  walk,  he  was  carried  from  place  to 
place  by  his  warriors  in  a  litter.  His  body  was  emaciated,  and 
he  could  only  see  when  his  eyelids  were  opened  by  his  attendants. 
Sir  William  Berkley  at  length  moving  rapidly  with  a  party  of 

*  1  Hening,  277. 


204  HISTOKY    OF    TILE   COLONY  AND 

horse,  surprised  the  superannuated  chief  at  some  distance  from 
his  residence,  and  he  was  carried  a  prisoner  to  Jamestown,  and 
there  kindly  treated.  He  retained  a  spirit  unconquered  by  de 
crepitude  of  body  or  reverse  of  fortune.  Hearing  one  day  foot 
steps  in  the  room  where  he  lay,  he  requested  his  eyelids  to  be 
raised,  when,  perceiving  a  crowd  of  persons  attracted  there  by  a 
curiosity  to  see  the  famous  chief,  he  called  for  the  governor,  and 
upon  his  appearance,  said  to  him:  "Had  it  been  my  fortune  to 
take  Sir  William  Berkley  prisoner,  I  would  have  disdained  to 
make  a  show  of  him."  He,  however,  had  made  a  show  of  Cap 
tain  Smith  when  he  was  a  prisoner.  About  a  fortnight  after 
Opechancanough's  capture,  one  of  his  guards,  for  some  private 
revenge,  basely  shot  him  in  the  back.  Languishing  awhile  of  the 
wound,  he  died  at  Jamestown,  and  was  probably  buried  there. 
His  death  brought  about  a  peace  with  the  Indian  savages,  which 
endured  for  many  years  without  interruption. 

Sir  William  Berkley  left  Virginia  for  England  in  June,  1644, 
and  returned  in  June,  1645,  his  place  being  filled  during  his 
absence  by  Richard  Kemp. 

The  spirit  of  freedom  long  gaining  ground,  like  a  smothered 
fire,  began  now  to  flame  up  and  burst  forth  in  England.  Charles 
the  First,  incomparably  superior  to  his  father  in  manners,  habits, 
and  tastes — a  model  of  kingly  grace  and  dignity,  yet  was  a  more 
determined  and  dangerous  enemy  to  the  rights  of  the  people. 
On  the  19th  of  March,  1642,  having  escaped  from  insurgent 
London,  he  reached  the  ancient  capital,  York,  and  on  the  twenty- 
fifth  day  of  August  raised  his  standard,  under  inauspicious  omens, 
at  Nottingham.  The  royal  forces  under  Prince  Rupert  suffered 
a  disastrous  defeat  at  Marston  Moor,  July  2d,  1644 ;  and  while 
Sir  William  Berkley  was  crossing  the  Atlantic,  the  king  was 
overthrown  at  Naseby,  on  the  4th  of  June,  1645.  In  this  event 
ful  year,  and  so  disastrous  to  the  king,  of  whom  the  Berkleys 
were  such  staunch  supporters,  Gloucester,  the  chief  city  of  the 
county  where  they  resided,  and  which  had  been  ravaged  and 
plundered  by  Rupert,  was  now  in  the  hands  of  the  parliamentary 
forces,  and  Cromwell  had  been  early  in  the  year  convoying  am 
munition  thither.*  A  sad  time  for  the  visit  of  the  loyal  Berkley ! 

*  Carlyle's  Cromwell,  i.  144. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  205 

During  the  troubles  in  England  the  correspondence  of  the 
colony  was  interrupted,  supplies  reduced,  trade  obstructed ;  and 
the  planters  looked  forward  with  solicitude  to  the  issue  of  such 
alarming  events. 

In  the  mean  while  Lord  Baltimore,  taking  advantage  of  the 
weakness  of  the  crown,  had  shown  some  contempt  for  its  authority, 
and  had  drawn  upon  himself  the  threat  of  a  quo  warranto, 

Early  in  1645,  Clayborne,  profiting  by  the  distractions  of  the 
mother  country,  and  animated  by  an  indomitable,  or,  as  his 
enemies  alleged,  a  turbulent  spirit,  and  by  a  sense  of  wrongs  long 
unavenged,  at  the  head  of  a  band  of  insurgents,  expelled  Leonard 
Calvert,  deputy  governor,  from  Maryland,  and  seized  the  reins 
of  government.  In  the  month  of  August,  1646,  Calvert,  who 
had  taken  refuge  in  Virginia,  regained  command  of  Maryland. 
Nevertheless,  Clayborne  and  his  confederates,  with  but  few  ex 
ceptions,  emerged  in  impunity  from  this  singular  contest. 

Opechancanough  was  succeeded  by  Necotowance,  styled  aKing 
of  the  Indians,"  and  in  October,  1646,  a  treaty  was  effected  with 
him,  by  which  he  agreed  to  hold  his  authority  from  the  King  of 
England,  (who  was  now  bereft  of  his  own,)  while  the  assembly 
engaged  to  protect  him  from  his  enemies ;  in  acknowledgment 
whereof,  he  was  to  deliver  to  the  governor  a  yearly  tribute  of 
twenty  beaver  skins  at  the  departure  of  the  wild-geese.*  By 
this  treaty  it  was  further  agreed,  that  the  Indians  were  to  occupy 
the  country  on  the  north  side  of  York  River,  and  to  cede  to  the 
English  all  the  country  between  the  York  and  the  James,  from 
the  falls  to  Kiquotan ;  death  for  an  Indian  to  be  found  within 
this  territory,  unless  sent  in  as  a  messenger;  messengers  to  be 
admitted  into  the  colony  by  means  of  badges  of  striped  cloth; 
and  felony  for  a  white  man  to  be  found  on  the  Indian  hunting- 
ground,  which  was  to  extend  from  the  head  of  Yapin,  the  Black- 
water,  to  the  old  Mannakin  town,  on  the  James  River;  badges 
to  be  received  at  Fort  Royal  and  Fort  Henry,  alias  Appomattox. 
Fort  Henry  had  been  established  not  long  before  this,  at  the 
falls  of  the  Appomattox,  now  site  of  Petersburg ;  Fort  Charles  at 
the  falls  of  the  James;  Fort  James  on  the  Chickahominy.  This 

*  Colionk,  the  cry  of  the  wild-geese,  was  an  Indian  term  for  winter. 


206  HISTORY  OF  THE  COLONY  AND 

one  was  under  command  of  Lieutenant  Thomas  Rolfe,  son  of 
Pocahontas.*  Fort  Royal  was  on  the  Pamunkey. 

The  colony  bore  a  natural  resemblance  to  the  mother  country, 
no  little  modified  by  new  circumstances,  and  followed  her,  yet 
not  with  equal  step.  The  government  and  the  people  were  appa 
rently,  in  the  main,  loyal,  but  there  was  a  growing  Puritan 
party,  and  William  Clayborne  appears  to  have  been  at  the  head 
of  it.  In  1647  certain  ministers,  refusing  to  read  the  Common 
Prayer  on  the  Sabbath,  were  declared  not  entitled  to  tythes. 
Two  years  before,  mercenary  attorneys  had  been,  by  law,  expelled 
from  the  courts,  and  now  attorneys  were  prohibited  from  receiving 
any  compensation  for  their  services,  and  the  courts  were  directed 
not  to  allow  any  professional  attorneys  to  appear  in  civil  causes. 
In  case  there  appeared  danger  of  a  party  suffering  in  his  suit  by 
reason  of  his  weakness,  the  court  was  directed  to  appoint  some 
suitable  person  in  his  behalf  from  the  people.  It  has  been  sug 
gested  in  modern  times,  as  an  improvement  in  the  administration 
of  justice,  to  allow  the  parties  to  make  their  own  statements. 

There  were  in  Virginia,  in  1648,  about  fifteen  thousand  Eng 
lish,  and  of  negroes  that  had  been  imported,  three  hundred  good 
servants.  Of  cows,  oxen,  bulls,  and  calves,  "twenty  thousand, 
large  and  good;"  and  the  colonists  made  plenty  of  butter  and 
good  cheese.  The  number  of  horses  and  mares,  of  good  breed, 
was  two  hundred;  of  asses  fifty.  The  sheep  numbered  three 
thousand,  producing  good  wool;  there  were  five  thousand  goats. 
Hogs,  tame  and  wild,  innumerable,  and  the  bacon  excellent; 
poultry  equally  abundant.  Wheat  was  successfully  cultivated. 
The  abundant  crop  of  barley  supplied  malt,  and  there  were  public 
brew-houses,  and  most  of  the  planters  brewed  a  good  and  strong 
beer  for  themselves.  Hops  were  found  to  thrive  well.  The  price- 
current  of  beef  was  two  pence  halfpenny  (about  five  cents)  a  pound, 
pork  six  cents.  Cattle  bore  about  the  same  price  as  in  England; 
most  of  the  vessels  arriving  laid  in  their  stores  here.  Thirty 
different  sorts  of  river  and  sea  fish  were  caught.  Thirty  species 
of  birds  and  fowls  had  been  observed,  and  twenty  kinds  of  quad- 


*  Toward  the  end  of  1041  lie  had  petitioned  the  governor  for  permission  to 
visit  his  kinsman,  Opechancanough,  and  Cleopatre,  his  aunt. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  207 

rupeds ;  deer  abundant.  The  varieties  of  fruit  were  estimated  at 
fifteen,  and  they  were  comparable  to  those  of  Italy.  Twenty-five 
different  kinds  of  trees  were  noticed,  suitable  for  building  ships, 
houses,  etc.  The  vegetables  were  potatoes,  asparagus,  carrots, 
parsnips,  onions,  artichokes,  peas,  beans,  and  turnips,  with  a 
variety  of  garden  herbs  and  medicinal  flowers.  Virginia  (or  In 
dian)  corn  yielded  five  hundred  fold ;  it  was  planted  like  garden- 
peas  ;  it  made  good  bread  and  furmity,  and  malt  for  beer,  and 
was  found  to  keep  for  seven  years.  It  was  planted  in  April  or 
May,  and  ripened  in  five  months.  Bees,  wild  and  domestic, 
supplied  plenty  of  honey  and  wax.  Indigo  was  made  from  the 
leaves  of  a  small  tree,  and  great  hopes  were  entertained  that  Vir 
ginia  would  in  time  come  to  supply  all  Christendom  with  the 
commodity  which  was  then  procured  "from  the  Mogul's  country." 
The  Virginia  tobacco  was  in  high  esteem,  yet  the  crop  raised  was 
so  large  that  the  price  was  only  about  three  pence,  or  six  cents, 
a  pound.  A  man  could  plant  enough  to  make  two  thousand 
pounds,  and  also  sufficient  corn  and  vegetables  for  his  own  sup 
port.  The  culture  of  hemp  and  flax  had  been  commenced. 
Good  iron-ore  was  found,  and  there  were  sanguine  anticipations 
of  the  profits  to  be  derived  from  tnat  source.  There  were  wind 
mills  and  water-mills,  horse-mills  and  hand-mills :  a  saw-mill  was 
greatly  needed,  it  being  considered  equivalent  to  the  labor  of 
twenty  men.  There  came  yearly  to  trade  above  thirty  vessels, 
navigated  by  seven  or  eight  hundred  men.  They  brought  linens, 
woollens,  stockings,  shoes,  etc.  They  cleared  in  March,  with  re 
turn  cargoes  of  tobacco,  staves,  and  lumber.  Many  of  the  masters 
and  chief  mariners  of  these  vessels  had  plantations,  houses,  and 
servants,  in  the  colony.  Pinnaces,  boats,  and  barges  were 
numerous,  the  most  of  the  plantations  being  situated  on  the 
banks  of  the  rivers.  Pitch  and  tar  were  made.  Mulberry-trees 
abounded,  and  it  was  confidently  believed  that  silk  could  be  raised 
in  Virginia  as  well  as  in  France.  Hopeful  anticipations  of 
making  wine  from  the  native  grape  were  entertained,  but  have 
never  been  realized.  Virginia  was  now  considered  healthy;  the 
colonists  being  so  amply  provided  with  the  necessaries  and  com 
forts  of  life,  the  number  of  deaths  was  believed  to  be  less,  propor 
tionally,  than  in  England.  The  voyage  from  England  to  Virginia 


208  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY  AND 

occupied  about  six  weeks;  the  outward-bound  voyage  averaging 
about  twenty-five  days. 

At  this  time  a  thousand  colonists  were  seated  upon  the  Acco- 
mac  shore,  near  Cape  Charles,  where  Captain  Yeardley  was  chief 
commander.  The  settlement  was  then  called  Northampton ;  the 
name  of  Accomac  having  been  changed  in  1643  to  Northampton, 
but  the  original  name  was  afterwards  restored.  Lime  was  found 
abundant  in  Virginia;  bricks  were  made,  and  already  some 
houses  built  of  them.  Mechanics  found  profitable  employment, 
such  as  turners,  potters,  coopers,  sawyers,  carpenters,  tile-makers, 
boatwrights,  tailors,  shoemakers,  tanners,  fishermen,  and  the 
like.  There  were  at  this  time  twelve  counties.  The  number  of 
churches  was  twenty,  each  provided  with  a  minister,  and  the  doc 
trine  and  orders  after  the  Church  of  England.  The  ministers' 
livings  were  worth  one  hundred  pounds,  or  five  hundred  dollars, 
per  annum,  paid  in  tobacco  and  corn.  The  colonists  all  lived  in 
peace  and  love,  happily  exempt  by  distance  from  the  horrors  of 
civil  war  that  convulsed  the  mother  country.  The  Virginia 
planters  were  intending  to  make  further  discoveries  to  the  south 
and  west.  A  colony  of  Swedes  had  made  a  settlement  on  the 
banks  of  the  Delaware  River,  within  the  limits  of  Virginia,  and 
were  carrying  on  a  profitable  traffic  in  furs.  The  Dutch  had  also 
planted  a  colony  on  the  Hudson  River,  within  the  Virginia  terri 
tory,  and  their  trade  in  furs  amounted  to  ten  thousand  pounds 
per  annum.  Cape  Cod  was  then  looked  upon  as  the  point  of  de 
marcation  between  Virginia  and  New  England.  Cattle,  corn, 
and  other  commodities  were  shipped  from  Virginia  to  New  Eng 
land.  Sir  William  Berkley  had  made  an  experiment  in  the  cul 
tivation  of  rice,  and  found  that  it  produced  thirty  fold,  the  soil 
and  climate  being  well  adapted  to  it,  as  the  negroes  affirmed, 
who,  in  Africa,  had  subsisted  mostly  on  that  grain.  There  were 
now  many  thousands  of  acres  of  cleared  land  in  Virginia,  and 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  ploughs  at  work.  Captain  Brocas 
of  the  council,  a  great  traveller,  had  planted  a  vineyard,  and  made 
excellent  wine. 

At  Christmas,  1647,  there  were  in  the  James  River  ten  vessels 
from  London,  two  from  Bristol,  twelve  from  Holland,  and  seven 
from  New  England.  Mr.  Richard  Bennet  expressed  twenty  butts 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  209 

of  excellent  cider  from  apples  of  his  own  orchard.  They  began 
now  to  engraft  on  the  crab-apple  tree,  which  was  found  indi 
genous.  Another  planter  had  for  several  years  made,  from  pears 
of  his  own  raising,  forty  or  fifty  butts  of  perry.  The  governor, 
Sir  William  Berkley,  in  his  new  orchard,  had  fifteen  hundred 
fruit  trees,  besides  his  apricots,  peaches,  mellicotons,  quinces, 
wardens,  and  the  like. 

Captain  Matthews,  an  old  planter,  of  above  thirty  years' 
standing,  one  of  the  council,  and  "a  most  deserving  common 
wealth  man,"  had  a  fine  house,  sowed  much  hemp  and  flax,  and 
had  it  spun ;  he  kept  weavers,  and  had  a  tannery,  where  leather 
was  dressed;  and  had  eight  shoemakers  at  work;  had  forty  negro 
servants,  whom  he  brought  up  to  mechanical  trades;  he  sowed 
large  crops  of  wheat  and  barley.  The  wheat  he  sold  at  four  shil 
lings  (about  a  dollar)  a  bushel.  He  also  supplied  vessels  trading 
in  Virginia,  with  beef.  He  had  a  plenty  of  cows,  a  fine  dairy,  a 
large  number  of  hogs  and  poultry.  Captain  Matthews  married  a 
daughter  of  Sir  Thomas  Hinton,  and  "kept  a  good  house,  lived 
bravely,  and  was  a  true  lover  of  Virginia." 

There  was  a  free  school,  with  two  hundred  acres  of  land  appur 
tenant,  a  good  house,  forty  milch  cows,  and  other  accommoda 
tions.  It  was  endowed  by  Mr.  Benjamin  Symms.  There  were, 
besides,  some  small  schools  in 'the  colony,  probably  such  as  are 
now  known  as  "old-field  schools."* 

*  Hening,  i.  252. 

14 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

1648-1659. 

Beauchamp  Plantagenet  visits  Virginia — Settlement  of  other  Colonies — Dissent 
ers  persecuted  and  banished  from  Virginia — Some  take  refuge  in  Carolina ; 
some  in  Maryland — Charles  the  First  executed — Commonwealth  of  England — 
Virginia  Assembly  denounces  the  Authors  of  the  King's  Death — Colonel  Nor 
wood's  Voyage  to  Virginia — The  Virginia  Dissenters  in  Maryland — The  Long 
Parliament  prohibits  Trade  with  Virginia — A  Naval  Force  sent  to  reduce  the 
Colony,  Bennet  and  Clayborne  being  two  of  the  Commissioners — Captain 
Dennis  demands  surrender  of  Virginia — Sir  William  Berkley  constrained  to 
yield — Articles  of  Capitulation. 

DURING  the  year  1648  Beauchamp  Plantagenet,  a  royalist  with 
a  high-flown  name,  flying  from  the  fury  of  the  grand  rebellion, 
visited  America  in  behalf  of  a  company  of  adventurers,  in  quest 
of  a  place  of  settlement,  and  in  the  course  of  his  explorations 
came  to  Virginia.  At  Newport's  News  he  was  hospitably  enter 
tained  by  Captain  Matthews,  Mr.  Fantleroy,  and  others,  finding 
free  quarter  everywhere.  The  Indian  war  was  now  ended  by  the 
courage  of  Captain  Marshall  and  the  valiant  Stillwell,  and  by  the 
resolute  march  of  Sir  William  Berkley,  who  had  made  the  veteran 
Opechancanough  prisoner.  The  explorer  went  to  Chicaoen,  on 
the  Potomac,  and  found  Maryland  involved  in  war  with  the  Sas- 
quesahannocks  and  other  Indians,  and  at  the  same  time  in  a  civil 
war.  Kent  Island  appeared  to  be  too  wet,  and  the  water  was  bad.* 

In  the  month  of  March,  1648,  Nickotowance,  the  Indian  chief, 
visited  Governor  Berkley,  at  Jamestown,  accompanied  by  five 
other  chiefs,  and  presented  twenty  beaver  skins  to  be  sent  to  King 
Charles  as  tribute.  About  this  time  the  Indians  reported  to  Sir 
William  Berkley  that  within  five  days'  journey  to  the  southwest 
there  was  a  high  mountain,  and  at  the  foot  of  it  great  rivers  that 
run  into  a  great  sea ;  that  men  came  hither  in  ships,  (but  not  the 
same  as  the  English;)  that  they  wore  apparel,  and  had  red  caps 

*  Description  of  New  Albion,  in  Force's  Hist.  Tracts,  ii. 

(210) 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  211 

on  their  heads,  and  rode  on  beasts  like  horses,  but  with  much 
longer  ears.  These  people  were  probably  the  Spaniards.  Sir 
William  Berkley  prepared  to  make  an  exploration  with  fifty  horse 
and  as  many  foot,*  but  he  was  disappointed  in  this  enterprise. 

At  this  period  the  settlement  of  all  the  New  England  States 
had  been  commenced;  the  Dutch  possessed  the  present  States  of 
New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  part  of  Connecticut,  and  they  had 
already  pushed  their  settlements  above  Albany ;  the  Swedes  oc 
cupied  the  shores  of  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware;  Maryland  was 
still  in  her  infancy ;  Virginia  was  prosperous ;  the  country  now 
known  as  the  Carolinas  belonged  to  the  assignees  of  Sir  Robert 
Heath,  but  as  yet  no  advances  had  been  made  toward  the  occu 
pation  of  it.f 

Upon  complaint  of  the  necessities  of  the  people,  occasioned  by 
barren  and  over-wrought  land,  and  want  of  range  for  cattle  and 
hogs,  permission  was  granted  them  to  remove  during  the  following 
year  to  the  north  side  of  Charles  (York)  and  Rappahannock 
rivers. J 

The  congregation  of  dissenters  collected  by  the  three  mis 
sionaries  before  mentioned  from  Massachusetts,  amounted  in 
1648  to  one  hundred  and  eighteen  members.  They  encountered 
the  continual  opposition  of  the  colonial  authorities.  Mr.  Durand, 
their  elder,  had  already  been  banished  by  the  governor ;  and  in 
the  course  of  this  year  their  pastor,  Harrison,  being  ordered  to 
depart,  retired  to  New  England.  On  his  arrival  there  he  repre 
sented  that  many  of  the  Virginia  council  were  favorably  dis 
posed  toward  the  introduction  of  Puritanism,  and  that  "one 
thousand  of  the  people,  by  conjecture,  were  of  a  similar  mind."§ 
The  members  of  the  council  at  that  time  were  Captain  John 
West,  Richard  Kempe,  secretary,  Captain  William  Brocas, 
Captain  Thomas  Pettus,  Captain  William  Bernard,  Captain 
Henry  Browne,  and  Mr.  George  Ludlow.  When  the  pre- 

*  Herring,  i.  353. 

f  Martin's  History  of  North  Carolina,  i.  105-6.  This  is  a  valuable  work,  but 
marred,  especially  in  the  first  volume,  by  the  unparalleled  misprinting,  the  engage 
ments  of  the  author  not  permitting  him  to  correct  the  proofs. 

+  Force's  Hist.  Tracts,  ii.,  "A  New  Description  of  Va." 

%  Hawks'  Narrative,  57,  citing  Savage's  Winthrop,  ii.  334. 


212  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

valence  of  Puritanism  in  the  mother  country  is  considered, 
and  the  numerous  ties  of  interest  and  consanguinity  that  con 
nected  it  with  the  colony,  the  estimate  of  the  number  favora 
bly  disposed  toward  Puritanism  does  not  appear  improbable. 
John  Hammond  afterwards  gave  an  account  of  the  proceedings 
against  the  Puritans  in  Virginia.*  According  to  him,  during 
the  reign  of  Charles  the  First,  Virginia  uwas  wholly  for  mo 
narchy."  A  congregation  of  people  calling  themselves  Inde 
pendents  having  organized  a  church,  (probably  in  Nansemond 
County,)  and  daily  increasing,  several  consultations  were  held  by 
the  authorities  of  the  colony  how  to  suppress  and  extinguish  them. 
At  first  their  pastor  was  banished,  next  their  other  teachers, 
then  many  were  confined  in  prison ;  next  they  were  generally  dis 
armed,  which  was  a  very  harsh  measure  in  such  a  country,  where 
they  were  surrounded  by  the  Indian  savages ;  lastly,  the  non-con 
formists  were  put  in  a  condition  of  banishment,  so  that  they 
knew  not  how  in  those  straits  to  dispose  of  themselves.  The 
leader  in  this  persecution,  according  to  Hammond,  was  Colonel 
Samuel  Matthews,  member  of  the  council  in  1643,  and  subse 
quently  agent  for  Virginia  to  the  parliament.  A  number  of  these 
dissenters  having  gained  the  consent  of  Lord  Baltimore  and  his 
deputy  governor  of  Maryland,  retired  to  that  colony,  and  settled 
there.  Among  these,  one  of  the  principal  was  Richard  Bennct,  a 
merchant  and  a  Roundhead.  For  a  time  these  refugees  pros 
pered  and  remained  apparently  content  with  their  new  place  of 
abode;  and  others,  induced  by  their  example,  likewise  removed 
thither. 

King  Charles  the  First,  after  having  been  a  prisoner  for  several 
years,  was  beheaded  in  front  of  Whitehall  Palace,  on  the  30th 
day  of  January,  1648.  He  died  with  heroic  firmness  and  dig 
nity,  f  The  Commonwealth  of  England  now  commenced,  and 
continued  till  the  restoration  of  Charles  the  Second,  in  1660. 
Upon  the  dissolution  of  the  monarchy  in  England,  there  were 
not  wanting  those  in  Virginia  who  held  that  the  colonial  govern- 


*  Leah  and  Rachel,  in  Force's  Hist.  Tracts,  iii.,  Leah  and  Rachel  representing 
the  two  sisters,  Virginia  and  Maryland. 

f  In  the  same  year  the  Netherlands  became  independent. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  213 

ment,  being  derived  from  the  crown,  was  itself  now  extinct;  but 
the  assembly,  by  an  act  of  October  of  the  same  year,  declared 
that  whoever  should  defend  the  late  traitorous  proceedings  against 
the  king,  should  be  adjudged  an  accessory  after  the  fact,  to  his 
death,  and  be  proceeded  against  accordingly ;  to  asperse  the  late 
most  pious  king's  memory  was  made  an  offence  punishable  at  the 
discretion  of  the  governor  and  council ;  to  express  a  doubt  of  the 
right  of  succession  of  Charles  the  Second,  or  to  propose  a  change 
of  government,  or  to  derogate  from  the  full  power  of  the  govern 
ment  of  the  colony,  was  declared  to  be  high  treason.*  The  prin 
ciple,  however,  that  the  authority  of  the  colonial  government 
ceased  with  the  king's  death,  was  expressly  recognized  at  the 
surrender  of  the  colony  to  the  parliamentary  naval  force  in  1651. 
Colonel  Norwood,  a  loyal  refugee  in  Holland,  having  formed  a 
plan  with  two  comrades,  Major  Francis  Morrison  and  Major 
Richard  Fox,  to  seek  their  fortunes  in  Virginia,  they  met  in 
London,  August,  1649,  for  the  purpose  of  embarking.  At  the 
time  when  they  had  first  concerted  their  scheme,  Charles  the  First 
was  a  prisoner  at  Carisbrook  Castle,  in  the  Isle  of  Wight.  He 
had  since  been  executed;  the  royalists,  thunderstruck  at  this 
catastrophe,  saw  their  last  gleam  of  hope  extinguished ;  and  Nor 
wood  and  his  friends  were  eager  to  escape  from  the  scene  of  their 
disasters.  At  the  Royal  Exchange,  whose  name  was  now  for  a 
time  to  be  altered  to  the  "Great  Exchange,"  the  three  forlorn 
cavaliers  engaged  a  passage  to  Virginia  in  the  "  Virginia  Mer 
chant,"  burden  three  hundred  tons,  mounting  thirty  guns  or 
more.  The  charge  for  the  passage  was  six  pounds  a  head,  for 
themselves  and  servants.  The  colony  of  Virginia  they  deemed 
preferable  for  them  in  their  straitened  pecuniary  circumstances ; 
and  they  brought  over  some  goods  with  them  for  the  purpose  of 
mercantile  adventure.  September  the  23d,  1649,  they  embarked 
in  the  "Virginia  Merchant,"  having  on  board  three  hundred  and 
thirty  souls.  Touching  at  Fayal,  Norwood  and  his  companions 
met  with  a  Portuguese  lady  of  rank  with  her  family  returning, 
in  an  English  ship,  the  "John,"  from  the  Brazils  to  her  own 
country.  With  her  they  drank  the  healths  of  their  kings,  amid 

*  Hening,  i   360. 


214  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

thundering  peals  of  cannon.  The  English  gentlemen  discovered  a 
striking  resemblance  between  the  lady's  son  and  their  own  prince, 
Charles,  which  filled  them  with  fond  admiration,  and  flattered  the 
vanity  of  the  beautiful  Portuguese.  Passing  within  view  of  the 
charming  Bermuda,  the  "Virginia  Merchant"  sailing  for  Virgi 
nia,  struck  upon  a  breaker  early  in  November,  near  the  stormy 
Cape  Hatteras.  Narrowly  escaping  from  that  peril,  she  was  soon 
overtaken  by  a  storm,  and  tossed  by  mountainous  towering  north 
west  seas.  Amid  the  horrors  of  the  evening  prospect,  Norwood 
observed  innumerable  ill-omened  porpoises  that  seemed  to  cover 
the  surface  of  the  sea  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  The  ship 
at  length  losing  forecastle  and  mainmast,  became  a  mere  hulk, 
drifting  at  the  mercy  of  the  winds  and  waves.  Some  of  the 
passengers  were  swept  overboard  by  the  billows  that  broke  over 
her ;  the  rest  suffered  the  tortures  of  terror  and  famine.  At  last 
the  tempest  subsiding,  the  ship  drifted  near  the  coast  of  the  East 
ern  Shore.  Here  Norwood  and  a  party  landing  on  an  island, 
were  abandoned  by  the  Virginia  Merchant.  After  enduring  the 
extremities  of  cold  and  hunger,  of  which  some  died,  Norwood 
and  the  survivors  in  the  midst  of  the  snow  were  rescued  by  a 
party  of  friendly  Indians.  In  the  mean  while  the  ship  having 
arrived  in  the  James  River,  a  messenger  was  dispatched  by  Go 
vernor  Berkley  in  quest  of  Norwood  and  his  party.  Conducted 
to  the  nearest  plantation,  they  were  everywhere  entertained  with 
the  utmost  kindness.  Stephen  Charlton  (afterwards,  in  1652, 
burgess  from  Northampton  County,)  would  have  the  Colonel  to 
put  on  a  good  farmer-like  suit  of  his  own.  After  visiting  Cap 
tain  Yeardley,  (son  of  Sir  George  Yeardley,  the  former  gover 
nor,)  the  principal  person  in  that  quarter  of  the  colony,  Norwood 
crossed  the  Chesapeake  Bay  in  a  sloop,  and  landed  at  'Squire 
Ludlow's  plantation  on  York  River.  Next  he  proceeded  to  the 
neighboring  plantation  of  Captain  Ralph  Wormley,  at  that  time 
burgess  from  York  County,  and  member  of  his  majesty's  council. 
At  Captain  Wormley's  he  found  some  of  his  friends,  who  had 
likewise  recently  arrived  from  England,  feasting  and  carousing. 
The  cavaliers  had  changed  their  clime  but  not  their  habits. 
These  guests  were  Sir  Thomas  Lundsford,  Sir  Henry  Chicheley, 
(pronounced  Chickley,)  Sir  Philip  Honeywood,  and  Colonel  Ham- 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  215 

mond.  Sir  Thomas  Lundsford  lies  buried  in  the  churchyard  of 
"VVilliamsburg.  At  Jamestown  Norwood  was  cordially  welcomed 
by  Sir  William  Berkley,  who  took  him  to  his  house  at  Green- 
spring,  where  he  remained  for  some  months.  Sir  William,  on 
many  occasions,  showed  great  respect  to  all  the  royal  party  who 
made  that  colony  their  refuge;  and  his  house  and  purse  were 
open  to  all  such.  To  Major  Fox,  who  had  no  other  friend  in  the 
colony  to  look  to  for  aid,  he  exhibited  signal  .kindness;  to  Major 
Morrison  he  gave  command  of  the  fort  at  Point  Comfort,  and  by 
his  interest  afterwards  advanced  him  to  be  governor  of  the  colony. 
In  1650  Governor  Berkley  dispatched  Norwood  to  Holland  to 
find  the  fugitive  king,  and  to  solicit  for  the  place  of  treasurer  of 
Virginia,  which  Sir  William  took  to  be  void  by  "the  delin 
quency "  of  William  Clayborne,  the  incumbent,  who  had  long 
held  that  place.  The  governor  furnished  Norwood  with  money 
to  defray  the  charge  of  the  solicitation,  which  was  effectual, 
although  Prince  Charles  was  not  found  in  Holland,  he  having 
gone  to  Scotland.  Charles  the  Second  was  crowned  by  the 
Scotch  at  Scone,  in  1651.* 

Bennet  and  other  dissenting  Virginians,  who  had  settled  in 
Maryland,  were  not  long  there  before  they  became  dissatisfied 
with  the  proprietary  government.  The  authority  of  Papists  was 
irksome  to  Puritans,  and  they  began  to  avow  their  aversion  to 
the  oath  of  allegiance  imposed  upon  them ;  for  by  the  terms  of 
it  Lord  Baltimore  affected  to  usurp  almost  royal  authority,  con 
cluding  his  commissions  and  writs  with  "We,"  "us,"  and  "given 
under  our  hand  and  greater  seal  of  arms,  in  such  a  year  of  our 
dominion."  The  Protestants  of  Maryland,  no  doubt  saw,  in  the 
political  character  of  the  Commonwealth  of  England,  a  fair  pros 
pect  of  the  speedy  subversion  of  Baltimore's  power;  nor  were 
they  disappointed  in  this  hope. 

In  October,  1650,  the  Long  Parliament  passed  an  ordinance 
prohibiting  trade  with  Barbadoes,  Virginia,  Bermuda,  and  An 
tigua.  The  act  recited  that  these  colonies  were,  and  of  right 
ought  to  be,  subject  to  the  authority  of  Parliament;  that  divers 


*  Force's  Hist.  Tracts,  iii.;  Churchill's  Voyages.     A  Major  Norwood  is  men 
tioned  in  Pepys'  Diary,  i.  46. 


216  HISTORY  OF  THE  COLONY  AXD 

acts  of  rebellion  had  been  committed  by  many  persons  inhabiting 
Virginia,  whereby  they  have  most  traitorously  usurped  a  power 
of  government,  and  set  themselves  in  opposition  to  this  common 
wealth.  It  therefore  declared  such  persons  notorious  robbers  and 
traitors ;  forbade  all  correspondence  or  commerce  with  them,  and 
appointed  commissioners,  and  dispatched  Sir  George  Ayscue,  with 
a  powerful  fleet  and  army,  to  reduce  Barbadoes,  Bermuda,  and 
Antigua  to  submission. 

Charles  the  Second  having  invaded  England  at  the  head  of  a 
Scottish  army,  was  utterly  defeated  and  overthrown  by  Cromwell, 
at  Worcester,  September  the  3d,  1651.  Charles  himself,  not  long 
after,  with  difficulty  and  in  disguise,  escaped  to  France.  In  Sep 
tember  of  the  same  year  the  council  of  state,  of  which  Bradshaw 
was  president,  issued  instructions  for  Captain  Robert  Dennis, 
Mr.  Richard  Bennet,  Mr.  Thomas  Steg,*  and  Captain  William 
Clayborne,  appointed  commissioners,  for  the  reducement  of  Vir 
ginia  and  the  inhabitants  thereof,  to  their  due  obedience  to  the 
Commonwealth  of  Virginia.  A  fleet  was  put  under  commnnd  of 
Captain  Dennis,  and  the  commissioners  embarked  in  the  Guinea 
frigate.  They  were  empowered  to  assure  pardon  and  indemnity 
to  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  plantations  that  shall  submit 
unto  the  present  government  and  authority,  as  it  is  established  in 
the  Commonwealth  of  England.  In  case  they  shall  not  submit 
by  fair  ways  and  means,  the  commissioners  wrere  to  use  all  acts 
of  hostility  that  lay  in  their  power  to  enforce  them ;  and  if  they 
should  find  the  people  so  to  stand  out  as  that  they  could  by  no 
other  ways  or  means  reduce  them  to  their  due  obedience,  they,  or 
any  two  or  more  of  them,  whereof  Captain  Robert  Dennis  was  to 
be  one,  had  the  power  to  appoint  captains  and  other  officers,  and 
to  raise  forces  within  each  of  the  aforesaid  plantations,  for  the 
furtherance  of  the  service ;  and  such  persons  as  should  come  in 
and  serve  as  soldiers,  if  their  masters  should  stand  in  opposition 
to  the  government  of  the  English  Commonwealth,  might  be  dis 
charged  and  set  free  from  their  masters,  by  the  commissioners. 
A  similar  measure  was  adopted  by  Lord  Dunmore  in  1776.  In 


*  A  Mr.  Thomas  Stagg  was  a  resident  planter  of  Virginia  in  1G52.     Ilening, 
i.  375. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  217 

case  of  the  death  of  Captain  Dennis,  his  place  was  to  be  filled  by 
Captain  Edmund  Curtis,  commander  of  the  Guinea  frigate.* 
It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  members  of  the  Long  Par 
liament  were  all  of  them,  or  a  majority  of  them,  Puritans,  in 
the  religious  sense  of  the  term;  but  they  were  so  in  political 
principles. 

In  March,  1652,  Captain  Dennis  arrived  at  Jamestown,  and 
demanded  a  surrender  of  the  colony.  It  is  said  by  some  his 
torians  that  Sir  William  Berkley,  either  with  a  hope  of  repelling 
them,  or  of  commanding  better  terms,  prepared  for  a  gallant  re 
sistance,  and  undertook  to  strengthen  himself  by  making  use  of 
several  Dutch  ships, f  which  happened  to  be  there  engaged  in  a 
contraband  trade,  and  which  he  hired  for  the  occasion ;  that  there 
chanced  to  be  on  board  of  the  parliament's  fleet  some  goods  be 
longing  to  two  members  of  the  Virginia  council,  and  that  Dennis 
sent  them  word  that  their  goods  should  be  forfeited  if  the  colony 
was  not  immediately  surrendered;  and  that  the  threat  kindled 
dissensions  in  the  council,  and  the  governor  found  himself  con 
strained  to  yield  on  condition  of  a  general  amiiesty.J 

Such  is  the  account  of  several  chroniclers,  but  it  appears  to  be 
based  only  on  a  loose  and  erroneous  tradition.  It  would  have 
been  a  mere  empty  gasconade  for  Sir  William  Berkley  to  oppose 
the  English  naval  force,  and  the  truth  appears  to  be,  that  as 
soon  as  the  parliamentary  squadron  entered  the  Chesapeake  Bay, 
all  thoughts  of  resistance  were  laid  aside.  If  the  story  of  the 
preparation  for  resistance  were  credited,  it  must  at  the  same  time 
be  believed  that  this  chivalry  and  loyalty  suddenly  evaporated 
under  the  more  potent  influence  of  pecuniary  interest.  § 

The  capitulation  was  ratified  on  the  12th  of  March,  1652,  by 
which  it  was  agreed  that  the  Colony  of  Virginia  should  be  subject 


*  Virginia  and  Maryland,  18;  Force's  Hist.  Tracts,  ii. 

j-  Only  one  ship  appears  to  have  been  confiscated.     Hening,  i.  382. 

+  Chalmers'  Annals,  123;  Beverley,  B.  i.  54. 

\  Bancroft,  Hist,  of  U.  S.,  i.  223,  citing  Clarendon,  B.  xiii.  406,  and  other 
authorities,  says  that  the  fleet  was  sent  over  by  Cromwell,  and  came  to  Virginia 
after  having  reduced  the  West  India  Islands.  Cromwell,  however,  although 
at  this  time  the  master-spirit  of  England,  had  not  yet  assumed  dictatorial 
powers. 


218  HISTORY  OF  THE  COLONY  AND 

to  the  Commonwealth  of  England ;  that  the  submission  should  be 
considered  voluntary,  not  forced  nor  constrained  by  a  conquest 
upon  the  country;  and  that  "they  shall  have  and  enjoy  such 
freedoms  and  privileges  as  belong  to  the  free-born  people  of  Eng 
land;"  the  assembly  to  meet  as  formerly,  and  transact  the  affairs 
of  the  colony,  but  nothing  to  be  done  contrary  to  the  government 
of  the  Commonwealth  of  England ;  full  indemnity  granted  for  all 
offences  against  the  Parliament  of  England;  Virginia  to  have  and 
enjoy  the  ancient  bounds  and  limits  granted  by  the  charters  of 
former  kings;  "and  that  we  shall  seek  a  new  charter  from  the 
Parliament  to  that  purpose,  against  any  that  have  entrenched 
upon  the  rights  thereof,"  alluding  no  doubt  to  Lord  Baltimore's 
intrusion  into  Maryland;  that  the  privilege  of  having  fifty  acres 
of  land  for  every  person  transported  to  the  colony,  shall  continue 
as  formerly  granted;  that  the  people  of  Virginia  shall  have  free 
trade,  as  the  people  of  England  do  enjoy,  to  all  places,  and  with 
all  nations,  according  to  the  laws  of  that  Commonwealth;  and 
that  Virginia  shall  enjoy  all  privileges  equally  with  any  English 
plantation  in  America. 

The  navigation  act  had  been  passed  in  the  preceding  October, 
forbidding  any  goods,  wares,  or  merchandise,  to  be  imported  into 
England,  except  either  in  English  ships,  or  in  ships  of  the  country 
where  the  commodities  wrere  produced — a  blow  aimed  at  the 
carrying-trade  of  the  Dutch.  It  was  further  agreed  by  the 
articles  of  surrender,  that  Virginia  was  to  be  free  from  all  taxes, 
customs,  and  impositions  whatsoever,  and  none  to  be  imposed  on 
them  without  consent  of  the  grand  assembly;  and  so  that  neither 
forts  nor  castles  be  erected,  or  garrisons  maintained,  without  their 
consent :  no  charge  to  be  made  upon  Virginia  on  account  of  this 
present  fleet;  the  engagement  or  oath  of  allegiance  to  be  ten 
dered  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  Virginia;  recusants  to  have  a 
year's  time  to  remove  themselves  and  their  effects  out  of  Virginia, 
and  in  the  mean  time,  during  the  said  year,  to  have  equal  justice 
as  formerly;  the  use  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  to  be  per 
mitted  for  one  year,  with  the  consent  of  a  majority  of  a  parish, 
provided  that  those  things  which  relate  to  kingship,  or  that 
government,  be  not  used  publicly;  and  ministers  to  be  continued 
in  their  places,  they  not  misdemeaning  themselves;  public  amrnu- 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  219 

nition,  powder  and  arms,  to  be  given  up,  security  being  given  to 
make  satisfaction  for  them;  goods  already  brought  hither  by  the 
Dutch  to  remain  unmolested ;  the  quit-rents  granted  by  the  late 
king  to  the  planters  of  Virginia  for  seven  years,  to  be  confirmed; 
finally,  the  parliamentary  commissioners  engage  themselves  and 
the  honor  of  the  Parliament  for  the  full  performance  of  the 
articles,  the  governor  and  council  and  burgesses  making  the 
same  pledge  for  the  colony.* 

On  the  same  day  some  other  articles  were  ratified  by  the 
commissioners  and  the  governor  and  council,  exempting  the 
governor  and  council  from  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance  for  a 
year,  and  providing  that  they  should  not  be  censured  for  pray 
ing  for,  or  speaking  well  of  the  king,  for  one  whole  year  in 
their  private  houses,  or  "neighboring  conference;"  Sir  William 
'Berkley  was  permitted  to  send  an  agent  to  give  an  account  to 
his  majesty  of  the  surrender  of  the  country;  Sir  William  and 
the  members  of  the  council  were  permitted  to  dispose  of  their 
estates,  and  transport  themselves  "whither  they  please."  Pro 
tection  of  liberty  and  property  were  guaranteed  to  Sir  William 
Berkley. 

Major  Fox,  (comrade  of  Norwood,)  commander  of  the  fort,  at 
Point  Comfort,  was  allowed  compensation  for  the  building  of  his 
house  on  Fort  Island.  A  general  amnesty  was  granted  to  the 
inhabitants,  and  it  was  agreed  that  in  case  Sir  William  or  his 
councillors  should  go  to  London,  or  any  other  place  in  England, 
that  they  should  be  free  from  trouble  or  hindrance  of  arrests,  or 
such  like,  and  that  they  may  prosecute  their  business  there  for 
six  months.  It  would  seem  that  some  important  articles  of 
surrender  were  not  ratified  by  the  Long  Parliament. 

The  Fourth  Article  was,  "That  Virginia  shall  have  and  enjoy 
the  ancient  bounds  and  limits  granted  by  the  charters  of  the 
former  kings,  and  that  we  shall  seek  a  new  charter  from  the 
Parliament  to  that  purpose,  against  any  that  entrenched  against 
the  rights  thereof."  This  article  was  referred  in  August,  1652, 
to  the  committee  of  the  navy,  to  consider  what  patent  was  fit  to 
be  granted  to  the  inhabitants  of  Virginia. 

*  Hening,  i.  303. 


220  HISTORY  OF  THE  COLONY  AND 

The  Seventh  Article  was,  "That  the  people  of  Virginia  have 
free  trade,  as  the  people  of  England  do  enjoy,  to  all  places  and 
with  all  nations,  according  to  the  laws  of  that  commonwealth; 
and  that  Virginia  shall  enjoy  all  privileges  equal  with  any  Eng 
lish  plantations  in  America."  The  latter  clause  was  referred  to 
the  same  committee. 

The  Eighth  Article  was,  "  That  Virginia  shall  be  free  from  all 
taxes,  customs,  and  impositions,  whatsoever,  and  none  to  be  im 
posed  on  them  without  consent  of  the  grand  assembly,  and  so  that 
neither  forts  nor  castles  be  erected,  or  garrisons  maintained,  with 
out  their  consent."  This  was  also  referred  to  the  navy  com 
mittee,  together  with  several  papers  relative  to  the  disputes 
between  Virginia  and  Maryland.  The  committee  made  a  report 
in  December,  which  seems  merely  confined  to  the  Fourth  Article, 
relative  to  the  question  of  boundary  and  the  contest  with  Lord 
Baltimore.  In  the  ensuing  July  the  Long  Parliament  was  dis 
solved.* 

The  articles  of  surrender  were  subscribed  by  Richard  Bennet, 
William  Clayborne,  and  Edmund  Curtis,  commissioners  in  behalf 
of  the  Parliament.  Bennet,  a  merchant  and  Roundhead,  driven 
from  Virginia  by  the  persecution  of  Sir  William  Berkley's  ad 
ministration,  had  taken  refuge  in  Maryland.  Having  gone  thence 
to  England,  his  Puritanical  principles  and  his  knowledge  of  the 
colonies  of  Virginia  and  Maryland,  had  recommended  him  for  the 
place  of  commissioner.  Clayborne,  too,  who  had  formerly  been 
obliged  to  fly  to  England,  and  whose  office  of  treasurer  of  Vir 
ginia  Sir  William  Berkley  had  held  to  be  forfeited  by  delinquency, 
and  which  the  fugitive  Charles  had  bestowed  on  Colonel  Nor 
wood — this  impetuous  and  indomitable  Clayborne  was  another  of 


*  "Virginia  and  Maryland,"  Force's  Hist.  Tracts,  ii.  20,  in  note.  Mr.  Force, 
whose  researches  have  brought  to  light  such  a  magazine  of  curious  and  instruc 
tive  historical  materials,  appears  to  have  been  the  first  to  mention  the  non-ratifi 
cation  of  some  of  the  articles  of  surrender.  He  says:  "Three  of  the  articles 
were  not  confirmed,"  and  therefore  did  not  receive  the  last  formal  and  final  and 
definitive  ratification  which  Burk  [Hist,  of  Va.,  ii.  92,]  supposes  they  did.  But 
it  appears  that  Burk  referred  only  to  the  ratification  by  the  parties  at  James 
town,  and  had  no  reference  to  the  ulterior  confirmation  by  the  Parlia 
ment. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  221 

the  commissioners  sent  to  reduce  the  colonies  within  the  Chesa 
peake  Bay. 

A  new  era  was  now  opening  in  these  two  colonies;  and  the 
prominent  parts  which  Bennet  and  Clayborne  were  destined 
to  perform  in  this  novel  scene,  exhibit  a  signal  example  of  the 
vicissitudes  of  human  fortune.  The  drama  that  was  enacted  in 
the  mother  country  was  repeated  on  a  miniature  theatre  in  the 
colonies. 


CHAPTER    XXIY. 

165S-1656. 

Bennet  and  Clayborne  reduce  Maryland — Cromwell's  Letter — Provisional  Go 
vernment  organized  in  Virginia — Bennet  made  Governor — William  Clayborne 
Secretary  of  State  —  The  Assembly  —  Counties  represented  —  Cromwell  dis 
solves  the  Long  Parliament,  and  becomes  Lord  Protector — Sir  William  Berk 
ley —  Francis  Yeardley's  Letter  to  John  Ferrar — Discovery  in  Carolina  — 
B-oanoke  Indians  visit  Yeardley — He  purchases  a  large  Territory — William 
Hatcher — Stone,  Deputy  Governor  of  Maryland,  defies  the  Authority  of  the 
Commissioners  Bennet  and  Clayborne — They  seize  the  Government  and  entrust 
it  to  Commissioners — Battle  ensues — The  Adherents  of  Baltimore  defeated— 
Several  prisoners  executed — Cromwell's  Letters — The  Protestants  attack  the 
Papists  on  the  Birth-day  of  St.  Ignatiu?. 

NOT  long  after  the  surrender  of  the  Ancient  Dominion  of  Vir 
ginia,  Bennet  and  Clayborne,  commissioners,  embarking  in  the 
Guinea  frigate,  proceeded  to  reduce  Maryland.  After  effecting 
a  reduction  of  the  infant  province,  they,  with  singular  moderation, 
agreed  to  a  compromise  with  those  who  held  the  proprietary  go 
vernment  under  Lord  Baltimore.  Stone,  the  governor,  and  the 
council,  part  of  them  Papists,  none  well  affected  to  the  Common 
wealth  of  England,  were  allowed,  until  further  instructions  should 
be  received,  to  retain  their  places,  on  condition  of  issuing  all  writs 
in  the  name  of  the  Keepers  of  the  Liberty  of  England.*  Sir 
William  Berkley,  upon  the  surrender  of  the  colony,  betook  him 
self  into  retirement  in  Virginia,  where  he  remained  free  from 
molestation;  and  his  house  continued  to  be  a  hospitable  place  of 
resort  for  refugee  cavaliers.  There  was,  no  doubt,  before  the  sur 
render,  a  considerable  party  in  Virginia,  who  either  secretly  or 
openly  sympathized  with  the  parliamentary  party  in  England; 
and  upon  the  reduction  of  the  colony  these  adherents  of  the 
Commonwealth  found  their  influence  much  augmented. 

*  "Virginia  and  Maryland,"  11,  34;  Force's  Hist.  Tracts,  ii. ;  Chalmers' 
Annals,  221. 

(222) 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF    VIRGINIA.  223 

On  the  80th  of  April,  1652,  Bennet  and  Clayborne,  commis 
sioners,  together  with  the  burgesses  of  Virginia,  organized  a  pro 
visional  government,  subject  to  the  control  of  the  Commonwealth 
of  England.  Richard  Bennet,  who  had  been  member  of  the 
council  in  1646,  nephew  of  an  eminent  London  merchant  largely 
engaged  in  the  Virginia  trade,*  was  made  governor,  April  30, 
1652;  and  William  Clayborne,  secretary  of  state  for  the  colony. 
The  council  appointed  consisted  of  Captain  John  West,  Colonel 
Samuel  Matthews,  Colonel  Nathaniel  Littleton,  Colonel  Argal 
Yeardley,  Colonel  Thomas  Pettus,  Colonel  Humphrey  Higginson, 
Colonel  George  Ludlow,  Colonel  William  Barnett,f  Captain 
Bridges  Freeman,  Captain  Thomas  Harwood,  Major  William 
Taylor,  Captain  Francis  Eppes,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  John 
Cheesman.  The  governor,  secretary,  and  council  were  to  have 
such  power  and  authorities  to  act  from  time  to  time  as  should  be 
appointed  and  granted  by  the  grand  assembly.  J  The  government 
of  the  mother  country  was  entitled  "the  States,"  as  the  United 
States  are  now  styled  in  Canada.  The  act  organizing  the  provisional 
government  concludes  with:  "God  save  the  Commonwealth  of 
England,  and  this  country  of  Virginia."  The  governor  and  council 
lors  were  allowed  to  be,  ex-officio,  members  of  the  assembly.  On 
the  fifth  day  of  May,  this  body,  while  claiming  the  right  to  appoint 
all  officers  for  the  colony,  yet  for  the  present,  in  token  of  their 
implicit  confidence  in  the  commissioners,  referred  all  the  appoint 
ments  not  already  made  to  the  governor  and  them.  The  adminis 
tration  of  Virginia  was  now,  for  the  first  time,  Puritan  and  Republi 
can.  The  act  authorizing  the  governor  and  council  to  appoint  the 
colonial  officers  was  renewed  in  the  following  year.  The  oath  ad 
ministered  to  the  burgesses  was:  "You  and  every  of  you  shall 
swear  upon  the  holy  Evangelist,  and  in  the  sight  of  God,  to  deliver 
your  opinions  faithfully  and  honestly,  according  to  your  best  un 
derstanding  and  conscience,  for  the  general  good  and  prosperity 
of  the  country,  and  every  particular  member  thereof,  and  to  do 
your  utmost  endeavor  to  prosecute  that  without  mingling  with  it 
any  particular  interest  of  any  person  or  persons  whatsoever." 


Stith's  Hist,  of  Va.,  199.  f  Properly  Bernard:  see  Hening,  i.  408. 

J  Hening,  i.  372. 


224  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

The  governor  and  members  of  the  council  were  declared  to  be 
entitled  to  seats  in  the  assembly,  and  were  required  to  take  the 
same  oath.  This  assembly,  which  met  on  the  26th  of  April, 
1652,  appears  to  have  sat  about  ten  days.  There  were  thirty-five 
burgesses  present  from  twelve  counties,  namely:  Henrico,  Charles 
City,  James  City,  Isle  of  Wight,  Nansemond,  (originally  called 
Nansimum,)  Lower  Norfolk,  Elizabeth  City,  Warwick,  York, 
Northampton,  Northumberland,  and  Gloucester — Lancaster  not 
being  represented.*  Rappahannock  County  was  formed  from  the 
upper  part  of  Lancaster  in  1656. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  ensuing  session  of  the  assembly, 
which  met  in  October,  1652,  Mr.  John  Hammond,  returned  a 
burgess  from  Isle  of  Wight  County,  was  expelled  from  the  assem 
bly  as  being  notoriously  a  scandalous  person,  and  a  frequent  dis 
turber  of  the  peace  of  the  country  by  libel  and  other  illegal 
practices.  He  had  passed  nineteen  years  in  Virginia,  and  now 
retired  to  Maryland;  he  was  the  author  of  the  pamphlet  entitled 
"Leah  and  Rachel."f  Mr.  James  Pyland,  another  burgess,  re 
turned  from  the  same  county,  was  expelled,  and  committed  to 
answer  such  charges  as  should  be  brought  against  him  as  an  abet 
tor  of  Mr.  ThomasWoodward,  in  his  mutinous  and  rebellious  de 
claration,  and  concerning  his  the  said  Mr.  Pyland' s  blasphemous 
catechism.  These  offenders  appear  to  have  been  of  the  royalist 
party. 

In  the  year  1653  there  were  fourteen  counties  in  Virginia, 
Surry  being  now  mentioned  for  the  first  time,  and  the  num 
ber  of  burgesses  was  thirty-four.  The  people  living  on  the  bor 
ders  of  the  Appomattox  River  were  authorized  to  hold  courts, 

*  Gloucester  and  Lancaster  Counties  are  now  named  for  the  first  time ;  when 
or  how  they  were  formed,  does  not  appear.  Sir  William  Berkley  was  of  Glouces 
tershire,  England.  The  name  of  Warrasqueake  was  changed  to  Isle  of  Wight  in 
1637,  and  first  represented  in  1642.  In  that  year  Charles  River  was  changed  to 
York,  and  Warwick  River  to  Warwick.  The  boundaries  of  Upper  and  Lower 
Norfolk  were  fixed  in  1642;  and  Upper  Norfolk  was  changed  to  Nansimum 
(afterwards  Nansemond)  in  1646.  Northumberland  is  first  mentioned  in  1645; 
Westmoreland  in  1653;  Surry,  Gloucester,  and  Lancaster  in  1652.  New  Kent 
was  first  represented  in  1654,  being  taken  from  the  upper  part  of  York  County. 
(McSherry's  Hist,  of  Maryland.) 

f  Force's  Hist.  Tracts,  iii. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  225 

and  to  treat  with  the  Indians.  Colonel  William  Clayborne,  Cap 
tain  Henry  Fleet,  and  Major  Abram  Wood  were  empowered  to 
make  discoveries  to  the  west  and  south.  In  July,  some  difference 
occurred  between  the  governor  and  council  on  the  one  side,  and 
the  house  of  burgesses  on  the  other,  relative  to  the  election  of 
speaker.  The  affair  was  amicably  arranged,  the  governor's  views 
being  assented  to.  Bennet  appears  to  have  enjoyed  the  confi 
dence  of  the  Virginians.  He  was  too  generous  to  retaliate  upon 
Sir  William  Berkley  and  the  royalists  who  had  formerly  perse 
cuted  him.  Some  malecontents  were  punished  for  speaking  disre 
spectfully  of  him,  and  refusing  to  pay  the  castle  duties.  From  the 
charges  brought  against  one  of  these,  it  appears  that  the  Virginians 
considered  themselves,  under  the  articles  of  surrender,  entitled  to 
free  trade  with  all  the  world,  the  navigation  act  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding;  and  that  act  does  not  appear  to  have  been  en 
forced  against  Virginia  during  the  Commonwealth  of  England.* 
By  the  articles  of  surrender  the  use  of  the  prayer-book  was  per 
mitted,  with  the  consent  of  a  majority  of  the  people  of  the  parish, 
for  one  year;  so  that  it  would  seem  that  its  use  was  prohibited 
after  March  12th,  1653;  but  the  prohibition  was  not  enforced, 
and  public  worship  continued  as  before  without  interruption. f  In 
April,  1653,  Oliver  Cromwell  dissolved  the  Long  Parliament,  and 
in  December,  in  the  same  year,  assumed  the  office  of  Lord  Pro 
tector  of  the  Commonwealth  of  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland. 
Owing  to  the  war  with  Holland,  Sir  William  Berkley's  departure 
from  Virginia  was  delayed,  and,  in  conformity  with  the  articles  of 
convention  of  1651,  he  now  became  subject  to  arrest.  But  the 
assembly  passed  an  act,  stating  that  as  the  war  between  England 
and  Holland  had  prevented  the  confirmation  of  the  convention  of 
1651,  in  England,  or  the  coming  of  a  ship  out  of  Holland,  and  Sir 
William  Berkley  desiring  a  longer  time,  namely,  eight  months 
further,  to  procure  a  ship  out  of  Flanders,  in  respect  of  the  war 
with  Holland,  and  that  he  should  be  exempted  from  impost  duty 
on  such  tobacco  as  he  should  lade  in  her;  "it  is  condescended 
that  his  request  shall  be  granted."  Some  seditious  disturbances 
having  taken  place  in  Northampton  County,  on  the  Eastern 

*  Burk,  ii.  97  f  Virginia's  Cure,  p.  19,  in  Force's  Hist.  Tracts,  iii. 

15 


226  HISTORY  OF  THE  COLONY  AND 

Shore,  in  which  Edmund  Scarburgh  was  a  ringleader,  it  was  found 
necessary  for  Governor  Bennet,  Secretary  Clayborne,  and  a  party 
of  gentlemen,  to  repair  thither  for  the  purpose  of  restoring  order. 
Roger  Green,  and  others,  living  on  the  Nansemond  River,  re 
ceived  a  grant  of  land  on  condition  of  their  settling  the  country 
bordering  on  the  Moratuck  or  Roanoke  River,*  and  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Chowan.  Divers  gentlemen  requesting  permission, 
were  authorized,  in  1653,  to  explore  the  mountains.  The  ship 
Leopoldus,  of  Dunkirk,  wras  confiscated  for  the  use  of  the  Com 
monwealth  of  England,  for  violating  the  navigation  act ;  and  the 
proceeds,  amounting  to  four  hundred  pounds  sterling,  were  given 
to  Colonel  Samuel  Matthews,  agent  for  Virginia  at  the  court  of 
the  Protector,  Colonel  William  Clayborne,  secretary,  and  other 
officers,  in  return  for  their  services  in  the  matter  of  the  forfeited 
ship. 

Captain  Francis  Yeardley,  who  has  been  mentioned  before,  was 
a  son  of  Sir  George  Yeardley,  some  time  governor  of  Virginia, 
and  Lady  Temperance,  his  wife,  and  was  born  in  Virginia.  A 
letter  dated  in  May,  1654,  was  addressed  by  him  to  John  Ferrar, 
at  Little  Gidding,  in  Huntingdonshire,  brother  to  Nicholas  Fer 
rar,  whose  name  is  so  honorably  connected  with  the  early  annals 
of  Virginia.  The  younger  Yeardley  describes  the  country  as  very 
fertile,  flourishing  in  all  the  exuberance  of  nature,  abounding 
especially  in  the  rich  mulberry  and  vine,  with  a  serene  air  and  tem 
perate  clime,  and  rich  in  precious  minerals.  A  young  man  en 
gaged  in  the  beaver  trade  having  been  accidentally  separated 
from  his  own  sloop,  had  obtained  a  small  boat  and  provisions  from 
Yeardley,  and  had  gone  with  his  party  to  Roanoke,  at  which 
island  he  hoped  to  find  his  vessel.  He  there  fell  in  with  a  hunt 
ing  party  of  Indians,  and  persuaded  them  and  some  of  the  other 
tribes,  both  in  the  island  and  on  the  mainland,  to  go  back  with 
him  and  make  peace  with  the  English.  He  brought  some  of  these 
Indians  with  the  great  man,  or  chief  of  Roanoke,  to  Yeard- 
ley's  house,  which  was  probably  on  the  Eastern  Shore,  where  his 


*  Called  Moratuck  or  Moratoc  above  the  falls,  and  Roanoke  below.  Roanoke 
signifies  "shell:"  Roanoke  and  Wampumpeake  were  terms  for  Indian  shell- 
money. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  227 

father  had  lived  before  him.  The  Indians  passed  a  week  at 
Yeardley's.  While  there,  the  "great  man"  observing  Yeardley's 
children  reading  and  writing,  inquired  of  him  whether  he  would 
take  his  only  son,  and  teach  him  "to  speak  out  of  the  book,  and 
make  a  writing."  Yeardley  assured  him  that  he  would  willingly 
do  so ;  and  the  chief  at  his  departure  expressing  his  strong  desire 
to  serve  the  God  of  the  Englishmen,  and  his  hope  that  his  child 
might  be  brought  up  in  the  knowledge  of  the  same,  promised  to 
bring  him  back  again  in  four  months.  In  the  mean  time  Yeardley 
had  been  called  away  to  Maryland;  and  the  planters  of  the  Eastern 
Shore  suspecting,  from  the  frequent  visits  and  inquiries  of  the  In 
dian,  that  Yeardley  was  carrying  on  some  scheme  for  his  own  pri 
vate  advantage,  were  disposed  to  maltreat  the  chief.  Upon  one 
occasion,  when  Yeardley's  wife  had  brought  him  to  church  with  her, 
some  over-busy  justices  of  the  peace,  after  sermon,  threatened  to 
whip  him,  and  send  him  away.  The  " great  man"  being  terrified, 
the  lady  taking  him  by  the  hand,  resolutely  stood  forth  in  his  de 
fence,  and  pledged  her  whole  property,  as  a  guarantee,  that  no 
harm  to  the  settlement  was  intended,  or  was  likely  to  arise  from 
the  Indian's  alliance.  Upon  Yeardley's  return  from  Maryland, 
he  dispatched,  with  his  brother's  assistance,  a  boat  with  six  men, 
one  being  a  carpenter,  to  build  the  great  man  an  English  house ; 
and  two  hundred  pounds  for  the  purchase  of  Indian  territory. 
The  terms  of  the  purchase  were  soon  agreed  upon,  and  Yeard 
ley's  people  "paid  for  three  great  rivers  and  also  all  such  others 
as  they  should  like  of,  southerly."  In  due  form  they  took  pos 
session  of  the  country  in  the  name  of  the  Commonwealth  of 
England,  receiving  as  a  symbol  of  its  surrender,  a  turf  of  earth 
with  an  arrow  shot  into  it.  The  territory  thus  given  up  by  the 
Indians  was  a  considerable  part  of  what  afterwards  became  the 
province  of  North  Carolina.  As  soon  as  the  natives  had  with 
drawn  from  it  to  a  region  farther  south,  Yeardley  built  the  great 
commander  a  handsome  house,  which  he  promised  to  fit  up  with 
English  utensils  and  furniture. 

Yeardley's  people  were  introduced  to  the  chief  of  the  Tusca- 
roras,  who  received  them  courteously,  and  invited  them  to  visit 
his  country,  of  which  he  gave  an  attractive  account;  but  his  offer 
could  not  be  accepted,  owing  to  the  illness  of  their  interpreter, 


228  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

Upon  the  completion  of  his  house,  the  Roanoke  chief  came,  with 
the  Tuscarora  chief  and  forty-five  others,  to  Yeardley's  house, 
presented  his  wife  and  son  and  himself  for  baptism,  and  offered 
again  the  same  symbol  of  the  surrender  of  his  whole  country  to 
Yeardley ;  and  he  in  his  turn  tendering  the  same  to  the  Common 
wealth  of  England,  prayed  only  "that  his  own  property  and  pains 
might  not  be  forgotten."  The  Indian  child  was  presented  to  the 
minister  before  the  congregation,  and  having  been  baptized  in 
their  presence,  was  left  with  Yeardley  to  be  bred  a  Christian, 
u which  God  grant  him  grace  (he  prays)  to  become."  The 
charges  incurred  by  Yeardley  in  purchasing  and  taking  posses 
sion  of  the  country,  had  already  amounted  to  three  hundred 
pounds.* 

At  the  meeting  of  the  assembly  in  November,  1654,  William 
Hatcher  being  convicted  of  having  stigmatized  Colonel  Edward 
Hill,  speaker  of  the  house,  as  an  atheist  and  blasphemer,  (from 
which  charges  he  had  been  before  acquitted  by  the  quarterly 
court,)  was  compelled  to  make  acknowledgment  of  his  offence,  upon 
his  knees,  before  Colonel  Hill  and  the  assembly.  This  Hatcher 
appears  to  have  been  a  burgess  of  Henrico  County  in  1652.  More 
than  twenty  years  afterwrards,  in  his  old  age,  he  wras  fined  eight 
thousand  pounds  of  pork,  for  the  use  of  the  king's  soldiers,  on 
account  of  alleged  mutinous  words  uttered  shortly  after  Bacon's 
rebellion. 

Upon  the  dissolution  of  the  Long  Parliament  and  the  establish 
ment  of  the  Protectorate,  Lord  Baltimore  took  measures  to  re 
cover  the  absolute  control  of  Maryland;  and  Stone,  (who  since 
June,  1652,  had  continued  in  the  place  of  governor  of  Maryland,) 
in  obedience  to  instructions  received  from  his  lordship,  violated 
the  terms  of  the  agreement,  which  had  been  arranged  with  Ben- 
net  and  Clayborne,  acting  in  behalf  of  the  Parliament,  and  set 
them  at  defiance.  These  commissioners  having  addressed  a  letter 

o 

to  Stone  proposing  an  interview,  he  refused  to  accede  to  it,  and 
gave  it  as  his  opinion,  that  they  wrere  "wolves  in  sheep's  clothing." 
Bennet  and  Clayborne,  claiming  authority  derived  from  his  High- 


*  Anderson's  Hist,  of  Col.  Church,  ii.  506.     The  letter  is  preserved  in  Thurloe's 
State  Papers,  xi.  273. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  229 

ness  the  Lord  Protector,  seized  the  government  of  the  province, 
and  entrusted  it  to  a  board  of  ten  commissioners.* 

When  Lord  Baltimore  received  intelligence  of  this  proceeding, 
he  wrote  to  his  deputy,  (Stone,)  reproaching  him  with  cowardice, 
and  peremptorily  commanded  him  to  recover  the  colony  by  force 
of  arms.  Stone  and  the  Marylanders  now  accordingly  fell  to 
arms,  and  disarmed  and  plundered  those  that  would  not  accept 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  Baltimore.  The  province  contained,  as 
has  been  mentioned  before,  among  its  inhabitants  a  good  many 
emigrants  from  Virginia  of  Puritan  principles,  and  these  dwelt 
mainly  on  the  banks  of  the  Severn  and  the  Patuxent,  and  on  the 
Isle  of  Kent.  They  were  disaffected  to  the  proprietary  govern 
ment,  and  protested  that  they  had  removed  to  Maryland,  under 
the  express  engagement  with  Governor  Stone,  that  they  should 
enjoy  freedom  of  conscience,  and  be  exempt  from  the  obnoxious 
oath.  These  recusants  now  took  up  arms  to  defend  themselves, 
and  civil  war  raged  in  infant  Maryland.  Stone,  to  reduce  the 
malecontents,  embarking  for  Providence  with  his  men,  landed  on 
the  neck,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Severn.  Here,  on  the  25th  of 
March,  1654,  he  was  attacked  by  the  Protestant  adherents  of 
Bennet  and  Clayborne,  and  utterly  defeated;  the  prisoners  being 
nearly  double  of  the  number  of  the  victors,  twenty  killed,  many 
wounded,  and  "all  the  place  strewed  with  Papist  beads  where 
they  fled." 

During  the  action,  a  New  England  vessel  seized  the  boats,  pro 
vision,  and  ammunition  of  the  governor  and  his  party.  Among 
the  prisoners  was  this  functionary,  who  had  been  "shot  in  many 
places."  Several  of  the  prisoners  were  condemned  to  death  by  a 
court-martial ;  and  four  of  the  principal,  one  of  them  a  councillor, 
were  executed  on  the  spot.  Captain  William  Stone,  likewise 
sentenced,  owed  his  escape  to  the  intercession  of  some  women, 
and  of  some  of  Bennet  and  Clayborne's  people. f  John  Ham 
mond,  (the  same  who  had  been,  two  years  before,  expelled  from 
the  Virginia  Assembly,)  also  one  of  the  condemned,  fled  in  dis 
guise,  and  escaped  to  England  in  the  ship  Crescent.  The  master 


*  "Virginia  and  Maryland,"  Force's  Hist.  Tracts,  ii. 

f  "Leah  and  Rachel,"  Force's  Hist.  Tracts,  iii. ;   Chalmer's  Annals,  222. 


230  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

of  this  vessel  was  afterwards  heavily  fined  by  the  Virginia  as 
sembly  for  carrying  off  Hammond  without  a  pass.  Of  the  four 
that  were  shot,  three  were  Romanists;  and  the  Jesuit  fathers, 
hotly  pursued,  escaped  to  Virginia,  where  they  inhabited  a  mean 
low  hut.* 

Thus  Maryland  became  subject  to  the  Protectorate.  The  ad 
ministration  of  the  Puritan  commissioners  was  rigorous,  and  the 
Maryland  assembly  excluded  Papists  from  the  pale  of  religious 
freedom.  Such  were  even  Milton's  views  of  toleration  ;f  but 
Cromwell,  the  master-spirit  of  his  age,  soared  higher,  and  com 
manded  the  commissioners  "not  to  busy  themselves  about  religion, 
but  to  settle  the  civil  government."  He  addressed  the  following 
letter,  dated  at  Whitehall,  in  January,  1654,  to  Richard  Bennet, 
Esq.,  Governor  of  Virginia: — 

"Sm: — Whereas,  the  differences  between  the  Lord  Baltimore 
and  the  inhabitants  of  Virginia,  concerning  the  bounds  by  them 
respectively  claimed,  are  depending  before  our  council  and  yet 
undetermined;  and  whereas,  we  are  credibly  informed  you  have, 
notwithstanding,  gone  into  his  plantation  in  Maryland,  and  coun 
tenanced  some  people  there  in  opposing  the  Lord  Baltimore's 
officers ;  whereby  and  with  other  forces  from  Virginia,  you  have 
much  disturbed  that  colony  and  people,  to  the  engendering  of 
tumults  and  much  bloodshed  there,  if  not  timely  prevented : 

"  We,  therefore,  at  the  request  of  the  Lord  Baltimore  and  divers 
other  persons  of  quality  here,  who  are  engaged  by  great  adven 
tures  in  his  interest,  do,  for  preventing  of  disturbances  or  tumults 
there,  will  and  require  you,  and  all  others  deriving  any  authority 
from  you,  to  forbear  disturbing  the  Lord  Baltimore,  or  his  officers, 
or  people  in  Maryland,  and  to  permit  all  things  to  remain  as  they 
were  before  any  disturbance  or  alteration  made  by  you,  or  by 
any  other,  upon  pretence  of  authority  from  you,  till  the  said  dif 
ferences,  above  mentioned,  be  determined  by  us  here,  and  we  give 
farther  order  herein. 

"We  rest,  your  loving  friend, 

" OLIVER,  P." 

*  White's  Relation,  44,  in  Force's  Hist.  Tracts,  iv. 
f  Milton's  Prose  Works,  ii.  346. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  231 

Cromwell  was  now  endeavoring  to  heal  the  wounds  of  civil  war, 
to  allay  animosities,  and  to  strengthen  his  power  by  a  generous 
and  conciliatory  policy,  blended  with  irresistible  energy  of  action. 
In  return  for  Lord  Baltimore's  ready  submission  to  his  authority, 
the  Protector  apparently  recognized  his  proprietary  rights  in 
Maryland,  yet  at  the  same  time,  he  sustained  and  protected  his 
commissioners,  only  curbing  the  violent  contest  that  had  arisen 
between  Virginia  and  Maryland  respecting  their  boundary.  His 
policy  as  to  the  internal  government  of  these  colonies  was  one  of 
a  masterly  inactivity. 

"jPo  the  Commissioners  of  Maryland. 

"  WHITEHALL,  26th  September,  1655. 

"  SIRS  : — It  seems  to  us,  by  yours  of  the  twenty-ninth  of  June, 
and  by  the  relation  we  received  by  Colonel  Bennet,  that  some 
mistake  or  scruple  hath  arisen  concerning  the  sense  of  our  letters 
of  the  twelfth  of  January  last ;  as  if  by  our  letters  we  had  inti 
mated  that  we  should  have  a  stop  put  to  the  proceedings  of  those 
commissioners  wTho  were  authorized  to  settle  the  civil  government 
of  Maryland.  Which  was  not  at  all  intended  by  us;  nor  so 
much  as  proposed  to  us  by  those  who  made  addresses  to  us  to 
obtain  our  said  letter.  But  our  intention  (as  our  said  letter  doth 
plainly  import)  was  only  to  prevent  and  forbid  any  force  or  vio 
lence  to  be  offered  by  either  of  the  plantations  of  Virginia  or  Mary 
land,  from  one  to  the  other,  upon  the  differences  concerning  their 
bounds,  the  said  differences  being  then  under  the  consideration 
of  ourself  and  council  here.  Which,  for  your  more  full  satisfac 
tion,  wre  have  thought  fit  to  signify  to  you,  and  rest 

"Your  loving  friend, 

"OLIVER,  P."* 

Remembering,  however,  Lord  Baltimore's  ready  submission 
to  his  authority,  he  nominally,  at  the  least,  restored  him  to  his 
control  over  the  province. 

It  was  the  custom  of  the  Maryland  Romanists  to  celebrate,  by 
a  salute  of  cannon,  the  thirty-first  of  July,  the  birth-day  of  St. 

*  Carlyle's  Cromwell,  ii.  182. 


232  ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA. 

Ignatius,  (Loyola,)  Maryland's  patron  saint.  On  the  1st  of 
August,  1656,  the  day  following  the  anniversary,  a  number  of 
Protestant  soldiers,  aroused  by  the  nocturnal  report  of  the  can 
non,  issued  from  their  fort,  five  miles  distant,  rushed  upon  the 
habitations  of  the  Papists,  broke  into  them,  and  plundered  what 
ever  there  was  found  of  arms  or  powder. 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

1655-1658. 

Digges  elected  Governor — Bennet  goes  to  England  the  Colony's  Agent — Colo 
nel  Edward  Hill  defeated  by  the  Pucahecrians — Totopotornoi,  with  many  War 
riors,  slain — Miscellaneous  matters — Matthews  Elected  Governor — Letter  to 
the  Protector — Acts  of  Assembly — Magna  Charta  recognized  as  in  force — Go 
vernor  and  Council  excluded  from  Assembly — Matthews  declares  a  Dissolution 
— The  House  resists — Dispute  referred  to  the  Protector — Declaration  of  So 
vereignty — Matthews  re-elected — Council  newly  reorganized — Edward  Hill 
elected  Speaker — Rules  of  the  House. 

IN  March,  1655,  Edward  Digges  was  elected  by  the  assembly 
governor  of  the  colony  of  Virginia.  He  was  of  an  ancient  and 
distinguished  family,  and  had  been  made  a  member  of  the  coun 
cil  in  November,  1654,  "he  having  given  a  signal  testimony  of 
his  fidelity  to  this  colony  and  Commonwealth  of  England."  He 
succeeded  Bennet,  who  had  held  the  office  since  April,  1652,  and 
who  was  now  appointed  the  colony's  agent  at  London. 

In  the  year  1656,  six  or  seven  hundred  Ricahecrian  Indians 
having  come  down  from  the  mountains,  and  seated  themselves 
near  the  falls  of  the  James  River,  Colonel  Edward  Hill,  the 
elder,  was  put  in  command  of  a  body  of  men,  and  ordered  to  dis 
lodge  them.  He  was  reinforced  by  Totopotomoi,  chief  of  Pa- 
munkey,  with  one  hundred  of  his  tribe.  A  creek  enclosing  a 
peninsula  in  Hanover  County,  retains  the  name  of  Totopotomoy; 
and  Butler,  in  Hudibras,  alludes  to  this  chief: — 

11  The  mighty  Tottipotimoy 
Sent  to  our  elders  an  envoy, 
Complaining  sorely  of  the  breach 
Of  league  held  forth  by  brother  Patch." 

Hill  was  disgracefully  defeated,  and  the  brave  Totopotomoi, 
with  the  greater  part  of  his  warriors,  slain.  It  appears  probable 
that  Bloody  Run,  near  Richmond,  derived  its  name  from  this  san 
guinary  battle.  The  action  in  which  so  many  Indians  were  after- 

(233) 


234  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

wards  massacred  by  Bacon  and  his  men,  and  with  which  a  loose 
tradition  has  identified  Bloody  Run,  did  not  occur  near  the  falls 
of  the  James  River.  Hill,  in  consequence  of  his  bad  conduct  in 
this  affair,  was  subsequently,  by  unanimous  vote  of  the  council 
and  the  house  of  burgesses,  condemned  to  pay  the  expenses  of 
effecting  a  peace  with  the  Indians,  and  was  disfranchised.* 
During  this  year  an  act  was  passed  allowing  all  free  men  the 
right  of  voting  for  burgesses,  on  the  ground  that  "it  is  something 
hard  and  unagreeable  to  reason  that  any  persons  shall  pay  equal 
taxes,  and  yet  have  no  votes  in  elections."  So  republican  was 
the  elective  franchise  in  Virginia,  under  the  Protectorate  of  Oliver 
Cromwell  two  centuries  ago !  In  this  year,  1656,  Colonel  Thomas 
Dew,  of  Nansemond,  sometime  before  speaker  of  the  house  of 
burgesses,  and  others,  were  authorized  to  explore  the  country 
between  Cape  Hatteras  and  Cape  Fear.  The  County  of  Nanse- 
mond  had  long  abounded  with  non-conformists. 

The  salary  of  the  governor,  as  ordered  at  this  time,  consisted 
of  twenty-five  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco,  worth  two  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds  sterling,  together  with  certain  duties  levied  from 
masters  of  vessels,  called  castle  duties,  and  marriage  license 
fees.  A  reward  of  twenty  pounds  was  offered  to  any  one  who 
should  import  a  minister ;  ministers,  with  six  servants  each,  were 
exempted  from  taxes,  it  being  provided  that  they  should  be 
examined  by  Mr.  Philip  Mallory  and  Mr.  John  Green,  and  should 
be  recommended  by  them  to  the  governor  and  council,  who  were 
invested  with  discretionary  control  of  the  matter. f  Letters  were 
sent  to  Matthews,  Virginia's  agent  at  the  Protector's  court, 
directing  him  to  suspend  for  the  present  the  further  prosecution 
of  the  long  and  fruitless  controversy  with  Lord  Baltimore  re 
specting  the  disputed  boundary.J  Matthews,  returning  from 
England,  was  elected  by  the  assembly  to  succeed  Digges  in  the 
office  of  governor,  who  was  now  employed  as  agent.  Colonel 
Francis  Morrison,  speaker,  was  desired  by  the  assembly  to  write 
a  letter  to  the  Protector,  and  another  to  the  secretary  of  state, 
which  was  as  follows : — 


*  Hening,  i.  402,  422;  Burk's  Hist,  of  Va.,  ii.  107.  f  Hening,  i.  424. 

|  Burk's  Hist,  of  Va.,  ii.  116.     An  Armenian  was  imported  by  Digges  for  the 
purpose  of  making  silk. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  235 

"MAY  IT  PLEASE  YOUR  HlGHNESS, — 

"We  could  not  find  a  fitter  means  to  represent  the  condition  of 
this  country  to  your  highness,  than  this  worthy  person,  Mr.  Digges, 
our  late  governor,  whose  occasions  calling  him  into  England,  we 
have  instructed  him  with  the  state  of  this  place  as  he  left  it ;  we 
shall  beseech  your  highness  to  give  credit  to  his  relations,  which  we 
assure  ourselves  shall  be  faithful,  having  had  many  experiences  of 
his  candor  in  the  time  of  his  government,  which  he  hath  managed 
under  your  highness,  with  so  much  moderation,  prudence,  and  jus 
tice,  that  we  should  be  much  larger  in  expressing  this  truth,  but 
that  we  fear  to  have  already  too  much  trespassed,  by  interrupting 
your  highness'  most  serious  thoughts  in  greater  aifairs  than  what 
can  concern  your  highness'  most  humble,  most  devoted  servants. 
"Dated  from  the  Assembly  of  Virginia,  15th  December,  1656." 
Superscribed,  for  his  "Highness,  the  Lord  Protector." 

The  letter  to  the  secretary  of  state  was  as  follows : — 
"  RIGHT  HONORABLE, — 

"  Though  we  are  persons  so  remote  from  you,  we  have  heard  so 
honorable  a  character  of  your  worth,  that  we  cannot  make  a  se 
cond  choice  without  erring,  of  one  so  fit  and  proper  as  yourself  to 
make  our  addresses  to  his  Highness,  the  Lord  Protector.  Our  de 
sires  we  have  intrusted  to  that  worthy  gentleman,  Mr.  Digges,  our 
late  governor ;  we  shall  desire  you  would  please  to  give  him  ac 
cess  to  you  and  by  your  highness.  And  as  we  promise  you  will 
find  nothing  but  worth  in  him,  so  we  are  confident  he  will  under 
take  for  us  that  we  are  a  people  not  altogether  ungrateful,  but 
will  find  shortly  a  nearer  way  than  by  saying  so,  to  express  really 
how  much  we  esteem  the  honor  of  your  patronage,  which  is  both 
the  hopes  and  ambition  of  your  very  humble  and  then  obliged 
servants. 

"From  the  Assembly  of  Virginia,  15th  December,  1656." 

Superscribed,  to  the  "  Right  Honorable  John  Thurlow,  Secretary 
of  State." 

The  allusion  in  the  close  of  the  letter  appears  to  be  to  a  douceur 
which  it  was  intended  to  present  to  the  secretary. 

Digges  was  instructed  to  unite  with  Matthews  and  Bennet,  in 
London,  and  to  treat  with  the  leading  merchants  in  the  Virginia 


236  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

trade,  and  to  let  them  know  how  much  the  assembly  had  endea 
vored  to  diminish  the  quantity,  and  improve  the  quality  of  the 
tobacco ;  and  to  see  what  the  merchants,  on  their  part,  would  be 
willing  to  do  in  giving  a  better  price;  for  if  the  planters  should 
find  that  the  bad  brought  as  high  a  price  as  the  good,  they  would 
of  course  raise  that  which  could  be  raised  the  most  easily.*  It 
appears  that  Digges  was  appointed  agent  conjointly  with  Bennet. 
Matthews  was  elected  by  the  assembly  to  succeed  Digges  as  go 
vernor;  but  the  latter  was  requested  to  hold  the  office  as  long  as 
he  should  remain  in  Virginia.  Digges  departing  for  England 
toward  the  close  of  1655,  would  appear  to  have  co-operated  for  a 
short  while  wTith  both  Matthews  and  Bennet.  By  a  singular  coin 
cidence,  Digges,  Matthews,  and  Bennet,  who  were  the  first  three 
governors  of  Virginia  under  the  Commonwealth  of  England, 
were  transferred  from  the  miniature  metropolis,  Jamestown,  and 
found  themselves  together  near  the  court  of  his  Highness  the  Lord 
Protector,  Oliver  Cromwell. 

Digges  was  succeeded  as  governor  by  Matthews,  early  in  the 
year  1656.  The  laws  of  the  colony  were  revised,  and  reduced 
into  one  volume,  comprising  one  hundred  and  thirty-one  acts, 
well  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  people  and  the  condition  of  the 
country.  Of  the  transactions  from  1656  to  1660,  the  year  of  the 
restoration,  Burk  says  there  is  an  entire  chasm  in  the  records; 
Hening,  on  the  contrary,  declares  that,  "in  no  portion  of  the 
colonial  records  under  the  Commonwealth,  are  the  materials  so 
copious  as  from  1656  to  1660."  The  editor  of  the  Statutes  at 
Large  is  the  better  authority  on  this  point. 

The  church  government  was  settled  by  giving  the  people  the 
entire  control  of  the  vestry ;  while  the  appointment  of  ministers  and 
church  wardens,  the  care  of  the  poor,  and  parochial  matters,  were 
entrusted  to  the  people  of  each  parish.  An  act  was  passed  for 
the  keeping  holy  the  Sabbath,  and  another  against  divulgers  of 
false  news.  The  ordinary  weight  of  a  hogshead  of  tobacco  at 
this  time  did  not  exceed  three  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  and  its 
dimensions  by  law  were  forty- three  inches  long  and  twenty-six 
wide.  Letters,  superscribed  "For  the  Public  Service,"  were 

*  Burk's  Hist,  of  Va.,  ii.  116. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  237 

ordered  to  be  conveyed  from  one  plantation  to  another,  to  the 
place  of  destination.  A  remedy  was  provided  for  servants  com 
plaining  of  harsh  usage,  or  of  insufficient  food  or  raiment.  The 
penalty  for  selling  arms  or  ammunition  to  the  Indians  was  the 
forfeiture  of  the  offender's  whole  estate.  It  was  enacted  that  no 
sheriff,  or  deputy  sheriff,  then  called  under-sheriff,  should  hold 
his  office  longer  than  one  year  in  any  one  county.  The  penalty 
of  being  reduced  to  servitude  was  abolished.  The  twenty-second 
day  of  March  and  the  eighteenth  of  April  were  still  kept  as  holy 
days,  in  commemoration  of  the  deliverance  of  the  colonists  from 
the  bloody  Indian  massacres  of  1622  and  1644.  The  planters 
were  prohibited  from  encroaching  upon  the  lands  of  the  Indians. 
The  vessels  of  all  nations  were  admitted  into  the  ports  of  Vir 
ginia  ;  and  an  impost  duty  of  ten  shillings  a  hogshead  was  laid 
on  all  tobacco  exported,  except  that  laden  in  English  vessels,  and 
bound  directly  for  England;  from  the  payment  of  which  duty 
vessels  belonging  to  Virginians  were  afterwards  exempted.  An 
act  was  passed  to  prohibit  the  kidnapping  of  Indian  children. 

In  the  year  1656  all  acts  against  mercenary  attorneys  were 
repealed;  but  two  years  afterwards  attorneys  were  again  expelled 
from  the  courts,*  and  no  one  was  suffered  to  receive  any  compen 
sation  for  serving  in  that  capacity.  The  governor  and  council 
made  serious  opposition  to  this  act,  and  the  following  communica 
tion  was  made  to  the  house  of  burgesses:  "The  governor  and 
council  will  consent  to  this  proposition  so  far  as  shall  be  agreeable 
to  Magna  Charta.  WM.  CLAYBORNE."  The  burgesses  replied, 
that  they  could  not  see  any  such  prohibition  contained  in  Magna 
Charta ;  that  two  former  assemblies  had  passed  such  a  law,  and 
that  it  had  stood  in  force  upwards  of  ten  years.  It  thus  appears 
that  Magna  Charta  was  held  to  be  in  force  in  the  colony. 

The  ground  leaves  of  tobacco,  or  lugs,  were  declared  to  be  not 
merchantable;  and  it  was  ordered  that  no  tobacco  should  be 
planted  after  the  tenth  day  of  July,  under  the  penalty  of  a  fine 
of  ten  thousand  pounds  of  that  staple.  The  exportation  of  hides, 
wool,  and  old  iron,  was  forbidden.  The  salary  of  the  governor, 

*  Hening,  i.  434,  482. 


238  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

derived  from  the  impost  duty  on  tobacco  exported,  was  fixed  at 
sixteen  hundred  pounds  sterling. 

The  burgesses  having  rescinded  the  order  admitting  the  gover 
nor  and  council  as  members  of  the  house,  and  having  voted  an 
adjournment,  Matthews,  on  the  1st  of  April,  1658,  declared  a 
dissolution  of  the  assembly.  The  house  resisted,  and  declared 
that  any  burgess  who  should  depart  at  this  conjuncture,  should 
be  censured  as  betraying  the  trust  reposed  in  him  by  his  country ; 
and  an  oath  of  secrecy  was  administered  to  the  members.  The 
governor,  upon  receiving  an  assurance  that  the  business  of  the 
house  would  be  speedily  and  satisfactorily  concluded,  revoked  the 
order  of  dissolution,  referring  the  question  in  dispute,  as  to  the 
dissolving  power,  to  his  Highness  the  Lord  Protector.  The  bur 
gesses,  still  unsatisfied,  appointed  a  committee,  of  which  Colonel 
John  Carter,  of  Lancaster  County,  was  chairman,  to  draw  up  a 
resolution  asserting  their  powers;  and  in  consonance  with  their 
report  the  burgesses  made  a  declaration  of  popular  sovereignty: 
that  they  had  in  themselves  the  full  power  of  appointing  all 
officers,  until  they  should  receive  an  order  to  the  contrary  from 
England;  that  the  house  was  not  dissolvable  by  any  power  yet 
extant  in  Virginia  but  their  own ;  that  all  former  elections  of 
governor  and  council  should  be  void ;  that  the  power  of  governor 
for  the  future  should  be  conferred  on  Colonel  Samuel  Matthews, 
who  by  them  was  invested  with  all  the  rights  and  privileges  be 
longing  to  the  governor  and  captain-general  of  Virginia;  and  that 
a  council  should  be  appointed  by  the  burgesses  then  convened, 
with  the  advice  of  the  governor. 

The  legislative  records  do  not  disclose  the  particular  ground 
on  which  the  previous  elections  of  governor  and  appointments  of 
councillors  under  the  provisional  government  were  annulled;  but 
from  the  exclusion  of  the  governor  and  council  from  the  house,  it 
might  be  inferred  that  it  was  owing  to  a  jealousy  of  these  func 
tionaries  being  members  of  the  body  that  elected  them.  Yet 
Bennet,  the  first  of  the  three  governors,  and  his  council,  were,  in 
1652,  expressly  allowed  to  be  ex  officio  members  of  the  assembly. 
An  order  was  also  made,  April  2d,  1758,  by  the  assembly,  in  the 
name  of  his  Highness  the  Lord  Protector,  to  the  sheriff  of  James 
City,  and  sergeant-at-arms,  to  obey  no  warrant  but  those  signed 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  239 

by  the  speaker  of  the  house;  and  William  Clayborne,  secretary 
of  state,  (under  Bennet,  Digges,  and  Matthews,)  was  directed  to 
deliver  the  records  to  the  assembly.  The  oath  of  office  was  ad 
ministered  to  Governor  Matthews  by  the  committee  before  men 
tioned,  and  the  members  of  the  council  nominated  by  the  governor 
and  approved  by  the  house,  took  the  same  oath.* 

The  number  of  burgesses  present  at  the  session  commencing  in 
March,  1859,  was  thirty.  Colonel  Edward  Hill,  who  had  been 
disfranchised,  was  now  unanimously  elected  speaker.  Colonel 
Moore  Fantleroy,  of  Rappahannock  County,  not  being  present  at 
the  election,  "moved  against  him,  as  if  clandestinely  elected,  and 
taxed  the  house  of  unwarrantable  proceedings  therein."  He  was 
suspended  until  the  next  day,  when,  acknowledging  his  error,  he 
was  readmitted. 

Any  member  absent  from  the  house  was  subject  to  a  penalty 
of  twenty  pounds  of  tobacco.  A  member  "disguised  with  over 
much  drink"  forfeited  one  hundred  pounds  of  tobacco.  A  burgess 
was  required  to  rise  from  his  seat,  and  to  remain  uncovered,  while 
speaking.  The  oath  was  administered  to  the  burgesses  by  a 
committee  of  three  sent  from  the  council. 


*  The  governor  and  council  were  as  follows :  Colonel  Samuel  Matthews,  Go 
vernor  and  Captain-general  of  Virginia,  Richard  Bennet,  Colonel  William  Clay- 
borne,  Secretary  of  State,  Colonel  John  West,  Colonel  Thomas  Pettus,  Colonel 
Edward  Hill,  Colonel  Thomas  Dew,  Colonel  William  Bernard,  Colonel  Obedience 
Robins,  Lieutenant-Colonel  John  Walker,  Colonel  George  Reade,  Colonel  Abra 
ham  Wood,  Colonel  John  Carter,  Mr.  Warham  Horsmenden,  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Anthony  Elliott. 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 

16SO-1661. 

Death  of  Oliver  Cromwell — Succeeded  by  his  Son  Eichard — Assembly  acknow 
ledge  his  Authority — Character  of  Government  of  Virginia  under  the  Com 
monwealth  of  England — Matthews  dies — Richard  Cromwell  resigns  the  Pro 
tectorate — Supreme  Power  claimed  now  by  the  Assembly — Sir  William  Berkley 
elected  Governor — Act  for  suppressing  Quakers — Free  Trade  established — 
Stuyvesant's  Letter — Charles  the  Second  restored — Sends  a  new  Commissioner 
to  Berkley — His  Eeply — Grant  of  Northern  Neck — The  Navigation  Act. 

ON  the  8th  of  March,  1660,  the  house  of  burgesses  having 
sent  a  committee  to  notify  the  governor  that  they  attended  his 
pleasure,  he  presented  the  following  letter : — 

"  GENTLEMEN, — His  late  Highness,  the  Lord  Protector,  from 
that  general  respect  which  he  had  to  the  good  and  safety  of  all  the 
people  of  his  dominion,  whether  in  these  nations,  or  in  the  Eng 
lish  plantations  abroad,  did  extend  his  care  to  his  colony  in  Vir 
ginia,  the  present  condition  and  affairs  whereof  appearing  under 
some  unsettledness  through  the  looseness  of  the  government,  the 
supplying  of  that  defect  hath  been  taken  into  serious  considera 
tion,  and  some  resolutions  passed  in  order  thereunto,  which  we 
suppose  would  have  been  brought  into  act  by  this  time,  if  the 
Lord  had  continued  life  and  health  to  his  said  highness.  But  it 
hath  pleased  the  Lord,  on  Friday,  the  third  of  this  month,  to  take 
him  out  of  the  world,  his  said  highness  having  in  his  lifetime, 
according  to  the  humble  petition  and  advice,  appointed  and  de 
clared  the  most  noble  and  illustrious  lord,  the  Lord  Richard, 
eldest  son  to  his  late  highness,  to  be  his  successor,  who  hath  been 
accordingly,  with  general  consent  and  applause  of  all,  proclaimed 
Protector  of  this  Commonwealth  of  England,  Scotland,  and  Ire 
land,  and  the  dominions  and  territories  thereunto  belonging. 
And,  therefore,  we  have  thought  fit  to  signify  the  same  unto  you, 
whom  we  require,  according  to  your  duty,  that  you  cause  his  said 
Highness,  Richard,  Lord  Protector,  forthwith  to  be  proclaimed  in 
(240) 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OP   VIRGINIA.  241 

all  parts  of  your  colony.  And  his  highness'  council  have  thought 
fit  hereby  to  assure  you,  that  the  settlement  of  that  colony  is  not 
neglected;  and  to  let  you  know,  that  you  may  expect  shortly  to 
receive  a  more  express  testimony  of  his  highness'  care  in  that 
behalf;  till  the  further  perfecting  whereof,  their  lordships  do,  will, 
and  require  you,  the  present  governor  and  council  there,  to  apply 
yourselves  with  all  seriousness,  faithfulness,  and  circumspection, 
to  the  peaceable  and  orderly  management  of  the  affairs  of  that 
colony,  according  to  such  good  laws  and  customs  (not  repugnant 
to  the  laws  of  England)  as  have  been  heretofore  used  and  exer 
cised  among  you,  improving  your  best  endeavors  as  for  maintain 
ing  the  civil  peace,  so  for  promoting  the  interest  of  religion, 
wherein  you  will  receive  from  hence  all  just  countenance  and 
encouragement.  And  if  any  person  shall  presume,  by  any  undue 
ways,  to  interrupt  the  quiet  or  hazard  the  safety  of  his  highness' 
people  there,  order  will  be  taken,  upon  the  representation  of  such 
proceedings,  to  make  further  provision  for  securing  of  your  peace 
in  such  a  way  as  shall  be  found  meet  and  necessary,  and  for  call- 
incr  those  to  a  strict  account  who  shall  endeavor  to  disturb  it. 

o 

"  Signed  in  the  name  and  by  the  order  of  the  council. 

"H.  LAWRENCE,  President. 

"Whitehall,  7th  September,  1658." 

Superscription,  to  the  "  Governor  and  Council  of  his  Highness' 
Colony  of  Virginia." 

Upon  the  reading  of  this  letter,  the  governor  and  council 
withdrew  from  the  assembly;  and  the  house  of  burgesses  unani 
mously  acknowledged  their  obedience  to  his  Highness,  Richard, 
Lord  Protector,  and  fully  recognized  his  power.*  So  much  truth 
is  there  in  Mr.  Jefferson's  remark, f  that  in  the  contest  with  the 
house  of  Stuart,  Virginia  accompanied  the  footsteps  of  the  mother 
country.  The  government  of  Virginia  under  the  Commonwealth 
of  England  was  wholly  provisional.  By  the  convention  of  March 
the  12th,  1652,  Virginia  secured  to  herself  her  ancient  limits, 
and  was  entitled  to  reclaim  that  part  of  her  chartered  territory 

*  Hening,  i.  509. 

I  Preface  to  T.  M.'s  Account  of  Bacon's  Kebellion,  in  Kercheval's  History  of 
Valley  of  Va.,  21.  The  clause  quoted  from  Mr.  Jefferson  is  omitted  in  the  copy 
of  the  same  introduction  found  in  Force's  Hist.  Tracts,  i. 

16 


242  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

which  had  been  unjustly  and  illegally  given  away  to  Lord  Balti 
more.  In  this,  however,  owing  to  the  perplexed  condition  of 
affairs  in  England,  Virginia  was  disappointed;  but  she  secured, 
by  the  articles  of  convention,  free  trade,  exemption  from  taxa 
tion,  save  by  her  own  assembly,  and  exclusion  of  military  force 
from  her  borders.  Yet  all  these  rights  were  violated  by  subse 
quent  kings  and  parliaments.* 

The  administration  of  the  colonial  government,  under  the  Com 
monwealth  of  England,  was  judicious  and  beneficent ;  the  people 
were  free,  harmonious,  and  prosperous;  and  while  Cromwell's 
sceptre  commanded  the  respect  of  the  world,  he  exhibited  toward 
the  infant  and  loyal  colony  a  generous  and  politic  lenity;  and 
during  this  interval  she  enjoyed  free  trade,  legislative  independ 
ence,  civil  and  religious  freedom,  republican  institutions,  and  in 
ternal  peace.  The  Governors  Bennet,  Digges,  and  Matthews,  by 
their  patriotic  virtues,  enjoyed  the  confidence,  and  affection,  and 
respect  of  the  people;  no  extravagance,  rapacity,  corruption,  or 
extortion  was  charged  against  their  administration;  intolerance 
and  persecution  were  unknown.  But  rapine,  corruption,  extor 
tion,  intolerance,  and  persecution  were  all  soon  to  be  revived 
under  the  restored  dynasty  of  the  Stuarts. 

Richard  Cromwell  resigned  the  Protectorate  on  the  22d  day  of 
April,  1659.  Matthews,  the  governor,  had  died  in  the  preceding 
January.  England  was  without  a  monarch;  Virginia  without  a 
governor.  It  was  during  this  interval  that  public  opinion  in  Eng 
land  was  in  suspense,  the  result  of  affairs  depending  upon  the  line 
of  conduct  which  might  be  pursued  by  General  Monk.  The  Vir 
ginia  assembly,  convening  on  the  18th  day  of  March,  1660,  de 
clared  by  their  first  act  that  as  there  was  then  in  England  no  resi 
dent,  absolute,  and  generally  acknowledged  power,  therefore  the 
supreme  government  of  the  colony  should  rest  in  the  assembly; 
and  writs  previously  issued  in  the  name  of  his  Highness,  the  Lord 
Protector,  now  issued  in  the  name  of  the  Grand  Assembly  of 
Virginia.  By  the  second  act,  Sir  William  Berkley  was  elected 
governor;  he  was  required  to  call  a  grand  assembly  once  in  two 
years  at  the  least,  and  was  restricted  from  dissolving  the  assembly 

*  Jefferson's  Notes,  125. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  243 

without  its  consent.  The  circumstances  of  this  reappointment 
of  Sir  William  Berkley  have  been  frequently  misrepresented; 
historians  from  age  to  age  following  each  other  in  fabulous  tradi 
tion,  erroneous  conjecture,  or  wilful  perversion,  have  asserted 
that  Sir  William  was  hurried  from  retirement  by  a  torrent  of  po 
pular  enthusiasm,  and  made  governor  by  acclamation,  and  that 
Charles  the  Second  was  boldly  proclaimed  in  Virginia,  and  his 
standard  reared  several  months,  some  say  sixteen,  before  the  re 
storation;  and  thus  the  Virginians,  as  they  had  been  the  last  of 
the  king's  subjects  who  renounced  their  allegiance,  so  they  were 
the  first  who  returned  to  it!* 

Error  in  history  is  like  a  flock  of  sheep  jumping  over  a  bridge ; 
if  one  goes,  the  rest  all  follow.  Sir  William  Berkley,  as  has  been 
before  mentioned,  was  not  elected  by  a  tumultuary  assemblage  of 
the  people,  but  by  the  assembly;  the  royal  standard  was  not 
raised  upon  the  occasion,  nor  was  the  king  proclaimed.  The  bulk 
of  the  Virginia  planters  undoubtedly  retained  their  habitual 
attachment  to  monarchy  and  to  the  Established  Church;  and 
some  royalist  refugees  had  been  driven  hither  by  the  civil  war. 
Yet,  as  the  colonists  had  formerly  been  greatly  dissatisfied  with 
some  acts  of  the  government  during  the  reign  of  Charles  the 
First,  they  certainly  had  much  reason  to  approve  of  the  wise,  and 
liberal,  and  magnanimous  policy  of  Cromwell.  Besides  this,  a 
good  many  republicans  and  Puritans  had  found  their  way  to  Vir 
ginia.  The  predominant  feeling,  however,  in  Virginia  as  in  Eng 
land,  was  in  favor  of  the  restoration  of  Charles  the  Second.  Sir 
William  Berkley,  in  his  speech  addressed  to  the  assembly  on  their 
proffer  of  the  place  of  governor,  said:  "I  do,  therefore,  in  the 
presence  of  God  and  you,  make  this  safe  protestation  for  us  all, 
that  if  any  supreme  settled  power  appears,  I  will  immediately  lay 
down  my  commission,  but  will  live  most  submissively  obedient  to 
any  power  God  shall  set  over  me,  as  the  experience  of  eight 
years  has  shewed  I  have  done."  In  his  address  to  the  house  of 
burgesses,  he  alludes  to  the  late  king,  as  "my  most  gracious  master, 

*  Robertson's  Hist,  of  America,  iv.  230;  Beverley's  Hist,  of  Va.,  B.  i.  55; 
Chalmers'  Annals,  124;  Burk's  Hist,  of  Va.,  ii.  120;  Grahame's  Colonial  Hist. 
of  U.  S.,  i.  89;  Hawks'  Prot.  Episcopal  Church  in  Va.,  63.  See,  also,  Hening's 
Statutes  at  Large  of  Va.,  i.  126.  Hening  first  corrected  these  errors. 


244  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

King  Charles,  of  ever  blessed  memory/'  and  as  "my  ever  ho 
nored  master,  who  was  put  to  a  violent  death."  The  Berkleys 
were  staunch  adherents  of  Charles  the  First,  and  extreme  royal 
ists.  Referring  in  his  address  to  the  surrender  of  the  colony, 
Sir  William  said,  that  the  parliament  "  sent  a  small  power  to 
force  my  submission,  which,  finding  me  defenceless,  was  quietly 
(God  pardon  me)  effected."  Of  the  several  parliaments  and  the 
protectorate  he  remarked:  "And  I  believe,  Mr.  Speaker,  (Theo- 
dorick  Bland,)  you  think,  if  my  voice  had  been  prevalent  in  most 
of  their  elections,  I  would  not  voluntarily  have  made  choice  of 
them  for  my  supremes.  But,  Mr.  Speaker,  all  this  I  have  said, 
is  only  to  make  this  truth  apparent  to  you,  that  in  and  under  all 
these  mutable  governments  of  divers  natures  and  constitutions,  I 
have  lived  most  resignedly  submissive.  But,  Mr.  Speaker,  it  is 
one  duty  to  live  obedient  to  a  government,  and  another  of  a  very 
different  nature,  to  command  under  it."  It  thus  appears  that  Sir 
William  accepted  the  place  hoping  for  the  restoration  of  Charles 
the  Second;  but  with  an  explicit  pledge,  that  he  would  resign  in 
case  that  event  should  not  occur.*  This  speech  was  made  March 
the  nineteenth,  and  on  the  twenty-first  the  council  unanimously 
Concurred  in  his  election.  The  members  were  Richard  Bennet, 
(late  Puritan  Governor,)  William  Bernard,  John  Walker,  George 
Heade,  Thomas  Pettus,  William  Clayborne,  Edward  Hill,  Thomas 
Dew,  Edward  Carter,  Thomas  Swan,  and  Augustine  Warner. 
Nearly  all  of  these  were  colonels.  The  title  of  colonel  and  mem 
ber  of  the  council  appears  to  have  been  a  sort  of  order  of  no 
bility  in  Virginia.  Sir  William  Berkley  was  elected  two  months 
before  the  restoration  of  Charles  the  Second,  which  took  place  on 
the  20th  of  May,  1660,  that  being  his  birth-day.  Yet  the  word 
"king"  or  "majesty"  nowhere  occurs  in  the  legislative  records, 
from  the  commencement  of  the  Commonwealth  of  England  until 
the  llth  day  of  October,  1660,  more  than  four  months  after  the 
restoration. f  Virginia  was  indeed  loyal,  but  she  was  too  feeble 
to  avow  her  loyalty. 

An  act  was  passed,  entitled  an  act  for  the  suppressing  the 
Quakers;  the  preamble  of  which  describes  them  as  an  unreason- 

*  Southern  Lit.  Messenger  for  January,  1845.  |  Ilening,  ii.  9,  in  note. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  245 

able  and  turbulent  sort  of  people,  who  daily  gather  together  un 
lawful  assemblies  of  people,  teaching  lies,  miracles,  false  visions, 
prophecies,  and  doctrines  tending  to  disturb  the  peace,  disorgan 
ize  society,  and  destroy  all  law,  and  government,  and  religion. 
Masters  of  vessels  were  prohibited  from  bringing  in  any  of  that 
sect,  under  the  penalty  of  one  hundred  pounds  of  tobacco ;  all  of 
them  to  be  apprehended  and  committed,  until  they  should  give 
security  that  they  would  leave  the  colony;  if  they  should  return, 
they  should  be  punished,  and  returning  the  third  time  should  be 
proceeded  against  as  felons.  No  person  should  entertain  any 
Quakers  that  had  been  questioned  by  the  governor  and  council; 
nor  permit  any  assembly  of  them  in  or  near  his  house,  under  the 
penalty  of  one  hundred  pounds  sterling;  and  no  person  to  publish 
their  books,  pamphlets,  and  libels.*  This  -act  was  passed  in 
March,  1660,  shortly  after  the  election  of  Sir  William  Berkley. 

Of  late  years,  certain  masters  of  vessels  trading  to  Virginia,  in 
violation  of  the  laws  and  of  the  articles  of  surrender  granting  the 
privilege  of  free  trade,  had  "  molested,  troubled,  and  seized  divers 
ships,  sloops,  and  vessels,  coming  to  trade  with  us."  The  as 
sembly  therefore  required  every  master  to  give  bond  not  to  molest 
any  person  trading  under  the  protection  of  the  laws. 

Act  XVI.  establishes  free  trade:  "Whereas,  the  restriction  of 
trade  hath  appeared  to  be  the  greatest  impediment  to  the  advance 
of  the  estimation  and  value  of  our  present  only  commodity,  to 
bacco,  be  it  enacted  and  confirmed.  That  the  Dutch,  and  all 
strangers  of  what  Christian  nation  soever,  in  amity  with  the 
people  of  England,  shall  have  free  liberty  to  trade  with  us  for  all 
allowable  commodities."  And  it  was  provided,  "  That  if  the  said 
Dutch,  or  other  foreigners,  shall  import  any  negro  slaves,  they, 
the  said  Dutch,  or  others,  shall,  for  the  tobacco  really  produced 
by  the  sale  of  the  said  negro,  pay  only  the  impost  of  two  shillings 
per  hogshead,  the  like  being  paid  by  our  own  nation."  The 
regular  impost  being  ten  shillings,  this  exemption  was  a  bounty 
of  eight  shillings  per  hogshead  for  the  encouragement  of  the  im 
portation  of  negroes. f 

When  Argall,  in  1614,  returning  from  his  half-piratical  excur- 

*  Hening,  i.  532.  f  Hening,  i.  535. 


246  HISTORY    OP    THE    COLONY   AND 

sion  against  the  French  at  Port  Royal,  entered  what  is  now  New 
York  Bay,  he  found  three  or  four  huts  erected  there  by  Dutch 
mariners  and  fishermen,  on  the  Island  of  Manhattan.  Near  half 
a  century  had  since  elapsed,  and  the  colony  planted  there  had 
grown  to  an  importance  that  justified  something  of  diplomatic 
correspondence.  In  the  spring  of  1660  Nicholas  Varleth  and 
Brian  Newton  were  sent  by  Governor  Stuyvesant,  celebrated  by 
Knickerbocker,  from  Fort  Amsterdam  to  Virginia,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  forming  a  league  acknowledging  the  Dutch  title  to  New 
York.  Sir  William  Berkley  evaded  the  proposition  in  the 
following  letter : — 

"Sift, — I  have  received  the  letter  you  were  pleased  to  send 
me  by  Mr.  Mills  his  vessel,  and  shall  be  ever  ready  to  comply 
with  you  in  all  acts  of  neighborly  friendship  and  amity ;  but  truly, 
sir,  you  desire  me  to  do  that  concerning  your  letter  and  claims  to 
land  in  the  northern  part  of  America  which  I  am  incapable  to  do, 
for  I  am  but  a  servant  of  the  assembly's ;  neither  do  they  arro 
gate  any  power  to  themselves  further  than  the  miserable  distrac 
tions  of  England  force  them  to.  For  when  God  shall  be  pleased 
in  His  mercy  to  take  away  and  dissipate  the  unnatural  divisions 
of  their  native  country,  they  will  immediately  return  to  their  own 
professed  obedience.  What  then  they  should  do  in  matters  of 
contract,  donation,  and  confession  of  right,  would  have  little 
strength  or  signification ;  much  more  presumptive  and  impertinent 
would  it  be  in  me  to  do  it,  without  their  knowledge  or  assent. 
We  shall  very  shortly  meet  again,  and  then,  if  to  them  you  sig 
nify  your  desires,  I  shall  labor  all  I  can  to  get  you  a  satisfactory 
answer. 

"  I  am,  sir,  your  humble  servant, 

"WILLIAM  BERKLEY. 

"Virginia,  August  20th,  1660." 

Peter  Stuyvesant,  the  last  of  the  Dutch  governors  of  New  Am 
sterdam,  within  a  few  years  was  dispossessed  by  a  small  English 
squadron,  and  the  captured  colony  was  retained.  Sir  William 
Berkley's  letter  was  written  nearly  three  months  after  the  actual 
restoration,  and  yet,  not  having  received  intelligence  of  it,  he 
alludes  to  the  English  government  as  in  a  state  of  interregnum, 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  247 

and  writes  not  one  word  in  present  recognition  of  his  majesty 
Charles  the  Second ;  on  the  contrary,  he  expressly  avows  himself 
a  servant  of  the  assembly. 

Tea  was  introduced  into  England  about  this  time;  the  East 
India  Company  made  the  king  a  formal  present  of  two  pounds 
and  two  ounces.* 

The  address  of  the  Parliament  and  General  Monk  to  Charles 
the  Second,  then  at  Breda,  in  Holland,  was  carried  over  by  Lord 
Berkley,  of  Berkley  Castle.  On  the  eighth  of  May  Charles  was 
proclaimed  in  England  king,  and  he  returned  in  triumph  to  Lon 
don  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  that  month,  being  his  birth-day.  The 
restored  monarch  transmitted  a  new  commission,  dated  July  the 
31st,  1660,  at  Westminster,  to  his  faithful  adherent  Sir  William 
Berkley.  He  had  remained  in  Virginia  during  the  Commonwealth 
of  England  under  various  pretexts,  and  it  is  probable  that  he 
kept  up  a  secret  correspondence  with  refugee  royalists,  and  it  is 
said  that  he  even  invited  Charles  to  come  over  to  Virginia.  This 
tradition,  however,  is  without  proof  or  plausibility;  had  the  exiled 
Charles  sought  refuge  in  Virginia,  an  English  frigate  wTould  have 
found  it  easy  to  make  him  a  prisoner.  Virginia  would  have  pre 
sented  few  attractions  to  the  royal  profligate;  and  it  could  have 
hardly  been  a  matter  of  regret  to  the  Virginians  that  he  never 
came  here.  Sir  William  Berkley's  letter  of  acknowledgment, 
written  in  March,  1661,  is  extravagantly  loyal.  He  apologizes 
for  having  accepted  office  from  the  assembly  thus :  "  It  was  no 
more,  may  it  please  your  majesty,  than  to  leap  over  the  fold  to 
save  your  majesty's  flock,  when  your  majesty's  enemies  of  that 
fold  had  barred  up  the  lawful  entrance  into  it,  and  enclosed  the 
wolves  of  schism  and  rebellion,  ready  to  devour  all  within  it,"  etc. 
By  "the  wolves  of  schism  and  rebellion"  he  probably  meant  the 
Puritan  and  Republican  party  in  Virginia,  and  he  appears  to 
have  looked  upon  them  as  formidable  enemies. 

Charles  the  Second,  in  the  first  year  of  his  reign,  that  is,  in 
the  first  year  after  the  death  of  his  father,  for  he  was  considered 
or  imagined  to  have  reigned  all  the  while,  had  granted  all  the 
tract  of  land  lying  between  the  Rappahannock  and  the  Potomac, 

*  Pepys'  Diary,  i.  110.     Pepys  was  pronounced  Peeps. 


248  ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA. 

known  as  the  Northern  Neck,  to  Lord  Hopton,  the  Earl  of  St. 
Albans,  Lord  Culpepper,  and  others,  to  hold  the  same  forever, 
paying  yearly  six  pounds  thirteen  shillings  and  four  pence  to  the 
crown. 

The  Anglo-American  colonies  now  established,  Virginia,  New 
England,  and  Maryland,  contained  eighty-five  thousand  inhabit 
ants.  The  navigation  act  had  not  been  recognized  by  Virginia 
as  obligatory  on  her;  had  been  opposed  by  Massachusetts  as  an 
invasion  of  her  rights ;  and  had  been  evaded  by  Maryland.  James 
the  First,  Charles  the  First,  and  the  Commonwealth,  had  ex 
pressly  exempted  the  colonies  from  direct  taxation,  but  the  Re 
storation  parliament  extended  the  customs  of  tonnage  and 
poundage  to  every  part  of  the  dominion  of  the  crown;  and  the 
colonists  did  not  for  years  resist  the  collection  of  those  imposts.* 

*  Chalmers'  Revolt  of  Amer.  Colonies,  99. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

1G61-1G63. 

Settlements  of  Virginia — The  Church — Laws  for  establishment  of  Towns— In 
telligence  received  of  Restoration — Assembly  sends  Address  to  the  King — 
Demonstrations  of  Loyalty — Berkley  visits  England — Morrison  elected  by  the 
Council  in  his  stead — Assembly's  tone  altered — Act  for  ducking  ''Brabbling 
Women" — Power  of  Taxation  vested  in  Governor  and  Council  for  three  years 
— Miscellaneous  Aifairs — Act  relating  to  Indians — Persons  trespassing  on  the 
Indians,  punished — Sir  William  Berkley  returns  from  England — Instructions 
relative  to  the  Church — Acts  against  Schismatics  and  Separatists — Berkley 
superintends  establishment  of  a  Colony  on  Albemarle  Sound. 

THE  settlements  of  Virginia  now  included  the  territory  lying 
between  the  Potomac  and  the  Chowan,  and  embraced,  besides,  the 
isolated  Accomac.  There  were  fifty  parishes.  The  plantations 
lay  dispersed  along  the  banks  of  rivers  and  creeks,  those  on  the 
James  stretching  westward,  above  a  hundred  miles  into  the  inte 
rior.  Each  parish  extended  many  miles  in  length  along  the  river 
side,  but  in  breadth  ran  back  only  a  mile.  This  was  the  average 
breadth  of  the  plantations,  their  length  varying  from  half  a  mile 
to  three  miles  or  more.  The  fifty  parishes  comprehending  an 
area  supposed  to  be  equal  to  one-half  of  England,  it  was  inevita 
ble  that  many  of  the  inhabitants  lived  very  remote  from  the 
parish  church.  Many  parishes,  indeed,  were  as  yet  destitute  of 
churches  and  glebes;  and  not  more  than  ten  parishes  were  sup 
plied  with  ministers.  Hammond*  says:  "They  then  began  to 
provide,  and  send  home  for  gospel  ministers,  and  largely  contri 
buted  for  their  maintenance;  but  Virginia  savoring  not  hand 
somely  in  England,  very  few  of  good  conversation  would  adven 
ture  thither,  (as  thinking  it  a  place  wherein  surely  the  fear  of 
God  was  not,)  yet  many  came,  such  as  wore  black  coats,  and 
could  babble  in  a  pulpit,  roar  in  a  tavern,  exact  from  their  pa- 

*  "Leah  and  Rachel,"  published  at  London  in  1656,  in  Force's  Historical 
Tracts,  iii. 

(249) 


250  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

rishioners,  and  rather  by  their  dissoluteness  destroy  than  feed 
their  flocks."  Hammond's  statements  are  not  to  be  unreservedly 
received.  Where  there  were  ministers,  worship  was  usually  held 
once  on  Sunday;  but  the  remote  parishioners  seldom  attended. 
The  planters,  either  from  indifference  or  from  the  want  of  means, 
were  remiss  in  the  building  of  churches  and  the  maintenance  of 
ministers.  Through  the  licentious  lives  of  many  of  them,  the 
Christian  religion  was  dishonored,  and  the  name  of  God  blas 
phemed  among  the  heathen  natives,  (who  were  near  them  and 
often  among  them,)  and  thus  their  conversion  hindered.* 

In  1661  the  Rev.  Philip  Mallory  was  sent  over  to  England  as 
Virginia's  agent  to  solicit  the  cause  of  the  church.  The  general 
want  of  schools,  likewise  owing  to  the  sparseness  of  the  popula 
tion,  was  most  of  all  bewailed  by  parents.  The  children  of  Vir 
ginia,  naturally  of  beautiful  persons,  and  generally  of  more 
genius  than  those  in  England,  were  doomed  to  grow  up  unser 
viceable  for  any  great  employments  in  church  or  state.  As  a 
principal  remedy  for  these  ills,  the  establishment  of  towns  in  each 
county  was  recommended.  It  was  further  proposed  to  erect 
schools  in  the  colony,  and  for  the  supply  of  ministers  to  establish, 
by  act  of  parliament,  Virginia  fellowships  at  Oxford  and  Cam 
bridge,  with  an  engagement  to  serve  the  church  in  Virginia  for 
seven  years.  To  raise  the  funds  necessary  for  this  purpose,  it 
was  proposed  to  take  up  a  collection  in  the  churches  of  Great 
Britain;  and  the  assembly  ordered  a  petition  to  the  king  to  that 
end,  to  be  drawn  up.f  Another  feature  of  this  plan  was  to  send 
over  a  bishop,  so  soon  as  there  should  be  a  city  for  his  see. 
These  recommendations,  although  urged  upon  the  attention  of  the 
bishop  of  London,  seem,  from  whatever  cause,  to  have  proved 
fruitless.  The  Virginia  assembly,  in  no  instance,  expressed  any 


*  Virginia's  Cure,  (Force's  Hist.  Tracts,  iii.,)  printed  at  London,  1602,  and  com 
posed  by  a  minister.  The  initials  on  the  title-page,  R.  G.  He  appears  to  have 
taken  refuge  in  Virginia  during  the  Commonwealth  of  England;  and  it  is  evi 
dent  that  he  had  resided  in  the  colony  for  a  considerable  time.  "Virginia's 
Cure"  is  addressed  to  the  Bishop  of  London:  it  is  a  clear  and  vigorous  docu 
ment,  acrimonious  toward  the  late  government,  but  earnest  in  behalf  of  the  spiri 
tual  welfare  of  Virginia. 

f  Hening,  u.  33. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  251 

desire  for  the  appointment  of  a  bishop ;  they  remembered  with 
abhorrence  the  cruelties  that  had  been  exercised  by  the  prelates 
in  England. 

Mr.  Jefferson  remarked  that  the  legislature  of  Yirginia  has 
frequently  declared  that  there  should  be  towns  in  places  where 
nature  had  declared  that  they  should  not  be.  The  scheme  of 
compelling  the  planters  to  abandon  their  plantations,  and  to  con 
gregate  in  towns,  built  by  legislation,  was  indeed  chimerical. 
The  failure  of  the  schemes  proposed  in  the  Virginia  assembly  for 
the  establishment  of  towns,  is  attributed  by  the  author  of  "Vir 
ginia's  Cure"  to  the  majority  of  the  house  of  burgesses,  who  are 
said  to  have  come  over  at  first  as  servants,  and  who,  although 
they  may  have  accumulated  by  their  industry  competent  estates, 
yet,  owing  to  their  mean  education,  were  incompetent  to  judge  of 
public  matters,  either  in  church  or  state.  Yet  many  of  the  early 
laws  appear  to  have  been  judicious,  practical,  and  well  adapted  to 
the  circumstances  of  a  newly  settled  country.  The  legislature, 
eventually  finding  the  scheme  of  establishing  towns  by  legal 
enactments  impracticable,  declared  it  expedient  to  leave  trade  to 
regulate  itself. 

The  assembly  of  March,  1661,  consisted  in  the  main  of  new 
members.  At  another  session  held  in  October  of  the  same  year, 
there  appeared  still  fewer  of  the  members  who  had  held  seats 
during  the  Commonwealth;  and  it  may  be  reasonably  inferred 
that  the  bulk  of  the  retiring  members  were  well  affected  to  the 
Commonwealth  of  England.  Intelligence  of  the  restoration  of 
Charles  the  Second  had  already  reached  Virginia,  and  was  joy 
fully  received.  The  word  "king,"  or  "majesty,"  was  used  in  the 
public  acts  now  for  the  first  time,  since  the  commencement  of  the 
Commonwealth  of  England — an  interval  of  twelve  years. 

An  address  was  sent  to  the  king,  praying  him  to  pardon  the 
inhabitants  of  Virginia  for  having  yielded  to  a  force — which  they 
could  not  resist.  Forty-four  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco,  worth 
two  thousand  and  two  hundred  dollars,  were  appropriated  to 
Major- General  Hammond  and  Colonel  Guy  Molesworth,  for 
"being  employed  in  the  address."  Sir  Henry  Moody  was 
dispatched  on  an  embassy  "to  the  Manados,"  or  Manhat 
tan.  Colonel  Carter  was  required  to  declare  what  passed 


252  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

between  him  and  Colonel  William  Clayborne  at  the  assembly  of 
1653  or  1654,  relative  to  the  making  an  act  of  non-address  to  the 
Right  Honorable  Sir  William  Berkley ;  but  the  particulars  of  this 
affair  have  not  been  handed  down.  The  rent  paid  for  the  use  of 
the  house  where  the  assembly  met,  was  three  thousand  five  hun 
dred  pounds  of  tobacco,  equivalent  to  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  dollars.  Four  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco,  worth  two 
hundred  dollars,  were  paid  for  the  rent  of  the  room  where  the 
governor  and  council  held  their  meetings.  The  name  of  Monroe 
occurs  at  this  early  day  in  the  County  of  Westmoreland  as  one  of 
the  commissioners,  or  justices  of  the  peace. 

The  assembly  strove  to  display  its  loyalty  by  bountiful  appro 
priations  to  the  governor  and  the  leading  royalists ;  the  restoration 
in  England  was  reflected  by  the  restoration  in  Virginia.  The 
necessity  of  the  case  had  made  the  government  of  the  colony 
republican;  she  was  as  free  and  almost  as  independent  during  the 
Commonwealth  of  England  as  after  the  revolution  of  1776.  For 
a  short  time  even  Sir  William  Berkley  appears  to  have  been 
identified  with  this  system.  He  and  the  new  assembly  were  now 
eagerly  running  in  an  opposite  tack,  and  were  impatient  to  wipe 
out  all  traces  of  their  late  forced  disobedience  and  involuntary 
recognition  of  the  popular  sovereignty. 

Sir  William  continued  as  governor  till  the  30th  of  April,  1661, 
when  being  about  to  visit  England,  Colonel  Francis  Morrison  was 
elected  by  the  council  in  his  place.  Sir  William,  it  is  said,  was 
dispatched  to  England  as  agent  to  defend  the  colony  against  the 
monopoly  of  the  navigation  act,  which  threatened  to  violate  their 
"freedoms,"  as  is  declared  by  the  first  act  of  the  assembly  held 
at  James  City,  on  the  23d  of  March,  1661.  Sir  William  was 
heartily  opposed  to  the  restrictions  on  the  commerce  of  Virginia ; 
but  any  efforts  that  he  may  have  used  in  opposition  to  them  were 
fruitless. 

He  embarked  in  May  for  England,  and  returned  in  the  fall  of 
the  following  year,  1662.  His  pay  on  account  of  this  mission  was 
two  hundred  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco,  or  five  hundred  and 
seventy-one  hogsheads,  the  average  weight  of  a  hogshead  at  this 
period  being  three  hundred  and  fifty  pounds.*  This  quantity  of 

*  Herring,  i.  435. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  253 

tobacco  was  worth  two  thousand  pounds  sterling,  or  ten  thousand 
dollars.*  The  ordinary  salary  of  the  governor  consisted  of  castle 
duties,  license  fees,  tobacco,  corn,  and  customs,  and  probably 
amounted  to  not  less  than  twelve  thousand  dollars  per  annum. f 

The  assembly's  tone  was  now  altered;  during  the  Common 
wealth  of  England,  Oliver  Cromwell  had  been  addressed  as  "His 
Highness,"  and  the  burgesses  had  subscribed  themselves  his 
"most  humble,  most  devoted  servants;"  nor  had  Richard  Crom 
well  been  treated  with  a  less  obsequious  and  respectful  submission. 
But  now  the  following  language  was  employed:  "Whereas,  our 
late  surrender  and  submission  to  that  execrable  power,  that  so 
bloodily  massacred  the  late  King  Charles  the  First  of  ever  blessed 
and  glorious  memory,  hath  made  us,  by  acknowledging  them, 
guilty  of  their  crimes ;  to  show  our  serious  and  hearty  repentance 
and  detestation  of  that  barbarous  act,  be  it  enacted,  That  the  thir 
tieth  of  January,  the  day  the  said  king  was  beheaded,  be  annually 
solemnized  with  fasting  and  prayers,  that  our  sorrows  may  expiate 
our  crime,  and  our  tears  wash  away  our  guilt."J  Their  compul 
sory  acknowledgment  of  the  sovereign  power  of  the  Common 
wealth  of  England,  if  they  all  the  while  remained  in  their  hearts 
loyal,  could  not  have  implicated  them  in  the  execution  of  the 
king. 

Colonel  Francis  Morrison  continued  to  fill  the  place  of  Sir 
William  Berkley  until  his  return,  which  took  place  some  time  be 
tween  September  and  the  21st  of  November,  1662. 

An  act  was  passed,  entitled  "Women  causing  scandalous  suits, 
to  be  ducked :"  "  Whereas,  oftentimes  many  brabbling  women  often 
slander  and  scandalize  their  neighbors,  for  which  their  poor  hus 
bands  are  often  brought  into  chargeable  and  vexatious  suits,  and 
cast  in  great  damages ;  be  it  therefore  enacted  by  the  authority 
aforesaid,  That  in  actions  of  slander  occasioned  by  the  wife,  as 
aforesaid,  after  judgment  passed  for  the  damages,  the  woman 
shall  be  punished  by  ducking;  and  if  the  slander  be  so  enormous 
as  to  be  adjudged  at  a  greater  damage  than  five  hundred  pounds 
of  tobacco,  then  the  woman  to  suffer  a  ducking  for  each  five 


*  Hening,  i.  398,  418.  f  Ibid.,  i.  545,  and  ii.  9. 

J  Ibid.,  ii.  24. 


254  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AXD 

hundred  pounds  of  tobacco  against  the  husband  adjudged,  if  he 
refuse  to  pay  the  tobacco."  A  ducking-stool  had  been  already 
established  in  each  county. 

The  anniversary  both  of  the  birth  and  the  restoration  of  Charles 
the  Second  was  established  as  a  holiday.  The  navigation  act 
was  now  enforced  in  Virginia,  and  in  consequence  the  price  of 
tobacco  fell  very  low,  while  the  cost  of  imported  goods  was  also 
augmented.  An  act  prohibiting  the  importation  of  luxuries  seems 
to  have  been  negatived  by  the  governor.  It  was  ordered  that 
"no  person  shall  trade  with  the  Indians  for  any  beaver,  otter,  or 
any  other  furs,  unless  he  first  obtain  a  commission  from  the  go 
vernor."  This  act  gave  great  offence  to  the  people;  it  was  in 
effect  conferring  on  the  governor  an  indirect  monopoly  of  the  fur- 
trade.  By  a  still  more  high-handed  measure  the  governor  and 
council  were  empowered  to  lay  taxes  for  the  ensuing  three  years, 
unless  in  the  mean  time  some  urgent  occasion  should  necessitate 
the  calling  together  of  the  assembly.  Thus  taxation  was  dis 
severed  from  representation;  the  main  safeguard  of  freedom  wras 
given  to  the  executive.  Major  John  Bond,  a  magistrate  in  Isle 
of  Wight  County,  was  disfranchised  for  "factious  and  schisma- 
tical  demeanors."  He  had  repeatedly  been  returned  as  one  of 
the  burgesses  of  his  county  during  the  Commonwealth  of  England. 
An  act  making  provision  for  a  college,  appears  to  have  remained 
a  dead  letter ;  other  acts  equally  futile,  passed  at  ensuing  sessi  t>ns, 
frequently  recur.  The  assembly  ventured  to  declare  that  the 
king's  pardon  did  not  extend  to  a  penalty  incurred  for  planting 
tobacco  contrary  to  law. 

Colonel  William  Clayborne,  secretary  of  state,  was  displaced 
by  Thomas  Ludwell,  commissioned  by  the  king.  Colonel  Francis 
Morrison  and  Henry  Randolph,  clerk  of  the  assembly,  were  ap 
pointed  revisers  of  the  laws.  Beverley*  says  that  Morrison  made 
an  abridgement  of  the  laws.  In  this  revised  code  the  common 
law  of  England  is,  for  the  first  time,  expressly  adopted,  being 
spoken  of  as  "those  excellent  and  oft-refined  laws  of  England.f 
But  it  has  been  seen  that  Magna  Charta  had  been  previously 

*  Hist,  of  Virginia,  second  edition. 

f  Beverley,  B.  i.  43;  Chalmers'  Revolt,  i.  101. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  255 

recognized  as  of  force  in  Virginia.  In  making  a  revision  of  the 
laws  it  was  ordered  that  all  acts  which  "might  keep  in  memory 
our  forced  deviation  from  his  majesty's  obedience,"  should  be  re 
pealed  "and  expunged."  In  the  absence  of  ministers  it  was 
enacted  that  readers  should  be  appointed,  where  they  could  be 
found,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  nearest  ministers,  to 
read  the  prayers  and  homilies,  and  catechise  children  and  ser 
vants,  as  had  been  practised  in  the  time  of  Queen  Elizabeth. 
Although  not  more  than  one-fifth  of  the  parishes  were  supplied 
with  ministers,  yet  the  laws  demanded  a  strict  conformity,  and 
required  all  to  contribute  to  the  support  of  the  established  church. 
But  the  right  of  presentation  still  remained  in  the  people.  The 
number  of  the  vestry  was  limited  to  twelve,  elected  by  the  people, 
but  they  were  now  invested  with  the  power  of  perpetuating  their 
own  body  by  filling  vacancies  themselves.*  Vestries  were  ordered 
to  procure  subscriptions  for  the  support  of  the  ministry.  The 
number  of  burgesses  to  represent  each  county  was  limited  to  two ; 
the  number  of  magistrates  to  twelve.  The  assembly  confirmed 
an  order  of  the  quarter  court  prohibiting  "Roger  Partridge  and 
Elizabeth,  his  wife,  from  keeping  any  maid-servant  for  the  term 
of  three  years." 

The  assembly  say,  that  "they  have  set  down  certain  rules  to 
be  observed  in  the  government  of  the  church,  until  God  shall 
please  to  turn  his  majesty's  pious  thoughts"  toward  them,  and 
"provide  a  better  supply  of  ministers."  "The  pious  thoughts"  of 
Charles  the  Second  were  never  turned  to  this  remote  corner  of 
his  empire.  Magistrates,  heretofore  called  commissioners,  were 
now  styled  "justices  of  the  peace,"  and  their  courts  "county 
courts. "f  A  duty  was  laid  on  rum,  because  "it  had,  by  experi 
ence,  been  found  to  bring  diseases  and  death  to  divers  people." 
An  impost,  first  established  during  the  Commonwealth  of  Eng 
land,  was  still  levied  on  every  hogshead  of  tobacco  exported ;  this 
became  a  permanent  source  of  revenue,  and  rendered  the  execu 
tive  independent  of  the  legislature. 

The  numerous  acts  relating  to  the  Indians  were  reduced  into 
one:  prohibiting  the  English  from  purchasing  Indian  lands; 
securing  their  persons  and  property;  preventing  encroachments 

*  Ibid.,  44.  f  Hening,  ii.  69. 


256  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

on  their  territory;  ordering  the  English  seated  near  to  assist 
them  in  fencing  their  corn-fields;  licensing  them  to  oyster,  fish, 
hunt,  and  gather  the  natural  fruits  of  the  country;  prohibiting 
trade  with  them  without  license,  or  imprisonment  of  an  Indian 
chief  without  special  warrant;  bounds  to  be  annually  defined; 
badges  of  silver  and  copper  plate  to  be  furnished  to  Indian  chiefs ; 
no  Indian  to  enter  the  English  confines  without  a  badge,  under 
penalty  of  imprisonment,  till  ransomed  by  one  hundred  arms'- 
length  of  roanoke;  Indian  chiefs  tributary  to  the  English,  to  give 
alarm  of  approach  of  hostile  Indians ;  Indians  not  to  be  sold  as 
slaves.* 

It  was  ordered  that  a  copy  of  the  revised  laws  should  be  sent 
to  Sir  William  Berkley  in  England,  that  he  might  procure  the 
king's  confirmation  of  them.  Beverley  mentions  a  tradition  that 
the  king,  in  compliment  to  Virginia,  wore,  at  his  coronation,  a 
robe  made  of  Virginia  silk,  and  adds,  that  this  was  all  the  country 
received  in  return  for  their  loyalty,  the  parliament  having  re- 
enacted  the  navigation  act,  (first  enacted  during  the  Common 
wealth,)  with  still  severer  restrictions  and  prohibitions.  Even 
the  traditional  compliment  of  the  king's  wearing  a  robe  of  Vir 
ginia  silk  appears  to  be  unfounded. 

Wahanganoche,  chief  of  Potomac,  charged  with  treason  and 
murder  by  Captain  Charles  Brent,  before  the  assembly,  was 
acquitted;  and  Brent,  together  with  Captain  George  Mason  and 
others,  were  ordered  to  pay  that  chief  a  certain  sum  in  roanoke, 
or  in  matchcoats,  (from  matchkore,  a  deerskin,)  in  satisfaction  of 
the  injuries.  Brent,  Mason,  and  others  were  afterwards  punished 
by  fines,  suspension  from  office,  and  disfranchisement,  for  offences 
committed  against  the  Indians,  and  for  showing  contempt  to  the 
governor's  warrant  in  relation  to  the  chief  of  Potomac.  The 
counties  of  Westmoreland  and  Northumberland  were  especially 
exposed  to  Indian  disturbances  at  this  time.  Colonel  Moore 
Fantleroy  was  disfranchised  for  maltreating  the  Rappahannock 
Indians;  Mrs.  Mary  Ludlow  was  restrained  from  encroaching  on 
the  lands  of  the  Chesquiack  Indians  at  Pyanketanke;  Colonel 
Goodrich  was  charged  with  burning  the  English  house  of  the  chief 
of  the  Matapony  Indians.  George  Harwood  was  ordered  to  ask 

*  Hening,  ii.  138. 


AXCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  257 

forgiveness  in  open  court  on  his  knees,  for  speaking  disrespect 
fully  of  the  right  honorable  governor,  Francis  Morrison;  and, 
at  the  next  court  held  in  Warwick  County,  to  ask  forgiveness  of 
Captain  John  Ashton  for  defaming  him,  and  to  pay  two  thousand 
pounds  of  tobacco. 

It  wras  during  this  year,  1662,  that  Charles  the  Second  married 
Catherine,  the  Portuguese  Infanta. 

The  court  of  Boston,  in  Newr  England,  having  discharged  a 
servant  belonging  to  William  Drummond,  an  inhabitant  of  Virgi 
nia,  the  assembly  ordered  reprisal  to  be  made  on  the  property 
belonging  to  inhabitants  of  the  Northern  colony  to  the  amount  of 
forty  pounds  sterling.* 

Sir  William  Berkley  returned  in  the  fall  of  1662  from  Eng 
land,  having  accomplished  nothing  for  the  colony,  but  having  se 
cured  for  himself  an  interest  in  a  part  of  the  Virginia  territory, 
now  North  Carolina,  granted  to  himself  and  other  courtiers  and 
court  favorites.  He  brought  out  with  him  instructions  from  the 
crown,  comprising  directions  relative  to  church  matters;  that  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer  should  be  read,  and  the  sacrament  ad 
ministered  according  to  the  rites  of  the  Church  of  England ;  that 
the  churches  should  be  well  and  orderly  kept ;  that  the  number 
of  them  should  be  increased  as  the  means  might  justify ;  that  a 
competent  maintenance  should  be  assigned  to  each  minister,  and 
a  house  built  for  him,  and  a  glebe  of  one  hundred  acres  attached. 
It  was  further  directed  that  no  minister  should  be  preferred  by 
the  governor  to  any  benefice,  without  a  certificate  from  the  Lord 
Bishop  of  London;  and  that  ministers  should  be  admitted  into 
their  respective  vestries;  that  the  oaths  of  obedience  and  su 
premacy  should  be  administered  to  all  persons  bearing  any  part 
of  the  government,  and  to  all  persons  whatsoever  of  age  in  the 
colony.  The  last  of  these  instructions  is  in  the  following  words: 
"And  because  we  are  willing  to  give  all  possible  encouragement 
to  persons  of  different  persuasions  in  matters  of  religion,  to  trans 
port  themselves  thither  with  their  stocks,  you  are  not  to  suifer 
any  man  to  be  molested  or  disquieted  in  the  exercise  of  his  reli 
gion,  so  he  be  content  with  a  quiet  and  peaceable  enjoying  it,  not 
giving  therein  offence  or  scandal  to  the  government ;  but  we  oblige 

17  *  Hening,  ii.  158. 


258  ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA. 

you  in  your  own  house  and  family  to  the  profession  of  the  Pro 
testant  religion,  according  as  it  is  now  established  in  our  kingdom 
of  England,  and  the  recommending  it  to  all  others  under  your 
government,  as  far  as  it  may  consist  with  the  peace  and  quiet  of 
our  said  colony.  You  are  to  take  care  that  drunkenness  and 
debauchery,  swearing,  and  blasphemy,  be  discountenanced  and 
punished ;  and  that  none  be  admitted  to  publick  trust  and  employ 
ment  whose  ill  fame  and  conversation  may  bring  scandal  there 
upon."* 

The  spirit  of  toleration  expressed  in  these  instructions  was  in 
sincere  and  hypocritical,  and  dictated  by  the  apprehensions  of  a 
government  yet  unstable,  and  by  a  temporizing  policy.  In  Decem 
ber,  1662,  the  assembly  declared  that  "many  schismatical  per 
sons,  out  of  their  averseness  to  the  orthodox  established  religion, 
or  out  of  the  new-fangled  conceits  of  their  own  heretical  inven 
tions,  refuse  to  have  their  children  baptized,"  and  imposed  on  such 
offenders  a  fine  of  two  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco. 

The  act  for  the  suppression  of  the  sect  of  Quakers  was  now 
extended  to  all  separatists,  and  made  still  more  rigorous.  Per 
sons  attending  their  meetings  were  fined,  for  the  first  offence,  two 
hundred  pounds  of  tobacco ;  for  the  second,  five  hundred ;  and  for 
the  third,  banished.  In  case  the  party  convicted  should  be  too 
poor  to  pay  the  fine,  it  was  to  be  levied  from  such  of  his  sect  as 
might  be  possessed  of  ampler  means. 

A  Mr.  Durand,  elder  in  a  Puritan  "very  orthodox  church,"  in 
Nansemond  County,  had  been  banished  from  Virginia  in  1648. 
In  1662,  the  Yeopim  Indians  granted  to  "  George  Durant"  the 
neck  of  land  in  North  Carolina  which  still  bears  his  name.  He 
was  probably  the  exile.  In  April,  1663,  George  Cathmaid 
claimed  from  Governor  Berkley  a  large  tract  of  land  on  the  bor 
ders  of  Albemarle  Sound,  in  reward  of  having  colonized  a  num 
ber  of  settlers  in  that  province.  In  the  same  year  Sir  William 
Berkley  was  commissioned  to  organize  a  government  over  this 
newly  settled  region,  which,  in  honor  of  the  perfidious  General 
Monk,  now  made  Duke  of  Albemarle,  received  the  name  which 
time  has  transferred  to  the  Sound. 

*  MS.  (Virginia)  in  State  Paper  office,  (London,)  cited  in  Anderson's  Hist 
of  Colonial  Church,  ii.  548-9. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

1603. 

Report  of  Edmund  Scarburgh,  Surveyor-General,  of  his  Proceedings  in  esta 
blishing  the  Boundary  Line  between  Virginia  and  Maryland  on  the  Eastern 
Shore — The  Bear  and  the  Cub — Extracts  from  Records  of  Accomac. 

A  CONTROVERSY  existed  between  Virginia  and  Lord  Baltimore 
relative  to  the  boundary  line  on  the  Eastern  Shore  of  the  Chesa 
peake  Bay.  The  dispute  turned  on  the  true  site  of  Watkins' 
Point,  which  was  admitted  to  be  the  southern  limit  of  Maryland 
on  that  shore.  The  Virginia  assembly,  in  1663,  declared  the 
true  site  of  Watkins'  Point  to  be  on  the  north  side  of  Wicocomoco 
River,  at  its  mouth,  and  ordered  publication  thereof  to  be  made 
by  Colonel  Edmund  Scarburgh,  his  majesty's  surveyor-general, 
commanding,  in  his  majesty's  name,  all  the  inhabitants  south  of 
that  Point,  "to  render  obedience  to  his  majesty's  government  of 
Virginia."  A  conference  with  Lord  Baltimore's  commissioners 
was  proposed  in  case  he  should  be  dissatisfied,  and  Colonel  Scar 
burgh,  Mr.  JohnCatlett,  and  Mr.  Richard  Lawrence  were  appointed 
commissioners  on  the  part  of  Virginia.  Lawrence  will  reappear 
in  Bacon's  Rebellion.  The  surveyor-general  was  further  directed 
"to  improve  his  best  abilities  in  all  other  his  majesty's  concerns 
of  land  relating  to  Virginia,  especially  that  to  the  northward  of 
forty  degrees  of  latitude,  being  the  utmost  bounds  of  the  said 
Lord  Baltimore's  grant,  and  to  give  an  account  of  his  proceed 
ings  therein  to  the  right  honorable  governor  and  council  of 
Virginia."* 

Colonel  Scarburgh's  report  of  his  proceedings  on  this  occasion 
is  preserved. f  He  set  out  with  "some  of  the  commission,  and 
about  forty  horsemen,"  an  escort  which  he  deemed  necessary  "to 

*  Hening,  ii.  183. 

•f-  This  document,  entitled  "  The  Account  of  Proceedings  in  his  Majt's  Affairs 
at  Anamessecks  and  Manokin,  on  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Virginia,"  is  preserved 
in  the  records  of  Accomac  County  Court,  and  a  copy,  furnished  by  Thomas  R. 

(259) 


260  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

repel  the  contempt"  which,  as  he  was  informed,  "some  Quakers 
and  a  fool  in  office  has  threatened  to  obtrude."  The  party  reached 
Anamessecks  on  Sunday  night,  the  eleventh  of  October.  On  the 
next  day,  at  the  house  of  an  officer  of  the  Lord  Baltimore,  the 
surveyor-general  began  to  publish  the  assembly's  commands  by 
repeatedly  reading  the  act  to  the  officer,  who  labored  under  the 
disadvantage  of  being  unable  to  read.  He  declared  that  he 
would  not  be  false  to  the  trust  put  in  him  by  the  Lord-Lieutenant 
of  Maryland.  To  this  Colonel  Scarburgh  replied,  "that  there 
could  be  no  trust  where  there  was  no  intrust,"  (interest.)  The 
officer  declining  to  subscribe  his  obedience,  lest  he  might  be 
hanged  by  the  Governor  of  Maryland,  was  arrested  and  held  to 
security  (given  by  some  of  Scarburgh's  party)  to  appear  before 
the  governor  and  council  of  Virginia,  and  "the  broad  arrow"  was 
set  on  his  door.  This  matter  being  so  satisfactorily  adjusted,  the 
colonel  and  his  company  proceeded  to  the  house  of  a  Quaker, 
where  the  act  was  published  "with  a  becoming  reverence;"  but 
the  Quakers  scoffing  and  deriding  it,  and  refusing  their  obedience, 
were  arrested,  to  answer  "their  contempt  and  rebellion,"  and  it 
being  found  impracticable  to  obtain  any  security,  "the  broad 
arrow  was  set  on  the  door."  At  Manokin  the  housekeepers  and 
freemen,  except  two  of  Lord  Baltimore's  officers,  subscribed. 
"One  Hollinsworth,  merchant,  of  a  northern  vessel,"  at  this 
juncture,  "came  and  presented  his  request  for  liberty  of  trade;" 
which,  Scarburgh  suspecting  to  be  "some  plan  of  the  Quakers," 
to  defeat  their  design,  "presumed,  in  their  infant  plantation,  to 
give  freedom  of  trade  without  impositions."  Scarburgh  gives  a 
descriptive  list  of  those  who  stood  out  against  submitting  to  the 
jurisdiction  of  Virginia:  one  was  "the  ignorant  yet  insolent 
officer,  a  cooper  by  profession,  who  lived  long  in  the  lower  parts 
of  Accomac ;  once  elected  a  burgess  by  the  common  crowd,  and 
thrown  out  of  the  assembly  for  a  factious  and  tumultuous  person." 
George  Johnson  was  "the  Proteus  of  heresy,"  notorious  for 
" shifting  schismatical  pranks."  " He  stands  arrested,"  and  "bids 

Joynes,  Esq.,  the  clerk,  (himself  a  descendant  of  Colonel  Edmund  Scarburgb,) 
was  published  in  1833,  by  order  of  the  legislature  of  Maryland.  I  am  in 
debted  to  William  T.  Joynes,  Esq.,  of  Petersburg,  for  the  use  of  this  report,  and 
for  some  other  interesting  particulars  relating  to  the  Eastern  Shore. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  261 

defiance."  "Thomas  Price,  a  creeping  Quaker,  by  trade  a 
leather-dresser,"  and  "saith  nothing  else  but  that  he  would  not 
obey  government,  for  which  he  also  stands  arrested."  "Ambrose 
Dixon,  a  caulker  by  profession,"  "often  in  question  for  his  Quak 
ing  profession,"  "a  prater  of  nonsense,"  "stands  arrested,  and 
the  broad  arrow  at  his  door,  but  bids  defiance."  "Henry  Boston, 
an  unmannerly  fellow,  that  stands  condemned  on  the  records  for 
fighting  and  contemning  the  laws  of  the  country;  a  rebel  to  go 
vernment,  and  disobedient  to  authority,  for  which  he  received  a 
late  reward  with  a  rattan,  and  hath  not  subscribed;  hides  him 
self,  so  scapes  arrest."  "These  are  all,  except  two  or  three  loose 
fellows  that  follow  the  Quakers  for  scraps,  whom  a  good  whip  is 
fittest  to  reform." 

On  the  10th  day  of  November,  1663,  the  county  court  of  Ac- 
comae  authorized  Captain  William  Thorn  and  others  to  summon 
the  good  subjects  of  Manokin  and  other  parts  of  the  county,  so 
far  as  Pocomoke  River,  to  come  together  and  arm  themselves  for 
defence  against  any  that  might  invade  them,  in  consequence  "  of 
the  rumors  that  the  Quakers  and  factious  fools  have  spread,  to 
the  disturbance  of  the  peace  and  terror  of  the  less  knowing." 

The  following  extracts,  from  the  records  of  the  county  court 
of  Accomac,  exemplify  the  simplicity  of  the  times,  and  the 
quaint  orthography,  and  the  verbosity  of  the  records  of  courts ; 
while  the  final  decision  of  the  case  is  not  less  equitable  than  those 
of  Sanclio  Panza,  sometime  Governor  of  the  Island  of  Barataria, 
or  those  celebrated  in  Knickerbocker's  History  of  New  York. 

"At  a  Court  held  in  Accomack  County,  ye  16th  of  November, 
by  his  matics  Justices  of  ye  Peace  for  ye  sd  County,  in  y°  Seaven- 
teenth  yeare  of  ye  Reigne  of  or  Sovraigne  Lord  Charles  ye  Second, 
By  yc  Grace  of  God,  of  Great  Britaine,  France,  and  Ireland, 
King,  Defender  of  ye  Faith,  &c. :  And  in  ye  Yeare  of  or  Lord 
God  1665. 

"Whereas,  Cornelius  Watkinson,  Philip  Howard,  and  William 
Darby,  were  this  Day  accused  by  Mr.  Jno.  Fawsett,  his  mat)Vs 
Attory  for  Accomack  County,  for  acting  a  play  by  them  called 
y°  Bare  &  yc  Cubb,  on  ye  27th  of  August  last  past;  upon  exami 
nation  of  the  same,  The  Court  have  thought  fitt  to  suspend  the 
Cause  till  ye  next  Court,.  &  doe  order  y*  the  said  Cornelius  Wat- 


262  ANCIENT    DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA. 

kinson,  Phillip  Howard,  &  Wm*  Darby,  appcare  ye  next  Court,  in 
those  habilemts  that  they  then  acted  in,  and  give  a  draught  of 
such  verses,  or  other  speeches  and  passages,  which  were  then 
acted  by  them;  &  that  ye  Sherr  detaine  Cornelius  Watkinson  £ 
Philip  Howard  in  His  Custody  untill  they  put  in  Security  to  per- 
forme  this  order.  It  is  ordered  y*  the  Sherr.  arrest  ye  Body  of 
William  Darby,  for  his  appearance  ye  next  Court,  to  answere  at 
his  maties  suit,  for  being  actour  of  a  play  commonly  called  ye 
Beare  and  ye  Cubb. 

"At  a  Court  held  in  Accomack  County,  ye  18th  of  December, 
by  his  matieH  Justices  of  ye  Peace  for  y°  s(l  County,  in  yu  Seaven- 
teenth  yeare  of  ye  Raigne  of  or  Sovraigne  Lord  Charles  ye  Se 
cond,  By  y°  Grace  of  God,  of  Great  Britain,  France,  &  Ireland, 
King,  Defendr  of  ye  Faith,  &c. :  And  in  ye  yeare  of  o1'  Lord  God 
1665. 

"Its  ordered  yfc  yc  Sherr  sumons  Edward  Martin  to  ye  next 
Court,  to  show  cause  why  hee  should  not  pay  ye  charges  wdl  ac 
crued  upon  y°  Information  given  by  him  against  Cornelius  Wat 
kinson,  Philip  Howard,  &  William  Darby. 

"At  a  Court  held  in  Accomack  County,  yc  17th  of  January, 
by  his  maties  Justices  of  ye  Peace  for  y°  s'1  County,  in  the  Seaven- 
teenth  year  of  yc  Reigne  of  or  Sovraigne  Lord  Charles  ye  Second, 
By  ye  Grace  of  God,  of  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Ireland, 
King,  Defender  of  the  Faith,  &c. :  And  in  the  year  of  or  Lord 
God  1665. 

"Whereas,  Edward  Martin  was  this  day  examined  concerning 
his  information  given  to  Mr.  Fawset,  his  matics  Attory  for  Acco 
mack  County,  about  a  play  called  the  bare  &  y°  Cubb,  whereby 
severall  persons  were  brought  to  Court  &  charges  thereon  arise, 
but  the  Court  finding  the  said  p'sons  not  guilty  of  fault,  sus 
pended  ye  payment  of  Court  charges;  &  forasmuch  as  it  ap- 
peareth  upon  ye  Oath  of  ye  said  Mr.  Fawsett,  that  upon  ye  srl  Ed 
ward  Martin's  information,  the  Charge  &  trouble  of  that  suit  did 
accrew,  It's  therefore  ordered  that  ye  said  Edward  Martin  pay  all 
ye  Charges  in  ye  suit  Els.  Exon."* 

*  "The  foregoing  are  true  transcripts  from  the  Records  of  the  Court  of  the 
County  of  Accomack,  in  the  State  of  Virginia."— Test :  J.   W.  G-illett,  C.  A.  C. 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 


Plot  discovered  —  Miscellaneous  Matters  —  England  at  war  with  the  Dutch  —  The 
Plague  in  London  —  Tobacco  —  Forts  —  Cessation  of  planting  Tobacco  for  one 
year  —  Drummond's  Petition  rejected  —  Baptism  of  Slaves  —  Tributary  Indians 
—  Batt's  Expedition  —  The  Algonquin  Tribes  —  The  Powhatan  Confederacy  — 
Convicts  sent  to  Virginia  —  Legislative  Acts. 

THE  Northern  colonies  appear  at  this  time  to  have  been  styled 
the  "Dutch  Plantations."*  The  persecution  of  the  dissenters, 
the  restrictions  imposed  upon  commerce  by  the  navigation  act,  the 
low  price  of  tobacco,  and  high  price  of  imported  goods,  so  in 
flamed  the  discontents  of  the  poor  people  as  to  give  rise  to  a  plot, 
which  was  well-nigh  resulting  in  tragical  effects  in  1663.  The 
conspiracy  was  attributed  to  certain  Cromwellian  soldiers,  who  had 
been  sent  out  to  Virginia  as  servants  ;  but  the  real  grounds  and 
true  character  of  it  can  now  hardly  be  ascertained.  The  plot  was 
discovered  only  the  night  before  that  appointed  for  its  execution, 
(the  assembly  being  then  in  session,)  by  one  of  the  conspirators 
named  Birkenhead,  a  servant  to  Mr.  Smith,  of  Purton,  in  Glou 
cester  County.  Poplar  Spring,  near  that  place,  was  the  appointed 
rendezvous.  As  soon  as  the  information  reached  Sir  William 
Berkley,  who  was  then  at  his  residence,  Green  Spring,  he  issued 
secret  orders  to  a  party  of  militia,  to  meet  at  Poplar  Spring,  and 
anticipate  the  outbreak.  Only  a  few  were  taken,  of  whom  four 
were  hanged.  Birkenhead  was  rewardedf  with  his  freedom  and 
five  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco;  BeverleyJ  makes  the  reward  two 
hundred  pounds  sterling.  The  thirteenth  of  September,  the  day 
fixed  for  the  execution  of  the  plot,  was  set  apart  by  the  assembly 
as  an  anniversary  thanksgiving.  The  news  of  this  affair  being 
transmitted  to  the  king,  he  sent  orders  for  the  building  of  a  fort 


Hening,  ii.  188.  f  Ibid.,  ii,  204.  J  Beverley,  B.  i.  61. 

(263) 


264  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLONY  AND 

at  Jamestown;  but  the  Virginians  thinking  that  the  danger  had 
blown  over,  only  erected  a  battery  of  some  small  pieces  of 
cannon. 

The  Indian  chief  of  Potomac,  and  other  northern  werowances 
and  mangais,  were  required  to  give  hostages  of  their  children 
and  others,  who  were  to  be  kindly  treated  and  instructed  in  Eng 
lish,  as  far  as  practicable.  Measures  were  taken  to  bring  Indian 
murderers  to  justice,  especially  the  hostile  Doeggs.  The  chief 
of  Potomac  was  inhibited  from  holding  any  matchacomico,  or 
council,  with  any  strange  tribe,  before  the  delivery  of  host 
ages. 

John  Bland,  a  London  merchant,  and  brother  of  Thcodoric 
Bland,  a  leading  man  in  Virginia,  received  the  thanks  of  the 
assembly  for  goods  advanced  for  the  use  of  the  colony.  In  this 
year,  1663,  a  conference  was  held,  by  royal  command,  at  Mr. 
Aleston's,  at  Wicocomico,  in  Virginia,  in  May,  by  commissioners 
appointed  by  Governor  Berkley,  and  Charles  Calvert,  Gover 
nor  of  Maryland,  for  the  purpose  of  devising  means  of  improv 
ing  the  staple  of  tobacco.  The  Virginia  commissioners  were 
Thomas  Ludwell,  secretary,  Richard  Lee,  John  Carter,  Robert 
Smith,  and  Henry  Corbin.  The  Maryland  commissioners  were 
Philip  Calvert,  Henry  Sewall,  secretary,  Edward  Koydes,  and 
Henry  Coursey.  They  recommended  that  in  the  year  1664  no 
tobacco  should  be  planted  after  the  twentieth  day  of  June. 

In  1665  further  acts  were  passed  to  prevent  the  depredations 
of  Indians.  If  a  white  should  be  murdered,  the  nearest  Indian 
town  was  held  responsible ;  the  Indian  werowances  to  bo  in  fu 
ture  appointed  by  the  governor ;  colonists  to  go  armed  to  church, 
court,  and  other  public  meetings ;  Indians  south  of  the  James  River, 
not  to  cross  a  line  extending  from  the  head  of  Blackwater  River 
to  the  Appomattox  Indian  town,  (probably  where  Petersburg 
now  stands,)  and  thence  across  to  the  Mannakin  town. 

In  the  year  1665  Charles  the  Second,  instigated  by  France, 
engaged  in  an  unprovoked  war  with  Holland,  the  object  being 
mainly  to  strike  a  blow  at  the  Protestant  interest.*  During  the 
same  year  the  plague  raged  in  London,  the  victims  for  some  time 

*  Evelyn's  Diary,  i.  391. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIEGINIA.  265 

perishing  at  the  rate  of  ten  thousand  weekly.  In  this  fatal  year 
Secretary  Bcnriet,  a  plausible  man,  of  good  address,  but  mediocre 
capacity,  was  made  Lord  Arlington.  The  English  monopolizing 
laws  now  reduced  the  condition  of  the  planters  of  Virginia  so 
low,  that  they  proposed  to  discontinue  the  planting  of  tobacco  for 
one  year,  so  as  to  enhance  the  price  of  it ;  and  an  act  was  passed 
preparatory  to  a  "stint  or  cessation."  To  render  this  remedy 
effectual,  it  appeared  necessary  to  obtain  the  co-operation  of  the 
colonies  of  Maryland  and  North  Carolina.  For  some  years  it 
was  found  impracticable  to  effect  this  object,  and  in  the  mean 
time,  in  order  to  prevent  Virginia  from  receiving  any  supplies, 
save  those  sent  from  England,  and  also  for  defence  against  the 
Dutch,  the  king  sent  directions  that  forts  should  be  built  on  the 
rivers,  and  that  ships  should  lie  under  them,  and  that  those  places 
alone  should  be  ports  of  trade.  These  instructions  were  obeyed 
for  a  year ;  breast-works  were  erected  at  places  appointed  by  the 
assembly,  and  the  shipping  lay  at  them  for  a  time ;  but  the  great 
fire  and  plague  occurring  in  London  at  this  juncture,  rendered 
their  supplies  very  uncertain,  and  the  fear  of  the  plague  being 
brought  over  with  the  goods  imported,  prevented  the  people  from 
living  at  those  ports,  and  thus  all  were  again  at  liberty.* 

The  Virginia  planters  supposed  that  by  lessening  the  quantity 
of  tobacco,  called  a  "stint,"  they  would  improve  the  quality  and 
enhance  the 'price  of  it.  The  merchants,  to  whom  the  planters 
were  indebted,  were  favorable  to  a  stint;  but  although  they  would 
certainly  be  benefited  by  its  operation,  yet  they  were  apparently 
not  willing  to  abate  any  part  of  their  claims  against  their  debtors. 
The  nett  proceeds  derived  from  the  sale  of  the  staple  were  barely 
enough  to  furnish  the  planters  with  clothing.  As  some  remedy 
for  this  state  of  things,  the  legislature  ordered  looms  and  work 
houses  to  be  set  in  operation  at  the  charge  of  each  county. 
Bounties  were  again  offered  for  encouragement  of  the  raising  of 
silk,  and  measures  were  adopted  to  foster  the  culture  of  flax  and 
hemp. 

In  the  year  1666,  while  London  was  desolated  by  fire  and  de 
populated  by  the  plague,  war  added  her  horrors.  A  government 

*  Beverley,  B.  i.  63. 


266  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

imbecile  and  corrupt,  a  court  frivolous  and  debauched,  darkened 
the  shadows  of  the  gloomy  picture.  The  English -colonies  shared 
in  the  miseries  of  the  mother  country.  It  is  remarkable  that  a 
book  published  in  England  many  years  before  contained  a  pre 
diction  that  the  year  1666  would  be  the  very  climax  of  public 
disaster.*  It  was  not  unreasonable  to  conclude,  that  the  wicked 
ness  of  men  had  been  directly  avenged  by  a  visitation  of  Heaven. 
Evelynf  says:  " These  judgments  we  highly  deserved  for  our 
prodigious  ingratitude,  burning  lusts,  dissolute  court,  profane  and 
abominable  lives." 

The  assembly  met  in  September,  1664,  by  prorogation  from 
the  preceding  September — a  compendious  mode  of  dispensing 
with  the  popular  election.  However,  in  act  vi.,  the  assembly,  de 
claring  that  the  principal  end  of  their  coming  together  was  to 
provide  for  the  people's  safety,  and  to  redress  their  grievances, 
ordered  that  in  future  due  notice  of  the  convening  of  the  bur 
gesses  should  be  given  to  the  people  by  publication  in  the  parish 
churches,  so  that  they  may  then  make  known  their  grievances. 
The  act  for  a  "cessation"  passed  in  June,  1666,  commanded  that 
no  tobacco  should  be  planted  between  the  1st  of  February,  1667, 
and  the  1st  of  February,  1668. J  The  governor  of  Carolina  at 
this  time,  and  the  first  governor  of  that  province,  was  William 
Drummond,  a  native  of  Scotland. 

Similar  acts  were  passed  by  Maryland  and  Carolina,  but  the 
latter  province,  owing  to  trouble  with  the  Indians,  not  having 
given  formal  notice  by  the  day  agreed  upon,  Maryland  availed 
herself  of  the  informality  to  decline  enforcing  the  cessation. 
Thus,  as  has  been  before  mentioned,  action  wras  long  delayed. 
Virginia,  nevertheless,  adhering  to  the  scheme,  again,  at  the  ses 
sion  of  October  of  the  same  year,  confirmed  her  former  act,  and 
by  dint  of  negotiation  it  was  finally  consummated. 


*  Pepy's  Diary,  ii.  j  Diary,  ii.  17. 

J  The  commissioners  appointed  to  treat  with  Maryland  and  Carolina  on  this 
subject  were,  of  the  council,  Thomas  Ludwell,  Esq.,  secretary  of  Virginia,  Ma- 
jor-General  Robert  Smith,  and  Major-General  Richard  Bennet;  and  of  the  bur 
gesses,  Robert.  Wynne,  speaker,  Colonel  Nich.  Spencer,  Captain  Daniel  Parke, 
Captain  Joseph  Bridger,  Captain  Peter  Jennings,  and  Mr.  Thomas  Ballard. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  267 

The  County  of  Stafford  is  mentioned  in  this  year  for  the  first 
time,  arid  it  was  now  represented  by  a  burgess,  Colonel  Henry 
Mees. 

The  petition  of  William  Drum,  probably  a  misprint  for  Drum- 
mond,  concerning  a  grant  of  land  in  what  was  commonly  called 
"the  governor's  land,"  in  the  main  reserve,  was  rejected,  the 
house  being  of  opinion  that  such  grants  appertained  only  to  the 
governor  and  council.  The  assembly  asserted  their  right  to 
assess  the  levy  without  the  interposition  of  the  governor  and 
council;  and  Sir  William  Berkley  assented  to  this  decision;  the 
sincerity  of  the  terms  in  which  he  expressed  his  willing  acquies 
cence  may  well  be  doubted. 

The  Dutch  about  this  time  appear  to  have  surprised  several 
vessels,  laden  with  tobacco,  in  the  James  River;  and  it  was  de 
termined  to  erect  several  forts :  one  on  James  River,  one  on  Nan- 
semond  River,  one  on  York  River  at  Tindall's  Point,  (now  Glou 
cester  Point,)  one  on  the  Rappahannock  at  Corotoman,  and  one 
on  the  Potomac  at  Yeohocomico. 

It  was  declared  that  baptism  did  not  exempt  slaves  from  bond 
age.  As  the  reducing  of  negroes  to  slavery  was  justified  on  the 
ground  that  they  were  heathens,  so  the  opinion  prevailed  among 
some  that  when  they  ceased  to  be  heathens  they  were,  by  the 
very  fact,  released  from  slavery. 

In  1668,  peace  being  restored,  vessels  were  relieved  from  the 
necessity  of  anchoring  under  the  forts.  The  war  with  the  Dutch, 
unjustly  commenced  by  the  English,  ended  very  disgracefully  to 
them.  A  day  of  humiliation  was  appointed,  and  all  persons 
were  required  to  attend  the  parish  churches,  "with  fasting  and 
prayers,  to  implore  God's  mercy,  and  deprecate  the  evils  justly 
impending  over  us." 

It  was  ordered  that  work-houses  should  be  built  in  each  county, 
for  the  instruction  of  poor  children  in  spinning,  weaving,  and 
other  useful  occupations  and  trades.  An  act  was  passed  for  the 
"  suppressing  and  restraint  of  the  exhorbitant  number  of  ordinaries 
and  tippling  houses." 

The  Indians  were  required  to  bring  in  one  hundred  and  forty- 
five  wolves'  heads  annually,  the  reward  for  each  head  being  one 


268  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

hundred  pounds  of  tobacco  and  cask.  To  prevent  fraud,  the  ears 
were  cut  off  from  the  heads  of  the  wolves.* 

The  elective  franchise  was  restricted,  in  1670,  to  freeholders 
and  housekeepers. 

Sir  William  Berkley  sent  out  a  company  of  fourteen  English 
and  as  many  Indians,  under  Captain  Henry  Batt,  to  explore  the 
country  to  the  west.  Setting  out  from  the  Appomattox  River, 
in  seven  days  they  reached  the  foot  of  the  mountains.  The  first 
ridge  was  not  found  very  high  or  steep,  but  after  crossing  that 
they  encountered  others  that  seemed  to  touch  the  clouds,  and  so 
steep  that  in  a  day's  march  they  could  not  advance  more  than 
three  miles.  They  came  upon  extensive  valleys  of  luxuriant  ver 
dure,  abounding  with  turkeys,  deer,  elk,  and  buffalo,  gentle  and, 
as  yet,  undisturbed  by  the  fear  of  man.  Grapes  were  seen  of  the 
size  of  plums.  After  crossing  the  mountains  they  discovered  a 
charming  level  country,  and  a  rivulet  that  flowed  westward.  Fol 
lowing  this  for  some  days,  they  reached  old  fields  and  cabins  re 
cently  occupied  by  the  natives;  in  these  Batt  left  toys.  Not  far 
from  the  cabins,  at  some  marshes,  the  Indian  guides  halted  and 
refused  to  go  any  farther,  saying  that  not  far  off  dwelt  a  powerful 


*  The  tributary  Indians  of  Virginia  at  this  period  were,  in 

Bowmen,  or  Hunters. 
Nansemond  County  .......................................................  .  ..........  45 

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  fl 


(  Men  Ileyricks  .........................................   50 

Charles  City  County....  -I  Nottoways,  two  towns  ...............................   00 

(  Appamattox  ..........................................  50 


f  Paniunkeys  ............................................   50 

I  Chickahominies  ......................................  60 

New  Kent  County  ......  -I  Mattaponeys  ..........................................   20 

I  Rappahannocks  .......................................  30 

[Totas-Chees  ...........................................  40 

Gloucester  ..................  Chiskoyackes  .............................................   15 

fPortobaccoes  .........................................  60 

Rappahanock  ............  -I  Nanzcattico        ")  -n 

(  Mattehatique  /  " 

Northumberland  Co  .....  Wiekacomico  .............................................  70 

Westmoreland  County...Appomattox  ...........................  .  .................   10 

Total..  ...725 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  269 

tribe,  that  never  suffered  strangers,  who  discovered  their  towns, 
to  escape.  Batt  was  therefore  reluctantly  compelled  to  return. 
Upon  receiving  his  report,  Sir  William  Berkley  resolved  to  make 
an  exploration  himself,  but  his  intention  was  frustrated  by  the 
troubles  that  shortly  after  fell  upon  the  country.*  Beverley 
alone  gives  an  account  of  Batt's  explorations,  leaving  the  date 
of  it  uncertain  between  1666  and  1676.  Burk  dates  it  in  1667. 

The  Algonquin  tribes  are  said  to  have  been  included  within 
lines  extending  from  Cape  Hatteras  to  the  head  of  the  Missis 
sippi,  and  thence  eastward  to  the  coast  north  of  Newfoundland,  and 
thence  along  the  Atlantic  shore  to  the  cape  first  mentioned,  f 
The  bulk  of  the  Indians  within  this  triangle  spoke  various  dia 
lects  of  the  same  generic  language. 

The  thirty  tribes  of  Indians  comprised  within  the  Powhatan 
confederacy,  south  of  the  Potomac,  at  the  time  of  the  landing  at 
Jamestown,  are  conjecturally  estimated  at  about  eight  thousand 
souls,  being  one  to  the  square  mile.J  The  population  of  the 
mountain  country  was  probably  sparser  than  that  of  the  country 
east  of  the  mountains.  The  number  of  square  miles  in  Virginia 
at  the  present  day  is  upwards  of  sixty-five  thousand.  The  num-' 
ber  of  warriors  belonging  to  the  tribes  tributary  to  Virginia  in  1669, 
as  has  been  before  mentioned,  was  seven  hundred  and  twenty-five, 
and  their  proportion  to  the  entire  population  being  reckoned  as 
three  to  ten,  their  aggregate  number  was  about  twenty-four  hun 
dred.  Thus  in  about  sixty  years  the  diminution  of  their  numbers 
amounted  to  about  five  thousand  six  hundred;  of  these,  part  had 
perished  from  disease,  exposure,  famine,  and  war;  the  rest  were 
driven  back  into  the  wilderness. 

In  the  year  1670  complaints  were  made  to  the  general  court  by 
members  of  the  council  and  others,  being  gentlemen,  of  the  coun 
ties  of  York,  Gloucester,  and  Middlesex,  representing  their  ap 
prehensions  of  danger  from  the  great  number  of  felons,  and  other 
desperate  villains,  sent  hither  from  the  prisons  of  England. 
Masters  of  vessels  were  prohibited  from  landing  any  such  con 
victs  or  jail-birds.  In  1671  Captain  Bristow  and  Captain  Walker 


*  Beverley,  B.  i.  64.  f  P.  W.  Leland,  in  Hist.  Mag.,  iii.  41. 

J  Jefferson's  Notes  on  Virginia,  97;  Hening,  ii.  274. 


270  ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA. 

were  required  to  give  security  in  the  sum  of  one  million  pounds 
of  tobacco  and  cask,  that  Mr.  Nevett  should  send  out  the  New 
gate-birds  within  two  months.  Mr.  Jefferson*  has  made  the  fol 
lowing  remark:  "The  malefactors  sent  to  America  were  not  suf 
ficient  in  number  to  merit  enumeration  as  one  class  out  of  three 
which  peopled  America.  It  was  at  a  late  period  of  their  history 
that  the  practice  began.  I  have  no  book  by  me  which  enables 
me  to  point  out  the  date  of  its  commencement ;  but  I  do  not  think 
the  whole  number  sent  would  amount  to  two  thousand."  And  he 
supposed  that  they  and  their  descendants  did  not,  in  1786,  ex 
ceed  four  thousand,  "which  is  little  more  than  one-thousandth 
part  of  the  whole  inhabitants."  Mr.  Jefferson  appears  to  have 
been  mistaken  in  his  opinion,  that  malefactors  were  not  sent  over 
until  a  late  period  in  the  annals  of  Virginia;  and  he  probably 
underrated  the  number  of  their  descendants. 

The  acts  prohibiting  the  exportation  of  wool,  hides,  and  iron, 
were  repealed,  and  every  one  was  "permitted  to  make  the  best  he 
can  of  his  own  commodity."  The  preamble  to  the  act  for  the 
naturalization  of  foreigners  declares,  that  "nothing  can  tend 
more  to  the  advancement  of  a  new  plantation,  either  to  its  defence 
or  prosperity,  nor  nothing  more  add  to  the  glory  of  a  prince,  than 
being  a  gracious  master  of  many  subjects;  nor  any  better  way  to 
produce  those  effects  than  the  inviting  of  people  of  other  nations 
to  reside  among  us  by  communication  of  privileges,  "f 

In  1672  the  assembly  provided  for  the  defence  of  the  country 
by  rebuilding  and  repairing  of  forts.  Repeated  and  vigorous 
laws  were  enacted  providing  for  the  apprehension  of  runaways; 
rewards  were  offered  the  Indians  for  apprehending  them.  A 
negro  slave  was  valued  at  four  thousand  five  hundred  pounds  of 
tobacco ;  an  Indian  slave  at  three  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco. 


*  Writings  of  Jefferson,  i.  405.  f  Hening,  ii.  289. 


CHAPTER    XXX. 


Governor  Berkley's  Reply  to  Inquiries  of  the  Lords  Commissioners  of  Planta 
tions  —  Government  of  Virginia  —  Militia  —  Forts  —  Indians  —  Boundary  —  Com 
modities  —  Population  —  Health  —  Trade  —  Restrictions  on  it  —  Governor's  Salary 
—  Quit-rents  —  Parishes  —  Free  Schools,  and  Printing. 

THE  lords  commissioners  of  foreign  plantations,  in  1670,  were 
Arlington,  Ashley,  Richard  George  W.  Alington,  T.  Clifford,  S. 
Trevor,  Orlando  Bridgeman,  C.  S.  Sandwich,  president,  Thomas 
Grey,  -  Titus,  A.  Broucher,  H.  Slingsby,  secretary,  Hum. 
Winch,  and  Edmund  Waller.  These,  during  this  year,  pro 
pounded  inquiries  to  Sir  William  Berkley,  governor,  respecting 
the  state  and  condition  of  Virginia  ;  and  his  answers  made  in  the 
year  following  present  a  satisfactory  statistical  account  of  the  co 
lony.  The  executive  consisted  of  a  governor  and  sixteen  coun 
cillors,  commissioned  by  the  king,  to  determine  all  causes  above 
fifteen  pounds;  causes  of  less  amount  were  tried  by  county 
courts,  of  which  there  were  twenty.  The  assembly  met  every 
year,  composed  of  two  burgesses  from  each  county.  Appeals  lay 
to  the  assembly;  and  this  body  levied  the  taxes.  (This  power 
was  delegated  for  sonic  years  to  the  executive.)  The  legislative 
and  executive  powers  rested  in  the  governor,  council,  assembly, 
and  subordinate  officers.  The  secretary  of  the  colony  sent  the 
acts  of  the  assembly  to  the  lord  chancellor,  or  one  of  the  princi 
pal  secretaries  of  state.  All  freemen  were  bound  to  muster 
monthly  in  their  own  counties;  the  force  of  the  colony  amounted 
to  upwards  of  eight  thousand  horsemen.  There  were  five  forts: 
two  on  the  James,  and  one  on  each  of  the  three  rivers,  Rappahan- 
nock,  York,  and  Potomac;  the  number  of  cannon  was  thirty. 
His  majesty,  during  the  late  Dutch  war,  had  sent  over  thirty 
more,  but  the  most  of  them  were  lost  at  sea.  The  Indians  were 
in  perfect  subjection.  The  eastern  boundary  of  Virginia,  on  the 
sea-coast,  had  been  reduced  from  ten  degrees  to  half  of  one  de- 

(271) 


272  IIISTOKY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

greo.  Tobacco  was  the  only  commodity  of  any  great  value; 
exotic  mulberry-trees  had  been  planted,  and  attempts  made  to 
manufacture  silk.  There  was  plenty  of  timber ;  of  iron  ore  but 
little  discovered.  The  whole  population  was  forty  thousand;  of 
which  two  thousand  were  negro  slaves,  and  six  thousand  white 
servants.  (The  negroes  had  increased  one  hundredfold  in  fifty 
years,  since  1619,  when  the  first  were  imported.)  The  average 
annual  importation  of  servants  was  about  fifteen  hundred;  most 
of  them  English,  a  few  Scotch,  fewer  Irish ;  and  not  more  than 
two  or  three  ships  with  negroes  in  seven  years.  New  plantations 
were  found  sickly,  and  in  such  four-fifths  of  the  new  settlers  died. 
Eighty  vessels  arrived  yearly  from  England  and  Ireland  for  to 
bacco;  a  few  small  coasters  came  from  New  England.  Virginia 
had  not  more  than  two  vessels  of  her  own,  and  those  not  over 
twenty  tons.  Sir  William  Berkley  complains  bitterly  of  the  act 
of  parliament  restricting  the  commerce  of  Virginia  to  the  British 
kingdom — a  policy  injurious  to  both  parties;  and  he  adds  that 
"this  is  the  cause  why  no  small  or  great  vessels  are  built  here; 
for  we  are  most  obedient  to  all  laws,  while  the  New  England  men 
break  through  and  trade  to  any  place  that  their  interest  leads 
them  to."  Sir  William  gave  it  as  his  opinion,  that  nothing  could 
improve  the  trade  of  Virginia,  unless  she  was  allowed  to  export 
her  staves,  timber,  and  corn  to  other  places  besides  the  king's  do 
minions.  The  only  duty  levied  was  that  of  two  shillings  on  every 
hogshead  of  tobacco  exported;  the  exportation  of  the  year  1GT1 
amounting  to  fifteen  thousand  hogsheads.  Out  of  this  revenue 
the  king  allowed  the  governor  one  thousand  pounds,  to  which 
the  assembly  added  two  hundred  more,  making  twelve  hundred 
pounds,  which  was  four-fifths  of  the  entire  customs  revenue  for 
that  year.  Yet  he  complains:  "I  can  (knowingly  affirm,  that 
there  is  no  government  of  ten  years'  settlement  but  has  thrice  as 
much  allowed  him.  But  I  am  supported  by  my  hopes,  that  his 
gracious  majesty  will  one  day  consider  me." 

The  king  had  no  revenue  in  the  colony  except  quit-rents ;  these 
were  not  of  much  value,  and  the  king  gave  them  to  Colonel  Henry 
Norwood.  Every  man  instructed  his  children  at  home  according 
to  his  ability.  "There  were  forty-eight  parishes,  and  our  minis 
ters  are  well  paid;  by  my  consent  should  be  better,  if  they  would 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  273 

pray  oftener,  and  preach  less.  But  as  of  all  other  commodities, 
so  of  this,  the  worst  are  sent  us ;  and  we  have  had  few  that  we 
could  boast  of,  since  Cromwell's  tyranny  drove  divers  men  hither. 
But  I  thank  God  there  are  no  free  schools,  nor  printing,  and  I 
hope  we  shall  not  have  these  hundred  years;  for  learning  has 
brought  disobedience  into  the  world,  and  printing  has  divulged 
them  and  libels  against  the  best  governments.  God  keep  us 
from  both!"* 

*  Hening,  ii.  511. 

18 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 

167'3-167'£5. 

Acts  of  Assembly — The  Northern  Neck — Earl  of  Arlington — Threatened  Revolt 
in  1674 — Agents  sent  to  England  to  solicit  a  Revocation  of  the  Grants  of  Ter 
ritory  and  to  obtain  a  Charter — The  effort  fruitless. 

THE  acts  of  a  session  were  headed  as  follows:  "At  a  Grand 
Assembly  holden  at  James  City,  by  prorogation  from  the  24th 
day  of  September,  1672,  to  the  20th  of  October,  Annoque  Regni 
Regis  Caroli  Secundi  Dei  Gratia  Anglise,  Scotire,  Franciee  et 
Hibernise,  Regis,  fidei  Defensoris,  &c.,  Anno  Domini  1673. 
To  the  glory  of  Almighty  God  and  public  weal,  of  this  his  ma 
jesty's  colony  of  Virginia,  were  enacted  as  followeth." 

Provision  was  made  during  this  year  for  a  supply  of  arms  and 
ammunition.  The  commissioners  appointed  for  determining  the 
boundaries  of  the  Counties  of  Northumberland  and  Lancaster 
were  Colonel  John  Washington,  Captain  John  Lee,  Captain  Wil 
liam  Traverse,  William  Mosely,  and  Robert  Beverley. 

The  restoration,  that  worst  of  all  governments,  re-established 
an  arbitrary  and  oppressive  administration  in  Virginia  in  church 
and  state;  and  as  soon  as  reinstated,  tyranny,  confident  of  its 
power,  rioted  in  wanton  and  unbridled  license. 

The  grant  which  had  been  made  by  Charles  the  Second  in  the 
first  year  of  his  reign,  dated  at  St.  Germain  en  Laye,  of  the 
Northern  Neck,  including  four  counties  and  a  half,  to  Lord  Hop- 
ton,  the  Earl  of  St.  Albans,  Lord  Culpepper,  etc.,  was  surren 
dered  ,  in  May,  1671,  to  the  crown,  and  new  letters-patent  were 
issued,  with  some  alterations,  to  the  Earl  of  St.  Albans,  Lord 
Berkley,  Sir  William  Morton,  and  others, — to  hold  the  same 
forever,  paying  annually  the  quit-rent  of  six  pounds  thirteen 
shillings  and  four  pence  to  his  majesty  and  his  successors.  In 
February,  1673,  the  king  granted  to  the  Earl  of  Arlington  and 
Thomas,  Lord  Culpepper,  the  entire  territory  of  Virginia,  not 
merely  the  wild  lands,  but  private  plantations  long  settled  and 
(274) 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  275 

improved,  for  the  term  of  thirty-one  years,  at  the  yearly  rent  of 
forty  shillings.  The  patents  entitled  them  to  all  rents  and  es 
cheats,  with  power  to  convey  all  vacant  lands,  nominate  sheriffs, 
escheators,  surveyors,  etc.,  present  to  all  churches  and  endow 
them  with  lands,  to  form  counties,  parishes,  etc.  Although  the 
grants  to  these  noblemen  were  limited  to  a  term  of  years,  yet 
they  were  preposterously  and  illegally  authorized  to  make  convey 
ances  in  fee  simple.* 

Henry  Bennet,  Earl  of  Arlington,  said  to  have  been  the  best  bred 
person  at  court,  like  his  master,  as  far  as  he  had  any  pretension 
whatever  to  religion,  was  a  disguised  Papist.  He  became  allied 
to  the  monarch  as  father-in-law  to  the  first  Duke  of  Grafton,  the 
king's  son  by  Lady  Castlemaine.  Arlington  had  received,  while 
fighting  on  the  royal  side  in  the  civil  war,  a  wound  on  the  nose, 
the  scar  of  which  was  covered  with  a  black  patch.  Barbara  Vil- 
liers,  only  daughter  of  William,  Viscount  Grandison,  and  wife  of 
Roger  Palmer,  created  Earl  of  Castlemaine  in  1661,  distinguished 
for  her  beauty  and  her  profligacy,  becoming  mistress  to  Charles 
at  his  restoration,  was  made,  in  16TO,  Duchess  of  Cleveland. 
Henry  Bennet  was  created  Baron  of  Arlington  in  1663,  and  Vis 
count  Hetford  and  Earl  of  Arlington  in  1672.  He  was  also 
Knight  of  the  Garter  and  chamberlain  to  the  king,  his  chief 
favorite,  companion  in  profligate  pleasure,  and  political  adviser. 
He  and  Culpepper  were  members  of  the  commission  of  trade  and 
plantations. 

The  Virginians  grew  so  impatient  under  their  accumulated 
grievances  that  a  revolt  was  near  bursting  forth  in  1674,  but  no 
person  of  note  taking  the  lead,  it  was  suppressed  by  the  advice  of 
"some  discreet  persons,"  and  the  insurgent's  were  persuaded  to 
disperse  in  compliance  with  the  governor's  proclamation.  The 
movement  was  not  entirely  ineffectual,  for  justices  of  the  peace 
were  prohibited  from  levying  any  more  taxes  for  their  own  emolu 
ment/)-  The  assembly  determined  to  make  an  humble  address 
"to  his  sacred  majesty,"  praying  for  a  revocation  of  the  fore- 
mentioned  grants  of  her  territory,  and  for  a  confirmation  of  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  the  colony.  Francis  Morrison,  Thomas 


Hening,  ii.  519.  f  Ibid.,  ii.  315. 


276  ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA. 

Ludwell,  and  Robert  Smith  were  appointed  agents  to  visit  Eng 
land  and  lay  their  complaints  before  the  king ;  and  their  expenses 
were  provided  for  by  onerous  taxes,  which  fell  heaviest  on  the 
poorer  class  of  people.  These  expenses  included  douceurs  to  be 
given  to  courtiers;  for  without  money  nothing  could  be  effected 
at  the  venal  court  of  Charles  the  Second.*  Besides  the  revoca 
tion  of  the  patents,  the  Virginia  agents  were  instructed  to  en 
deavor  to  obtain  a  new  charter  for  the  colony.  They  prayed 
"that  Virginia  shall  no  more  be  transferred  in  parcels  to  indivi 
duals,  but  may  remain  forever  dependent  on  the  crown  of  Eng 
land;  that  the  public  officers  should  be  obliged  to  reside  within 
the  colony;  that  no  tax  shall  be  laid  on  the  inhabitants  except 
by  the  assembly."  This  petition  affords  a  curious  commentary 
on  the  panegyrics  then  but  recently  lavished  by  "his  majesty's 
most  loyal  colony"  upon  his  "most  sacred  majesty,"  who  repaid 
their  fervid  loyalty  by  an  unrelenting  system  of  oppression.  The 
negotiations  were  long,  and  display  evidence  of  signal  diplomatic 
ability,  together  with  elevated  and  patriotic  views  of  colonial 
rights  and  constitutional  freedom.  After  many  evasions  and 
much  delay,  the  mission  eventually  proved  fruitless. f  Applica 
tion  was  also  made  to  Secretary  Coventry  to  secure  the  place  of 
governor  to  Sir  William  Berkley  for  life. 

*  Account  of  Bacon's  Rebellion  in  Ya.  Gazette,  1766. 
f  Hening,  ii.  518,  531. 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

16-75. 

The  Eeverend  Morgan  Godwyn's  Letter  describing  Condition  of  the  Church  in 

Virginia. 

THE  Bishop  of  Winchester,  during  the  whole  negotiation,  lent 
his  assistance  to  the  agents;  he  also  brought  to  their  notice  a 
libel  which  had  been  published  against  all  the  Anglo-American 
plantations,  especially  Virginia.  It  was  written  by  the  Rev. 
Morgan  Godwyn,  who  had  served  some  time  in  Virginia;  and  he 
had  given  a  copy  of  it  to  each  of  the  bishops.  The  agents  make 
mention  of  him  as  "the  fellow,"  and  "the  inconsiderable  wretch." 
They  sent  a  copy  of  it  to  Virginia,  thinking  it  necessary  that  a 
reply  should  be  prepared,  and  addressed  to  the  Bishop  of  Win 
chester  and  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  It  is  probable  that 
this  pamphlet  is  no  longer  extant;  but  the  character  of  its  con 
tents  may  be  inferred  from  a  letter  addressed  by  the  author  to 
Sir  William  Berkley,  and  appended  to  a  pamphlet  published  by 
him  in  1680,  entitled  the  "Negro's  and  Indian's  Advocate." 
Indeed  this  letter  may  have  been  itself  the  libellous  pamphlet 
circulated  in  England  in  16T4,  and  referred  to  by  the  Virginia 
agents.  In  this  letter  Godwyn  gives  the  following  account  of  the 
state  of  religion,  as  it  was  in  that  province  some  time  before  the 
late  rebellion,  i.e.  Bacon's,  which  occurred  in  1G76.  Godwyn 
acknowledges  that  Berkley  had,  "  as  a  tender  father,  nourished 
and  preserved  Virginia  in  her  infancy  and  nonage.  But  as  our 
blessed  Lord,"  he  reminds  him,  "once  said  to  the  young  man  in 
the  gospel,  'Yet  lackest  thou  one  thing;'  so,"  he  adds,  "may  we, 
and  I  fear  too  truly,  say  of  Virginia,  that  there  is  one  thing,  the 
propagation  arid  establishing  of  religion  in  her,  wanting."  And 
this  he  essays  to  prove  in  various  ways:  saying  that  "the  minis 
ters  are  most  miserably  handled  by  their  plebeian  juntos,  the  ves 
tries,  to  whom  the  hiring  (that  is  the  usual  word  there)  and  ad- 

(2T7) 


Z<8  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

mission  of  ministers  is  solely  left.  And  there  being  no  law 
obliging  them  to  any  more  than  to  procure  a  lay  reader,  (to  be  ob 
tained  at  a  very  moderate  rate,)  they  either  resolve  to  have  none 
at  all,  or  reduce  them  to  their  own  terms;  that  is,  to  use  them 
how  they  please,  pay  them  what  they  list,  and  to  discard  them 
whensoever  they  have  a  mind  to  it.  And  this  is  the  recompense 
of  their  leaving  their  hopes  in  England,  (far  more  considerable 
to  the  meanest  curate  than  what  can  possibly  be  apprehended 
there,)  together  with  the  friends  and  relations  and  their  native 
soil,  to  venture  their  lives  into  those  parts  among  strangers  and 
enemies  to  their  profession,  who  look  upon  them  as  a  burden;  as 
being  with  their  families  (where  they  have  any)  to  be  supported 
out  of  their  labor.  So  that  I  dare  boldly  aver  that  our  dis 
couragements  there  are  much  greater  than  ever  they  were  here  in 
England  under  the  usurper."  After  citing  various  evidences  in 
support  of  these  statements,  among  "which  he  specifies  the  hiring 
of  the  clergy  from  year  to  year,  and  compelling  them  to  accept 
of  parishes  at  under-rates,  Godwyn  thus  proceeds:  "I  would  not 
be  thought  to  reflect  herein  upon  your  excellency,  who  have 
always  professed  great  tenderness  for  churchmen.  For,  alas! 
these  things  are  kept  from  your  ears;  nor  dare  they,  had  they 
opportunity,  acquaint  you  with  them,  for  fear  of  being  used 
worse.  And  there  being  no  superior  clergyman,  neither  in  coun 
cil  nor  any  place  of  authority,  for  them  to  address  their  com 
plaints  to,  and  by  his  means  have  their  grievances  brought  to 
your  excellency's  knowledge,  they  are  left  without  remedy. 
Again,  two-thirds  of  the  preachers  are  made  up  of  leaden  lay 
priests  of  the  vestry's  ordination;  and  are  both  the  shame  and 
grief  of  the  rightly  ordained  clergy  there.  Nothing  of  this  ever 
reaches  your  excellency's  ear;  these  hungry  patrons  knowing 
better  how  to  benefit  by  their  vices  than  by  the  virtues  of  the 
other."  And  here  Godwyn  cites  an  instance  of  a  writing-master, 
who  came  into  Virginia,  professing  to  be  a  doctor  in  divinity, 
showing  feigned  letters  of  orders,  and  under  different  names  con 
tinuing  in  various  places  to  carry  on  his  work  of  fraud.  He 
states  also  that  owing  to  a  law  of  the  colony,  which  enacted  that 
four  years'  servitude  should  be  the  penalty  exacted  of  any  one  who 
permitted  himself  to  be  sent  thither  free  of  charge, 'some  of  the 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  279 

clergy,  through  ignorance  of  the  law,  were  left  thereby  under  the 
mastery  of  persons  who  had  given  them  the  means  of  gratuitous 
transport;  and  that  they  could  only  escape  from  such  bondage 
by  paying  a  ransom  four  or  five  times  as  large  as  that  to  which 
the  expenses  of  their  passage  would  have  amounted.  Moreover, 
he  describes  the  parishes  as  extending,  some  of  them,  sixty  or 
seventy  miles  in  length,  and  lying  void  for  many  years  together, 
to  save  charges.  Jamestown,  he  distinctly  states,  had  been  left, 
with  short  intervals,  in  this  destitute  condition  for  twenty  years. 
"Laymen,"  he  adds,  "were  allowed  to  usurp  the  office  of  minis 
ters,  and  deacons  to  undermine  and  thrust  out  presbyters;  in  a 
word,  all  things  concerning  the  church  and  religion  were  left  to 
the  mercy  of  the  people."  And,  last  of  all:  "To  propagate 
Christianity  among  the  heathen  —  whether  natives  or  slaves 
brought  from  other  parts — although  (as  must  piously  be  sup 
posed)  it  were  the  only  end  of  God's  discovering  those  countries 
to  us,  yet  is  that  looked  upon  by  our  new  race  of  Christians,  so 
idle  and  ridiculous,  so  utterly  needless  and  unnecessary,  that  no 
man  can  forfeit  his  judgment  more  than  by  any  proposal  looking 
or  tending  that  way."  Such  is  the  Rev.  Mr.  Godwyn's  account 
of  the  state  of  religion  and  the  condition  of  the  clergy  in  Vir 
ginia  during  Sir  William  Berkley's  administration.* 

*  Anderson's  Hist,  of  Col.  Church,  first  edition,  ii.  558,  5C1. 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 


Lands  at  Greenspring  settled  on  Sir  William  Berkley  —  Indian  Incursions  — 
Force  put  under  command  of  Sir  Henry  Chicheley — Disbanded  by  Governor's 
Order — The  Long  Parliament  of  Virginia — Colonial  Grievances— Spirit  of  the 
Virginians — Elements  of  Disaffection. 

THE  lands  at  Greenspring,  near  Jamestown,  were  settled  during 
this  year  on  Sir  William  Berkley,  the  preamble  to  the  act  reciting 
among  his  merits,  "the  great  pains  he  hath  taken  and  hazards 
he  has  run,  even  of  his  life,  in  the  government  and  preservation 
of  the  country  from  many  attempts  of  the  Indians,  and  also  in 
preserving  us  in  our  due  allegiance  to  his  majesty's  royal  father 
of  blessed  memory,  and  his  now  most  sacred  majesty,  against  all 
attempts,  long  after  all  his  majesty's  other  dominions  were  sub 
jected  to  the  tyranny  of  the  late  usurpers;  and  also  seriously 
considering  that  the  said  Sir  "William  Berkley  hath  in  all  time 
of  his  government,  under  his  most  sacred  majesty  and  his  royal 
father,  made  it  his  only  care  to  keep  his  majesty's  country  in  a 
due  obedience  to  our  rightful  and  lawful  sovereign,"  etc.  The 
Rev.  John  Clayton,  (supposed  to  be  father  of  the  Virginia 
naturalist,)  writing  in  1688,  says:  "There  is  a  spring  at  my 
Lady  Berkley's  called  Green  Spring,  whereof  I  have  been  often 
told,  so  very  cold,  that  'tis  dangerous  drinking  thereof  in  summer 
time,  it  having  proved  of  fatal  consequence  to  several.  I  never 
tried  anything  of  what  nature  it  is  of." 

The  Indians  having  renewed  their  incursions  upon  the  frontier, 
the  people  petitioned  the  governor  for  protection.  Upon  the 
meeting  of  the  assembly,  war  was  declared  against  them  in  March, 
1676;  five  hundred  men  enlisted,  and  the  forts  garrisoned.  The 
force  raised  was  put  under  command  of  Sir  Henry  Chicheley, 
who  was  ordered  to  disarm  the  neighboring  Indians.  The  forts 
were  on  the  Potomac,  at  the  falls  of  the  Rappahannock,  (now 
Fredericksburg,)  on  the  Matapony,  on  the  Pamunkey,  at  the  falls 
(280) 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  281 

of  the  Appomattox,  (now  Petersburg,)  either  at  Major-General 
Wood's,  or  at  Fleets',  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  on  the  Black- 
water,  and  at  the  head  of  the  Nansemond.  Provision  was  made 
for  employing  Indians;  articles  of  martial  law  were  adopted; 
arms  to  be  carried  to  church;  the  governor  authorized  to  disband 
the  troops  when  expedient;  days  of  fasting  appointed.  The  In 
dians  having  been  emboldened  to  commit  depredations  and  mur 
ders  by  the  arms  and  ammunition  which  they  had  received,  con 
trary  to  law,  from  traders,  a  rigorous  act  was  passed  to  restrain 
such.  When  Sir  Henry  Chicheley  was  about  to  march  against 
the  Indians  he  was  ordered  by  Sir  William  Berkley  to  disband 
his  forces,  to  the  general  surprise  and  dissatisfaction  of  the  colony. 

There  had  now  been  no  election  of  burgesses  since  the  res 
toration,  in  1G60,  the  same  legislature  since  that  time  having 
continued,  to  hold  its  sessions  by  prorogation.  It  may  be  called 
the  Long  Parliament  of  Virginia  in  respect  to  its  duration. 
Among  its  members  may  be  mentioned  Colonel  William  Clay- 
borne,  Captain  William  Berkley,  Captain  Daniel  Parke,  Adju 
tant-General  Jennings,  Colonel  John  Washington,  Colonel  Ed 
ward  Scarburgh.  Robert  Wynne  was  made  speaker  shortly  after 
the  restoration,  and  so  continued  until  16T6,  when  he  was  suc 
ceeded  by  Augustine  Warner,  of  Gloucester.  James  Minge,  of 
Charles  City,  was  now  the  clerk,  and  had  been  for  several  years. 

The  price  of  tobacco  was  depressed  by  the  monopoly  of  the 
English  navigation  act,  and  the  cost  of  imported  goods,  enhanced. 
Duties  were  laid  on  the  commerce  between  one  colony  and 
another,  and  the  revenue  thence  derived  was  absorbed  by  the 
collecting  officers.  The  planters,  it  is  said,*  had  been  driven  to 
seek  a  remedy  by  destroying  the  crop  in  the  fields,  called  "  plant 
cutting."  The  endeavors  of  the  agents  in  England  to  obtain  a 
release  from  the  grants  to  the  lords  and  a  new  charter,  appeared 
abortive.  The  Indian  incursions  occurring  at  this  conjuncture, 
filled  the  measure  of  panic  and  exasperation.  Groaning  under 
exactions  and  grievances,  and  tortured  by  apprehensions,  the  Vir 
ginians  began  to  meditate  violent  measures  of  relief.  Many  of 
the  feudal  institutions  of  England,  the  hoary  buttresses  of  mediae- 

*  Account  of  Bacon's  Rebellion,  in  Va.  Gazette,  1766. 


282  ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA. 

val  power,  could  have  no  existence  in  America;  a  new  position 
gradually  moulded  a  new  system;  and  men  transplanted  to 
another  hemisphere  changed  opinions  as  well  as  clime.  Thus,  in 
Virginia,  the  most  Anglican,  oldest,  and  most  loyal  of  the  colo 
nies,  a  spirit  of  freedom  and  independence  infused  itself  into  the 
minds  of  the  planters.  The  ocean  that  separated  them  from 
England  lessened  the  terror  of  a  distant  sceptre.  The  supremacy 
of  law  being  less  firmly  established,  especially  in  the  frontier,  a 
wild  spirit  of  justice  had  arisen  which  was  apt  to  decline  into 
contempt  of  authority.  Added  to  this,  the  colony  contained 
malecontent  Croniwellian  soldiers  reduced  to  bondage,  perhaps 
some  of  them  men  of  heroic  soul,  victims  of  civil  war,  ripe  for 
revolt.  The  Indian  massacres  of  former  years  made  the  colonists 
sensitive  to  alarms,  and  impatient  of  indifference  to  their  cruel 
apprehensions,  which  can  hardly  be  realized  by  those  who  have 
never  been  subjected  to  such  dangers.  The  fatigues,  privations, 
hardships,  perils  of  a  pioneer  life,  imparted  energy;  the  wild 
magnificence  of  nature,  the  fresh  luxuriance  of  a  virgin  soil,  un- 
pruned  forests,  great  rivers  and  hoary  mountains,  these  contri 
buted  to  kindle  a  love  of  liberty  and  independence.  Moreover, 
the  disaffection  of  the  colonists  was  somewhat  emboldened  by 
the  civil  dissensions  of  England,  which  appeared  now  again  to 
threaten  the  stability  of  the  throne. 


CHAPTER    XXXIV. 

IGTo-lGT'Q. 

Three  Ominous  Presages — Siege  of  Piscataway — Colonel  John  Washington — In 
dian  Chiefs  put  to  death — Fort  evacuated — Indians  murder  Inhabitants  of 
Frontier — Servant  and  Overseer  of  Nathaniel  Bacon,  Jr.,  slain — The  People  take 
up  Arras — Bacon  chosen  Leader — His  Character — Solicits  Commission  from 
Berkley — He  proclaims  the  Insurgents  Rebels — Pursues  them — Planters  of 
Lower  Country  revolt — Forts  dismantled — Rebellion  not  the  Result  of  Bacon's 
Pique  or  Ambition — He  marches  into  the  Wilderness — Massacre  of  friendly 
Indians — Bacon  returns — Elected  a  Burgess — Arrested — Released  on  Parole — 
Assembly  meets — Bacon  sues  for  Pardon — Restored  to  the  Council — Nathaniel 
Bacon,  Sr. — Berkley  issues  secret  Warrants  for  arrest  of  the  younger  Bacon. 

"ABOUT  the  year  1675,"  says  an  old  writer,  "appeared  three 
prodigies  in  that  country,  which,  from  the  attending  disasters,  were 
looked  upon  as  ominous  presages.  The  one  was  a  large  comet, 
every  evening  for  a  week  or  more  at  southwest,  thirty-five  degrees 
high,  streaming  like  a  horse-tail  westward,  until  it  reached  (almost) 
the  horizon,  and  setting  toward  the  northwest.  Another  was 
flights  of  wild  pigeons,  in  breadth  nigh  a  quarter  of  the  mid- 
hemisphere,  and  of  their  length  was  no  visible  end;  whose 
weights  broke  down  the  limbs  of  large  trees  whereon  these  rested 
at  nights,  of  which  the  fowlers  shot  abundance,  and  ate  them; 
this  sight  put  the  old  planters  under  the  more  portentous  appre 
hensions  because  the  like  was  seen  (as  they  said)  in  the  year 
1644,  when  the  Indians  committed  the  last  massacre;  but  not 
after,  until  that  present  year,  1675.  The  third  strange  pheno 
menon  was  swarms  of  flies  about  an  inch  long,  and  big  as  the  top 
of  a  man's  little  finger,  rising  out  of  spigot  holes  in  the  earth, 
which  ate  the  new-sprouted  leaves  from  the  tops  of  the  trees, 
without  other  harm,  and  in  a  month  left  us."* 

The  author  of  this  account,  whose  initials  are  T.  M.,  says  of 
himself,  that  he  lived  in  Northumberland  County,  on  the  lower 

*  T.  M.'s  Account  of  Bacon's  Rebellion,  in  Force's  Hist.  Tracts,  i. 

(283) 


284  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

part  of  the  Potomac,  where  he  was  a  merchant;  but  he  had  a 
plantation,  servants,  cattle,  etc.,  in  Stafford  County,  on  the  upper 
part  of  that  river;  and  that  he  was  elected  a  burgess  from  Staf 
ford  in  1676,  Colonel  Mason  being  his  colleague.  T.  M.,  perhaps, 
was  Thomas  Matthews,  son  of  Colonel  Samuel  Matthews,  some 
time  governor.  He  owned  lands  acquired  from  the  Wicocomoco 
Indians  in  Northumberland,  and  it  is  probable  that  his  son, 
Thomas  Matthews,  came  into  possession  of  them.*  He  appears 
to  have  lived  at  a  place  called  Cherry  Point,  probably  on  the 
Potomac,  in  1681. f 

On  a  Sunday  morning,  in  the  summer  of  1675,  a  herdsman, 
named  Robert  Hen,  together  with  an  Indian,  was  slain  in  Staf 
ford  County,  by  a  party  of  the  hostile  tribe  of  Doegs,  and  the 
victims  were  found  by  the  people  on  their  way  to  church.  J  Colo 
nel  Mason  and  Captain  Brent,  with  some  militia,  pursued  the 
offenders  about  twenty  miles  up  the  river,  and  then  across  into 
Maryland,  and,  coming  upon  two  parties  of  armed  warriors, 
slaughtered  indiscriminately  a  number  of  them  and  of  the  Sus- 
quehannocks,  a  friendly  tribe.  These  latter,  recently  expelled 
from  their  own  country,  at  the  head  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  by 
the  Senecas,  a  tribe  of  the  Five  Nations,  now  sought  refuge  in  a 
fort  of  the  Piscataways,  a  friendly  tribe  near  the  head  of  the 
Potomac,  supposed  to  be  near  the  spot  where  now  stands  the  City 
of  Washington.  In  a  short  time  several  Marylanders  were  mur 
dered  by  the  savages,  and  some  Virginians  in  the  County  of  Staf 
ford.  The  fort  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Piscataway  consisted 
of  high  earth-works  having  flankers  pierced  with  loop-holes,  and 
surrounded  by  a  ditch.  This  again  was  encircled  by  a  row  of 
tall  trees  from  five  to  eight  inches  in  diameter,  set  three  feet  in 
the  earth  and  six  inches  apart,  and  wattled  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  protect  those  within,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  afford  them 
apertures  for  shooting  through.  It  was  probably  an  old  fort 
erected  by  Maryland  as  a  protection  to  the  frontier,  but  latterly 

*  Hening,  i.  515,  and  ii.  14.  f  Va.  Hist,  Reg.,  i.  167. 

J  For  the  following  details,  see  T.  M.'s  Account ;  Hening,  ii.  841,  543  ;  Bever- 
ley,  B.  i.  65 ;  Keith's  Hist,  of  Va.,  156 ;  Breviarie  and  Conclusion,  Burk,  ii.  250 ; 
Account  of  Bacon's  Rebellion,  in  Va.  Gazette,  1766,  and  Bacon's  Proceedings,  in 
Force's  Hist.  Tracts,  i. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  285 

unoccupied.  The  Susquehannocks,  to  the  number  of  one  hundred 
warriors,  with  their  old  men,  women,  and  children,  entrenched 
themselves  in  this  stronghold.  Toward  the  end  of  September 
they  were  besieged  by  a  thousand  men  from  Virginia  and  Mary 
land,  united  in  a  joint  expedition,  at  the  instance  of  the  latter. 
The  Marylanders  were  commanded  by  Major  Thomas  Truman, 
the  Virginians  by  Colonel  John  Washington.*  John  AVashing- 
ton  had  emigrated  from  Yorkshire,  England,  to  Virginia  in  1657, 
and  purchased  lands  in  Westmoreland.  Not  long  after,  being, 
as  has  been  conjectured,  a  surveyor,  he  made  a  location  of  lands, 
which,  however,  was  set  aside  until  the  Indians,  to  whom  these 
lands  had  been  assigned,  should  vacate  them.  In  the  year  166T 
he  was  a  member  of  the  house  of  burgesses,  f 

To  return  to  the  siege :  six  of  the  Indian  chiefs  were  sent  out 
from  the  fort  on  a  parley  proposed  by  Major  Truman.  These 
chiefs,  on  being  interrogated,  laid  the  blame  of  the  recent  out 
rages  perpetrated  in  Virginia  and  Maryland  upon  the  Senecas. 
Colonel  Washington,  Colonel  Mason,  and  Major  Adderton  now 
came  over  from  the  Virginia  encampment,  and  charged  the  chiefs 
with  the  murders  that  had  been  committed  on  the  south  side  of 
the  Potomac.  On  the  next  day  the  Virginia  officers  renewed  the 
charges  against  the  Susquehannock  chiefs;  at  this  juncture  a  de 
tachment  of  rangers  arrived,  bringing  with  them  the  mangled 
bodies  of  some  recent  victims  of  Indian  cruelty.  Five  of  the 
chiefs  were  instantly  bound,  and  put  to  death — "knocked  on  the 
head."  The  savages  now  made  a  desperate  resistance;  but  their 
sorties  were  repelled,  and  they  had  to  subsist  partly  on  horses 
captured  from  the  whites.  At  the  end  of  six  weeks,  seventy-five 
warriors,  with  their  women  and  children,  (leaving  only  a  few  de- 
crepid  old  men  behind,)  evacuated  the  fort  during  the  night, 
marching  off  by  the  light  of  the  moon,  killing  ten  of  the  militia 
found  asleep,  as  they  retired,  and  making  the  welkin  ring  with 

*  Chalmers'  Annals,  332,  335,  348 ;  The  Fall  of  the  Susquehannocks,  by  S.  F. 
Streeter,  in  Hist.  Mag.,  i.  65. 

y  Burk,  ii.  144;  Account  of  our  Late  Troubles  in  Virginia,  written  in  1676, 
by  Mrs.  Ann  Cotton,  of  Queen's  Creek,  3  in  Force's  Hist.  Tracts,  i.  This  cu 
rious  narrative  was  published  from  the  original  MS.  in  the  Richmond  Enquirer  of 
September  12th,  1804.  T.  M.'s  Account  was  republished  in  the  same  paper. 


286  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

the  war-whoop  and  yells  of  defiance.  They  pursued  their  way 
by  the  head-waters  of  the  Potomac,  the  Rappahannock,  the  York, 
and  the  James,  joining  with  them  the  neighboring  Indians,  slay 
ing  such  of  the  inhabitants  as  they  met  with  on  the  frontier,  to 
the  number  of  sixty — sacrificing  ten  ordinary  victims  for  each 
one  of  the  chiefs  they  had  lost.  The  Susquehannocks  now  sent 
a  message  to  Governor  Berkley,  complaining  of  the  war  waged 
upon  them,  and  of  the  murder  of  their  chiefs,  and  proposing,  if 
the  Virginians,  their  old  friends,  would  make  them  reparation  for 
the  damages  which  they  had  suffered,  and  dissolve  their  alliance 
with  the  Marylanders,  they  would  renew  their  ancient  friendship ; 
otherwise  they  were  ready  for  war.* 

At  the  falls  of  the  James  the  savages  had  slain  a  servant  of 
Nathaniel  Bacon,  Jr.,  and  his  overseer,  to  whom  he  was  much 
attached.  This  was  not  the  place  of  Bacon's  residence;  Bacon 
Quarter  Branch,  in  the  suburbs  of  Richmond,  probably  indicates 
the  scene  of  the  murder.  Bacon  himself  resided  at  Curies,  in 
Henrico  county,  on  the  lower  James  River,  f  It  is  said  that 
when  he  heard  of  the  catastrophe  he  vowed  vengeance.  In  that 
time  of  panic,  the  more  exposed  and  defenceless  families,  abandon 
ing  their  homes,  took  shelter  together  in  houses,  where  they  forti 
fied  themselves  with  palisades  and  redoubts.  Neighbors  banding 
together,  passed  in  co-operating  parties,  from  plantation  to  plan 
tation,  taking  arms  with  them  into  the  fields  where  they  labored, 
and  posting  sentinels,  to  give  warning  of  the  approach  of  the  in 
sidious  foe.  No  man  ventured  out  of  doors  unarmed.  Even 
Jamestown  was  in  danger.  The  red  men,  stealing  with  furtive 
glance  through  the  shade  of  the  forest,  the  noiseless  tread  of  the 
moccasin  scarce  stirring  a  leaf,  prowled  around  like  panthers  in 
quest  of  prey.  At  length  the  people  at  the  head  of  the  James 
and  the  York,  having  in  vain  petitioned  the  governor  for  protec 
tion,  alarmed  at  the  slaughter  of  their  neighbors,  often  murdered 
with  every  circumstance  of  barbarity,  rose  tumultuously  in  self- 


*  Narrative  of  the  Indian  and  Civil  Wars  in  Va.,  in  the  years  1075  and  1676, 
1,  in  Force's  Hist.  Tracts,  i.  This  account  is  evidently  in  the  main,  if  not  alto 
gether,  by  the  same  hand  with  the  letter  bearing  the  signature  of  Mrs.  Ann  Cot 
ton.  Several  passages  are  identical. 

f  Account  of  Bacon's  Rebellion,  in  Va.  Gazette,  1766. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  287 

defence,  to  the  number  of  three  hundred  men,  including  most,  if 
not  all  the  officers,  civil  and  military,  and  chose  Nathaniel  Bacon, 
Jr.,  for  their  leader.  According  to  another  authority,  Bacon, 
before  the  murder  of  his  overseer  and  servant,  had  been  refused 
the  commission,  and  had  sworn  that  upon  the  next  murder  he 
should  hear  of,  he  would  march  against  the  Indians,  "commis 
sion  or  no  commission."  And  when  one  of  his  own  family  was 
butchered,  "he  got  together  about  seventy  or  ninety  persons,  most 
good  housekeepers,  well  armed,"  etc.  Burk*  makes  their  number 
"near  six  hundred  men,"  and  refers  to  ancient  (MS.)  records. 

Bacon  had  been  living  in  the  colony  somewhat  less  than  three 
years,  having  settled  at  Curies,  on  the  lower  James,  in  the  midst 
of  those  people  who  were  the  greatest  sufferers  from  the  depreda 
tions  of  the  Indians,  and  he  himself  had  frequently  felt  the  effects 
of  their  inroads.  In  the  records  of  the  county  court  of  Henrico 
there  is  a  deed  from  Randolph  to  Randolph,  dated  November  1st, 
1706,  conveying  a  tract  of  land  called  Curies,  lately  belonging  to 
Nathaniel  Bacon,  Esq.,  and  since  found  to  escheat  to  his  majesty. 
At  the  breaking  out  of  these  disturbances  he  was  a  member  of 
the  council.  He  was  gifted  with  a  graceful  person,  great  abili 
ties,  and  a  powerful  elocution,  and  was  the  most  accomplished 
man  in  Virginia;  his  courage  and  resolution  were  not  to  be 
daunted,  and  his  affability,  hospitality,  and  benevolence,  com 
manded  a  wide  popularity  throughout  the  colony. 

The  men  who  had  put  themselves  under  Bacon's  command 
made  preparations  for  marching  against  the  Indians,  but  in  the 
mean  time  sent  again  to  obtain  from  the  governor  a  commission 
of  general  for  Bacon,  with  authority  to  lead  out  his  followers,  at 
their  own  expense,  against  the  enemy.  He  then  stood  so  high  in 
the  council,  and  the  exigency  of  the  case  was  so  pressing,  that 
Sir  William  Berkley,  thinking  it  imprudent  to  return  an  absolute 
refusal,  concluded  to  temporize.  Some  of  the  leading  men  about 
him,  it  was  believed,  took  occasion  to  foment  the  difference  be 
tween  him.  and  Bacon,  envying  a  rising  luminary  that  threatened 
to  eclipse  them.  This  conduct  is  like  that  of  some  of  the  leading 

*  In  Hist,  of  Va.,  ii.  164. 


288  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

men  in  Virginia  who,  one  hundred  years  later,  compelled  Patrick 
Henry  to  resign  his  post  in  the  army. 

Sir  William  Berkley  sent  his  evasive  reply  to  the  application 
for  a  commission,  by  some  of  his  friends,  and  instructed  them  to 
persuade  Bacon  to  disband  his  forces.  He  refused  to  comply 
with  this  request,  and  having  in  twenty  days  mustered  five  hun 
dred  men,  marched  to  the  falls  of  the  James.  Thereupon  the 
governor,  on  the  29th  day  of  May,  1676,  issued  a  proclamation, 
declaring  all  such  as  should  fail  to  return  within  a  certain  time, 
rebels.  Bacon  likewise  issued  a  declaration,  setting  forth  the 
public  dangers  and  grievances,  but  taking  no  notice  of  the  gover 
nor's  proclamation.*  Upon  this  the  men  of  property,  fearful  of 
a  confiscation,  deserted  Bacon  and  returned  home;  but  he  pro 
ceeded  with  fifty-seven  men.  Sir  William  Berkley,  with  a  troop 
of  horse  from  Middle  Plantation,  pursued  Bacon  as  far  as  the 
falls,  some  forty  miles,  but  not  overtaking  him,  returned  to  James 
town,  where  the  assembly  was  soon  to  meet.  During  his  absence 
the  planters  of  the  lower  country  rose  in  revolt,  and  declared 
against  the  frontier  forts  as  a  useless  and  intolerable  burden ;  and 
to  restore  quiet  they  were  dismantled,  and  the  assembly,  the 
odious  Long  Parliament  of  Virginia,  was  at  last  dissolved,  and 
writs  for  a  new  election  issued.  This  revolt  in  the  lower  country, 
with  which  Bacon  had  no  immediate  connection,  demonstrates  how 
widely  the  leaven  of  rebellion,  as  it  was  styled,  pervaded  the  body 
of  the  people,  and  how  unfounded  is  the  notion,  that  it  was  the 
result  merely  of  personal  pique  and  ambition  in  Bacon.  Had  he 
never  set  his  foot  on  the  soil  of  Virginia  there  can  be  little  doubt 
but  that  an  outbreak  would  have  occurred  at  this  time.  There 
was  no  man  in  the  colony  with  a  brighter  prospect  before  him 
than  Bacon,  and  he  could  hardly  have  engaged  in  this  popular 
movement  without  a  sacrifice  of  selfish  considerations,  nor  with 
out  incurring  imminent  risk.  The  movement  was  revolutionary— 
a  miniature  prototype  of  the  revolution  of  1688  in  England,  and 
of  1776  in  America.  But  Bacon,  as  before  mentioned,  with  a 
small  body  of  men  proceeded  into  the  wilderness,  up  the  river, 
his  provisions  being  nearly  exhausted  before  he  discovered  the 

*  Burk,  ii.  247 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  289 

Indians.  At  length  a  tribe  of  friendly  Mannakins  were  found 
entrenched  within  a  palisaded  fort  on  the  further  side  of  a  branch 
of  the  James.  Bacon  endeavoring  to  procure  provisions  from 
them  and  offering  compensation,  they  put  him  off  with  delusive 
promises  till  the  third  day,  when  the  whites  had  eaten  their  last 
morsel.  They  now  waded  up  to  the  shoulder  across  the  branch 
to  the  fort,  again  soliciting  provisions  and  tendering  payment. 
In  the  evening  one  of  Bacon's  men  was  killed  by  a  shot  from  that 
side  of  the  branch  which  they  had  left,  and  this  giving  rise  to  a 
suspicion  of  collusion  with  Sir  William  Berkley  and  treachery, 
Bacon  stormed  the  fort,  burnt  it  and  the  cabins,  blew  up  their 
magazine  of  arms  and  gunpowder,  and  with  a  loss  of  only  three 
of  his  own  party,  put  to  death  one  hundred  and  fifty  Indians. 
It  is  difficult  to  credit,  impossible  to  justify,  this  massacre.  The 
Virginians,  a  hundred  years  afterwards,  suspected  Governor  Dun- 
more  of  colluding  with  Indians.  Bacon  with  his  followers  re 
turned  to  their  homes,  and  he  was  shortly  after  elected  one  of  the 
burgesses  for  the  County  of  Henrico.  Brewse  or  Bruce,  his  col 
league  and  a  captain  of  the  insurgents,  was  not  less  odious  to  the 
governor.  It  was  subsequently  charged  by  the  king's  commis 
sioners  that  the  malecontent  voters  on  this  occasion  illegally  re 
turned  freemen,  not  being  freeholders,  for  burgesses.*  The 
charge  was  well  founded.  It  is  probable  also  that  others  were 
allowed  to  vote  besides  freeholders  and  housekeepers.  Bacon, 
upon  being  elected,  going  down  the  James  Kiver  with  a  party  of 
his  friends,  was  met  by  an  armed  vessel,  ordered  on  board  of  her, 
and  arrested  by  Major  Howe,  High  Sheriff  of  James  City,  who 
conveyed  him  to  the  governor  at  that  place,  by  whom  he  was  ac 
costed  thus:  "Mr.  Bacon,  you  have  forgot  to  be  a  gentleman." 
He  replied,  "No,  may  it  please  your  honor."  The  governor  said, 
"Then  I'll  take  your  parole;"  which  he  accordingly  did,  and  gave 
him  his  liberty;  but  a  number  of  his  companions,  who  had  been 
arrested  with  him,  were  still  kept  in  irons. 

On  the  5th  day  of  June,  1676,  the  members  of  the  new  assem 
bly,  whose  names  are  not  recorded,  met  in  the  chamber  over  the 
general  court,  and  having  chosen  a  speaker,  the  governor  sent  for 

*  Breviarie  and  Conclusion,  Burk,  ii.  251. 

19 


290  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

them  down,  and  addressed  them  in  a  brief  abrupt  speech  on  the 
Indian  disturbances,  and  in  allusion  to  the  chiefs  who  had  been 
slain,  exclaimed:  "If  they  had  killed  my  grandfather  and  my 
grandmother,  my  father  and  mother,  and  all  my  friends,  yet 
if  they  had  come  to  treat  of  peace,  they  ought  to  have  gone  in 
peace."  After  a  short  interval,  he  again  rose  and  said:  "If 
there  be  joy  in  the  presence  of  the  angels  over  one  sinner  that 
repenteth,  there  is  joy  now,  for  we  have  a  penitent  sinner  come 
before  us.  Call  Mr.  Bacon."  Bacon  appearing,  was  compelled 
upon  one  knee,  at  the  bar  of  the  house,  to  confess  his  oifence, 
and  beg  pardon  of  God,  the  king,  and  governor,  in  the  following 
words:*  "I,  Nathaniel  Bacon,  Jr.,  Esq.,  of  Hcnrico  County,  in 
Virginia,  do  hereby  most  readily,  freely,  and  most  humbly  ac 
knowledge  that  I  am,  and  have  been  guilty  of  divers  late  unlaw 
ful,  mutinous,  and  rebellious  practices,  contrary  to  my  duty  to 
his  most  sacred  majesty's  governor,  and  this  country,  by  beating 
up  of  drums ;  raising  of  men  in  arms ;  marching  with  them  into 
several  parts  of  his  most  sacred  majesty's  colony,  not  only  with 
out  order  and  commission,  but  contrary  to  the  express  orders  and 
commands  of  the  Right  Honorable  Sir  William  Berkley,  Knt., 
his  majesty's  most  worthy  governor  and  captain-general  of  Vir 
ginia.  And  I  do  further  acknowledge  that  the  said  honorable 
governor  hath  been  very  favorable  to  me,  by  his  several  reiterated 
gracious  oifers  of  pardon,  thereby  to  reclaim  me  from  the  perse 
cution  of  those  my  unjust  proceedings,  (whose  noble  and  generous 
mercy  and  clemency  I  can  never  sufficiently  acknowledge,)  and 
for  the  re-settlement  of  this  whole  country  in  peace  and  quiet 
ness.  And  I  do  hereby,  upon  my  knees,  most  humbly  beg  of 
Almighty  God  and  of  his  majesty's  said  governor,  that  upon  this 
my  most  hearty  and  unfeigned  acknowledgment  of  my  said  mis 
carriages  and  unwarrantable  practices,  he  will  please  to  grant  me 
his  gracious  pardon  and  indemnity,  humbly  desiring  also  the 
honorable  council  of  state,  by  whose  goodness  I  am  also  much 
obliged,  and  the  honorable  burgesses  of  the  present  grand  assem 
bly  to  intercede,  and  mediate  with  his  honor,  to  grant  me  such 
pardon.  And  I  do  hereby  promise,  upon  the  word  and  faith  of  a 
Christian  and  a  gentleman,  that  upon  such  pardon  granted  me, 

*  Hening,  ii.  543. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  291 

as  I  shall  ever  acknowledge  so  great  a  favor,  so  I  will  always 
bear  true  faith  and  allegiance  to  his  most  sacred  majesty,  and 
demean  myself  dutifully,  faithfully,  and  peaceably  to  the  go 
vernment,  and  the  laws  of  this  country,  and  am  most  ready  and 
willing  to  enter  into  bond  of  two  thousand  pounds  sterling,  and 
for  security  thereof  bind  my  whole  estate  in  Virginia  to  the 
country  for  my  good  and  quiet  behavior  for  one  whole  year  from 
this  date,  and  do  promise  and  oblige  myself  to  continue  my  said 
duty  and  allegiance  at  all  times  afterwards.  In  testimony  of 
this,  my  free  and  hearty  recognition,  I  have  hereunto  subscribed 
my  name,  this  9th  day  of  June,  1676. 

"NATH.  BACON." 

The  intercession  of  the  council  was  in  the  following  terms: 
"We,  of  his  majesty's  council  of  state  of  Virginia,  do  hereby 
desire,  according  to  Mr.  Bacon's  request,  the  right  honorable  the 
governor,  to  grant  the  said  Mr.  Bacon  his  freedom. 


PHIL.  LUDWELL, 
JAMES  BRAY, 
WM.  COLE, 


HEN.  CHICHELEY, 
NATHL.  BACON, 
THOS.  BEALE, 


RA.  WORMELEY,  THO.  BALLARD, 

Jo.  BRIDGER. 
"Dated  the  9th  of  June,  1676," 

When  Bacon  had  made  his  acknowledgment,  the  governor  ex 
claimed:  "God  forgive  you,  I  forgive  you;"  repeating  the  words 
thrice.  Colonel  Cole,  of  the  council,  added,  "and  all  that  were 
with  him."  "Yea,"  echoed  the  governor,  "and  all  that  were 
with  him."  Sir  William  Berkley,  starting  up  from  his  chair  for 
the  third  time,  exclaimed:  "Mr.  Bacon,  if  you  will  live  civilly 
but  till  next  quarter  court,  I'll  promise  to  restore  you  again  to 
your  place  there,"  (pointing  with  his  hand  to  Mr.  Bacon's  seat,) 
he  having,  as  has  been  already  mentioned,  been  of  the  council 
before  those  troubles,  and  having  been  deposed  by  the  governor's 
proclamation.  But  instead  of  being  obliged  to  wait  till  the  quar 
ter  court,  Bacon  was  restored  to  his  seat  on  that  very  day;  and 
intelligence  of  it  was  hailed  with  joyful  acclamations  by  the  peo 
ple  in  Jamestown.  This  took  place  on  Saturday.  Bacon  was 


292  ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA. 

also  promised  a  commission  to  go  out  against  the  Indians,  to  be 
delivered  to  him  on  the  Monday  following.  But  being  delayed 
or  disappointed,  a  few  days  after  (the  assembly  being  engaged  in 
devising  measures  against  the  Indians)  he  escaped  from  James 
town.  He  conceived  the  governor's  pretended  generosity  to  be 
only  a  lure  to  keep  him  out  of  his  seat  in  the  house  of  burgesses, 
and  to  quiet  the  people  of  the  upper  country,  who  were  hastening 
down  to  Jamestown  to  avenge  all  wrongs  done  him  or  his  friends. 
According  to  another  account,  he  obtained  leave  of  absence  to 
visit  his  wife,  "sick,  as  he  pretended;"  but  from  T.  M.'s  Account, 
and  others,  this  version  appears  to  be  unfounded. 

There  was  in  the  council  at  this  time  one  Colonel  Nathaniel 
Bacon,  a  near  relative  of  Nathaniel  Bacon,  Jr.,  who  was  not  yet 
thirty  years  of  age.  The  elder  Bacon  was  a  wealthy  politic  old 
man,  childless,  and  intending  to  make  his  namesake  and  cousin 
his  heir.  It  was  by  the  pressing  solicitations  of  this  old  gentle 
man,  as  was  believed,  that  young  Bacon  was  reluctantly  prevailed 
upon  to  repeat  at  the  bar  of  the  house  the  recantation  written  by 
the  old  gentleman.  It  was  he  also,  as  was  supposed,  who  gave 
timely  warning  to  the  young  Bacon  to  fly  for  his  life.  Three  or 
four  days  after  his  first  arrest,  many  country  people,  from  the 
heads  of  the  rivers,  appeared  in  Jamestown;  but  finding  him  re 
stored  to  his  place  in  the  council,  and  his  companions  at  liberty, 
they  returned  home  satisfied.  But  in  a  short  time  the  governor, 
seeing  all  quiet,  issued  secret  warrants  to  seize  him  again,  intend 
ing  probably  to  raise  the  militia,  and  thus  prevent  a  rescue. 


CHAPTER    XXXV. 


Bacon,  with  an  armed  Force,  enters  Jamestown  —  Extorts  a  Commission  from  the 
Governor  —  Proceedings  of  Assembly  —  Bacon  marches  against  the  Pamunkies  — 
Berkley  summons  Gloucester  Militia  —  Bacon  countermarches  upon  the  Gover 
nor  —  He  escapes  to  Accomac  —  Bacon  encamps  at  Middle  Plantation  —  Calls  a 
Convention  —  Oath  prescribed  —  Sarah  Drummond  —  Giles  Bland  seizes  an 
armed  Vessel  and  sails  '  for  Accomac  —  His  Capture  —  Berkley  returns  to 
Jamestown  —  Bacon  exterminates  the  Indians. 

WITHIN  three  or  four  days  after  Bacon's  escape,  news  reached 
James  City  that  he  was  some  thirty  miles  above,  on  the  James 
River,  at  the  head  of  four  hundred  men.  Sir  William  Berkley 
summoned  the  York  train-bands  to  defend  Jamestown,  but  only 
one  hundred  obeyed  the  summons,  and  they  arrived  too  late,  and 
one-half  of  them  were  favorable  to  Bacon.  Expresses  almost 
hourly  brought  tidings  of  his  approach,  and  in  less  than  four 
days  he  marched  into  Jamestown  unresisted,  at  two  o'clock  P.M., 
and  drew  up  his  force,  (now  amounting  to  six  hundred  men,) 
horse  and  foot,  in  battle  array  on  the  green  in  front  of  the  state- 
house,  and  within  gunshot.  In  half  an  hour  the  drum  beat,  as 
was  the  custom,  for  the  assembly  to  meet,  and  in  less  than  thirty 
minutes  Bacon  advanced,  with  a  file  of  fusileers  on  either  hand, 
near  to  the  corner  of  the  state-house,  where  he  was  met  by  the 
governor  and  council.  Sir  William  Berkley,  dramatically  baring 
his  breast,  cried  out,  "Here!  shoot  me  —  fore  God,  fair  mark; 
shoot!"  frequently  repeating  the  words.  Bacon  replied,  uNo, 
may  it  please  your  honor,  we  will  not  hurt  a  hair  of  your  head, 
nor  of  any  other  man's;  wre  are  come  for  a  commission  to  save 
our  lives  from  the  Indians,  which  you  have  so  often  promised, 
and  now  we  will  have  it  before  we  go."  Bacon  was  walking  to 
and  fro  between  the  files  of  his  men,  holding  his  left  arm  akimbo, 
and  gesticulating  violently  with  his  right,  he  and  the  governor 
both  like  men  distracted.  In  a  few  moments  Sir  William  with 
drew  to  his  private  apartment  at  the  other  end  of  the  state-house, 

(293) 


294  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

the  council  accompanying  him.  Bacon  followed,  frequently  hur 
rying  his  hand  from  his  sword-hilt  to  his  hat;  and  after  him  came 
a  detachment  of  fusileers,  who,  with  their  guns  cocked  and  pre 
sented  at  a  window  of  the  assembly  chamber,  filled  with  faces, 
repeating  in  menacing  tone,  "We  will  have  it,  we  will  have  it," 
for  half  a  minute,  when  a  well-known  burgess,  waving  his  hand 
kerchief  out  at  the  window,  exclaimed,  three  or  four  times,  "  You 
shall  have  it,  you  shall  have  it;"  when,  uncocking  their  guns, 
they  rested  them  on  the  ground,  and  stood  still,  till  Bacon  return 
ing,  they  rejoined  the  main  body.  It  was  said  that  Bacon  had 
beforehand  directed  his  men  to  fire  in  case  he  should  draw  his 
sword.  In  about  an  hour  after  Bacon  re-entered  the  assembly 
chamber,  and  demanded  a  commission,  authorizing  him  to  march 
out  against  the  Indians.  Godwyn,  the  speaker,*  who  was  himself 
a  Baconian,  as  were  a  majority  of  the  house,  remaining  silent  in 
the  chair,  Brewse,  (or  Bruce, )f  the  colleague  of  Bacon,  alone 
found  courage  to  answer:  "'Twas  not  in  our  province,  or  power, 
nor  of  any  other,  save  the  king's  vicegerent,  our  governor." 
Bacon,  nevertheless,  still  warmly  urged  his  demand,  and  harangued 
the  assembly  for  nearly  half  an  hour  on  the  Indian  disturbances, 
the  condition  of  the  public  revenues,  the  exorbitant  taxes,  abuses 
and  corruptions  of  the  administration,  and  all  the  grievances  of 
their  miserable  country.  Having  concluded,  and  finding  "no 
other  answer,  he  went  away  dissatisfied." 

On  the  following  day  the  governor  directed  the  house  to  take 
measures  to  defend  the  country  against  the  Indians,  and  advised 
them  to  beware  of  two  rogues  among  them,  meaning  Lawrence 
and  Drummond,  who  both  lived  at  Jamestown.  But  some  of  the 
burgesses,  in  order  to  effect  a  redress  of  some  of  the  grievances 
that  the  country  labored  under,  made  motions  for  inspecting  the 
public  revenues,  the  collector's  accounts,  etc.,  when  they  received 
pressing  messages  from  the  governor  to  meddle  with  nothing  else 
till  the  Indian  business  was  disposed  of.  The  debate  on  this 
matter  rose  high,  but  the  governor's  orders  were  finally  ac 
quiesced  in. 


*  Hening,  ii.  606. 

|  Breviarie  and  Conclusion,  in  Burk,  ii.  250.     T.  M.  calls  him  Blayton. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  295 

While  the  committee  on  Indian  affairs  was  sitting,  the  Queen 
of  Pamunkey,  a  descendant  of  Opechancanough,  was  introduced 
into  their  room.  Accompanied  by  an  interpreter  and  her  son,  a 
youth  of  twenty  years,  she  entered  with  graceful  dignity.  Around 
her  head  she  wore  a  plait  of  black  and  white  wampum-peake,  a 
drilled  purple  bead  of  shell,  three  inches  wide,  after  the  manner 
of  a  crown.  There  is  preserved  at  Fredericksburg  a  silver  front 
let,  purchased  from  some  Indians,  with  a  coat  of  arms,  and  in 
scribed  "The  Queen  of  Pamunkey,"  "Charles  the  Second,  King 
of  England,  Scotland,  France,  Ireland,  and  Virginia,"  and  "Iloni 
soit  qui  mal  y  pense."  She  was  clothed  in  a  mantle  of  dressed 
buckskin,  with  the  fur  outward,  and  bordered  with  a  deep  fringe 
from  head  to  foot.  Being  seated,  the  chairman  asked  her  "How 
many  men  she  would  lend  the  English  for  guides  and  allies?" 
She  referred  him  to  her  son,  who  understood  English,  being  the 
reputed  son  of  an  English  colonel.  But  he  declining  to  answer, 
she  burst  forth  in  an  impassioned  speech  of  a  quarter  of  an  hour's 
length,  often  repeating  the  words,  "  Totopotomoi  dead,"  referring  to 
her  husband,  who,  as  has  been  seen,  had  fallen  while  fighting  under 
Colonel  Hill,  the  elder.  The  chairman,  untouched  by  this  appeal, 
roughly  repeated  the  inquiry,  how  many  men  she  would  contri 
bute.  Averting  her  head  with  a  disdainful  look  she  sate  silent, 
till  the  question  being  pressed  a  third  time,  she  replied  in  a  low 
tone,  "Six."  When  still  further  importuned  she  said  "Twelve," 
although  she  had  then  one  hundred  and  fifty  warriors  in  her 
town.  She  retired  silent  and  displeased. 

The  assembly  went  on  to  provide  for  the  Indian  war,  and  made 
Nathaniel  Bacon,  Jr.,  general  and  Commander-in-chief,  which  was 
ratified  by  the  governor  and  council.  An  act  was  also  passed 
indemnifying  Bacon  and  his  party  for  their  violent  acts ;  and  a 
highly  applausive  letter  was  prepared,  justifying  Bacon's  designs 
and  proceedings,  addressed  to  the  king  and  subscribed  by  the 
governor,  council,  and  assembly.  Sir  William  Berkley  at  the 
same  time  communicated  to  the  house  a  letter  addressed  to  his 
majesty,  saying:  "I  have  above  thirty  years  governed  the  most 
nourishing  country  the  sun  ever  shone  over,  but  am  now  encom 
passed  with  rebellion  like  waters,  in  every  respect  like  that  of 
Massaniello,  except  their  leader."  Massaniello,  or  Thomas  Anello, 


296  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

a  fisherman  of  Naples,  born  1623,  exasperated  by  the  oppressive 
taxes  imposed  by  Austria  upon  his  countrymen,  at  the  head  of 
two  thousand  young  men,  armed  with  canes,  overthrew  the 
viceroy,  seized  upon  the  supreme  power,  and  after  holding  it  for 
some  years,  fell  by  the  hands  of  assassins  in  1647.  Some  of  the 
burgesses  also  wrote  to  the  king,  setting  forth  the  circumstances 
of  the  outbreak.  The  amnesty  extended  from  the  1st  day  of 
March  to  the  25th  day  of  June,  1676,  and  excepted  only  offences 
against  the  law  concerning  the  Indian  trade.*  The  assembly  did 
not  restrict  itself  to  measures  favorable  to  Bacon.  According  to 
the  letter  of  the  law,  at  least,  he  had  been  guilty  of  rebellion  in 
assuming  a  military  command  and  marching  against  the  savages 
without  a  commission,  and  he  had  so  acknowledged.  Yet  he  was 
not  more  guilty  than  the  bulk  of  the  people  of  the  colony,  and 
probably  not  more  so  than  a  majority  of  the  assembly  itself;  and 
the  popular  movement  seemed  justified  by  an  urgent  necessity  of 
self-defence,  and  an  intolerable  accumulation  of  public  grievances. 
On  the  other  hand,  Sir  William  Berkley  had  violated  his  solemn 
engagement  to  grant  the  commission.  Besides,  it  did  not  escape 
the  notice  of  the  assembly  that  the  term  of  ten  years  for  which, 
it  was  believed,  he  had  been  appointed,  had  expired ;  and  this  cir 
cumstance,  although  it  might  not  be  held  absolutely  to  terminate 
his  authority,  served  at  the  least  to  attenuate  it.  The  assembly 
adopted  measures  with  a  view  at  once  to  vindicate  the  supremacy 
of  the  law ;  to  heal  the  wounded  pride  of  the  aged  governor ; 
to  protect  the  country;  to  screen  Bacon  and  his  confederates 
from  punishment,  and  to  reform  the  abuses  of  the  govern 
ment. 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  resolutions,  instructing  the  Virginia 
delegates  in  Congress  to  declare  the  colonies  free  and  inde 
pendent,  were  passed  in  June,  1776,  and  that  the  assembly,  under 
Bacon's  influence,  met  in  June,  1676.  The  first  act  of  this  ses 
sion  declared  war  against  the  hostile  Indians,  ordering  a  levy  of 
one  thousand  men,  and  authorizing  General  Bacon  to  receive 
volunteers;  and  if  their  number  should  prove  sufficient,  to  dis 
pense  with  the  regular  force ;  Indians  taken  in  war  to  be  made 

*  Hening,  ii.  863. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  297 

slaves ;  the  forces  divided  into  southern  and  northern,  and  such 
officers  to  be  appointed  to  command  these  divisions  as  the  gover 
nor  should  commission.  An  act  was  then  passed  for  the  sup 
pressing  of  tumults,  the  preamble  reciting  that  there  had  of  late 
"been  many  unlawful  tumults,  routs,  and  riots,  in  divers  parts  of 
this  country,  and  that  certain  ill-disposed  and  disaffected  people 
of  late  gathered,  and  may  again  gather  themselves  together,  by 
beat  of  drum  and  otherwise,  in  a  most  apparent  rebellious  man 
ner,  without  any  authority  or  legal  commission,  which  may  prove 
of  very  dangerous  consequences,"  etc.  The  act  for  regulating  of 
officers  and  offices,  shows  how  many  abuses  and  how  much  rapa 
city  had  crept  into  the  administration.  By  this  act  it  was  de 
clared  that  no  person,  not  being  a  native  or  minister,  could  hold 
any  office  until  he  had  resided  in  the  colony  for  three  years. 
The  democratic  spirit  of  this  assembly  displayed  itself  in  a  law 
"enabling  freemen  to  vote  for  burgesses;"  and  another  making 
the  church  vestries  eligible  by  the  freemen  of  the  parish,  once  in 
three  years.  Representatives  were  to  be  chosen  by  the  people  in 
each  parish  to  vote  with  the  justices  in  laying  the  county  levy, 
and  in  making  by-laws.  The  county  courts  were  authorized  to 
appoint  their  own  collectors;  and  members  of  the  council  were 
prohibited  from  voting  with  the  justices.  An  act  for  suppressing 
of  ordinaries,  or  country  taverns,  suppressed  all  except  three, 
one  at  James  City,  and  one  at  each  side  of  York  River,  at  the 
great  ferries;  and  these  were  prohibited  from  retailing  any 
liquors,  except  beer  and  cider.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Hill,  and 
Lieutenant  John  Stith,  both  of  the  parish  of  Westover,  and 
County  of  Charles  City,  were  disabled  from  holding  office  in  that 
county,  for  having  fomented  misunderstandings  between  the  honor 
able  governor  and  his  majesty's  good  and  loyal  subjects,  the  inhabit 
ants  of  the  Counties  of  Charles  City  and  Henrico,  and  having 
been  instrumental  in  levying  unjust  and  exorbitant  taxes.*  In 
evidence  of  the  excitement  and  suspicion  then  prevailing,  it  was 
observed  that  some  of  the  burgesses  wore  distinctive  badges;  a 
hundred  years  afterwards  the  opposite  parties  walked  on  opposite 
sides  of  the  street. 

*  Hening,  ii.  341,  365. 


298  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

In  a  few  days  the  assembly  was  dissolved  by  the  governor,  who, 
seeing  how  great  Bacon's  influence  was,  apprehended  only  further 
mischief  from  their  proceedings.  A  number  of  the  burgesses, 
intending  to  depart  on  the  morrow,  having  met  in  the  evening  to 
take  leave  of  each  other,  General  Bacon,  as  he  now  came  to  be 
styled,  entered  the  room  with  a  handful  of  papers,  and,  looking 
around,  inquired,  "Which  of  these  gentlemen  shall  I  interest  to 
write  a  few  words  for  me?"  All  present  looking  aside,  being  un 
willing  to  act,  Lawrence,  Bacon's  friend,  pointing  to  one  of  the 
company,  (the  author  of  T.  M.'s  Account,)  said:  "That  gentle 
man  writes  very  well,"  and  he,  undertaking  to  excuse  himself, 
Bacon,  bowing  low,  said:  "Pray,  sir,  do  me  the  honor  to  write  a 
line  for  me;"  and  he  now  consenting,  was  detained  during  the 
whole  night,  filling  up  commissions  obtained  from  the  governor, 
and  signed  by  him.  These  commissions  Bacon  filled  almost  alto 
gether  with  the  names  of  the  militia  officers  of  the  country,  the 
first  men  in  the  colony  in  fortune,  rank,  and  influence. 

His  vigorous  measures  at  once  restored  confidence  to  the 
planters,  and  they  resumed  their  occupations.  Bacon,  at  the 
head  of  a  thousand  men,  marched  against  the  Pamunkies,  killing 
many  and  destroying  their  towns.  Meanwhile  the  people  of 
Gloucester,  the  most  populous  and  loyal  county,  having  been  dis 
armed  by  Bacon,  petitioned  the  governor  for  protection  against 
the  savages.  Reanimated  by  this  petition,  he  again  proclaimed 
Bacon  a  rebel  and  a  traitor,  and  hastened  over  to  Gloucester. 
Summoning  the  train-bands  of  that  county  and  Middlesex,  to  the 
number  of  twelve  hundred  men,  he  proposed  to  them  to  pursue 
and  put  down  the  rebel  Bacon — when  the  whole  assembly  unani 
mously  shouted,  "Bacon!  Bacon!  Bacon!"  and  withdrew  from 
the  field,  still  repeating  the  name  of  that  popular  leader,  the  Patrick 
Henry  of  his  day,  and  leaving  the  aged  cavalier  governor  and  his 
attendants  to  themselves.  The  issue  was  now  fairly  joined  be 
tween  the  people  and  the  governor.  Francis  Morryson,  after 
wards  one  of  the  king's  commissioners,  in  a  letter  dated  at  Lon 
don,  November  28th,  1677,  and  addressed  to  Secretary  Ludwell, 
says:  "I  fear  when  that  part  of  the  narrative  comes  to  be  read 
that  mentions  the  Gloucester  petitions,  your  brother  may  be  pre 
judiced,  for  there  are  two  or  three  that  will  be  summoned,  will 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  299 

lay  the  contrivance  at  your  brother's  door  and  Beverley's,  but 
more  upon  your  brother,  who,  they  say,  was  the  drawer  of  it. 
For  at  the  first  sight,  all  the  lords  judged  that  that  was  the  un 
happy  accident  that  made  the  Indian  war  recoil  into  a  civil  war; 
for  the  reason  you  alleged  that  bond  and  oath  were  proffered  the 
governor,  intended  not  against  Bacon  but  the  Indians,  confirmed 
the  people  that  Bacon's  commission  was  good,  it  never  being  be 
fore  disavowed  by  proclamation,  but  by  letters  writ  to  his  majesty 
in  commendation  of  Bacon's  acting,  copies  thereof  dispersed 
among  the  people."*  According  to  another  authority f  the  people 
of  Gloucester  refused  to  march  against  Bacon,  but  pledged  them 
selves  to  defend  the  governor  against  him,  if  he  should  turn 
against  Sir  William  Berkley  and  his  government,  which  they 
hoped  would  never  happen.  From  the  result  of  this  affair  of  the 
Gloucester  petitions,  we  may  conclude  that  either  they  contained 
nothing  unfavorable  to  Bacon,  or  if  they  did,  that  they  were 
gotten  up  by  designing  leaders  without  the  consent  of  the  people. 
It  is  certain  that  now,  when  Bacon's  violent  proceedings  at  James 
town  were  known,  the  great  body  of  the  people  espoused  his 
cause  and  approved  his  designs. 

Bacon,  before  he  reached  the  head  of  York  River,  hearing 
from  Lawrence  and  Drunimond  of  the  governor's  movements,  ex 
claimed,  that  "it  vexed  him  to  the  heart,  that  while  he  was 
hunting  wolves  which  were  destroying  innocent  lambs,  the  go 
vernor  and  those  with  him  should  pursue  him  in  the  rear  with 
full  cry;  and  that  he  was  like  corn  between  two  mill-stones,  which 
would  grind  him  to  powder  if  he  didn't  look  to  it."  He  marched 
immediately  back  against  the  governor,  who  finding  himself  aban 
doned,  again,  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  July,  proclaimed  Bacon  a 
rebel,  and  made  his  escape,  with  a  few  friends,  down  York  River 
and  across  the  Chesapeake  Bay  to  Accomac,  on  the  Eastern 
Shore.  A  vindication  of  Sir  William,  afterwards  published,  says : 
"Nor  is  it  to  be  wondered  at  that  he  did  not  immediately  put 
forth  proclamations  to  undeceive  the  people,  because  he  had  then 
no  means  of  securing  himself,  nor  forces  to  have  maintained  such 
a  proclamation  by;  but  he  took  the  first  opportunity  he  could  of 

*  Burk,  ii.  268.  f  Narrative  of  Indian  and  Civil  Wars,  14. 


300  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

doing  all  this,  when  Gloucester  County,  having  been  plundered 
by  Bacon  before  his  going  out  against  the  Indians,  made  an 
address."* 

Bacon,  upon  reaching  Gloucester,  sent  out  parties  of  horse  to 
patrol  the  country,  and  made  prisoners  such  as  were  suspected  of 
disaffection  to  his  Indian  expedition;  releasing  on  parole  those 
who  took  an  oath  to  return  home  and  remain  quiet.  This  oath 
was  strict  in  form  but  practically  little  regarded. 

About  this  time  there  was  detected  in  Bacon's  camp  a  spy,  who 
pretended  to  be  a  deserter  from  the  opposite  party,  and  who  had 
repeatedly  changed  sides.  Upon  his  being  sentenced  to  death 
by  a  court-martial,  Bacon  declared  that  "if  any  one  in  the  army 
would  speak  a  word  to  save  him,  he  should  not  suffer;"  but  no 
one  interceding,  he  was  put  to  death.  Bacon's  clemency  won  the 
admiration  of  the  army,  and  this  was  the  only  instance  of  capital 
punishment  under  his  orders,  nor  did  he  plunder  any  private 
house. 

Having  now  acquired  the  command  of  a  province  of  forty-five 
thousand  inhabitants,  and  from  which  the  crown  derived  a  re 
venue  of  a  hundred  thousand  pounds,  he  sate  down  with  his  army 
at  Middle  Plantation,  and  sent  out  an  invitation,  subscribed  by 
himself  and  four  of  the  council,  to  all  the  principal  gentlemen  of 
the  country,  to  meet  him  in  a  convention  at  his  headquarters,  to  con 
sult  how  the  Indians  were  to  be  proceeded  against,  and  himself 
and  the  army  protected  against  the  designs  of  Sir  William  Berk- 
ley.f  Bacon  also  put  forth  a  reply  to  the  governor's  proclama 
tions,  demanding  whether  those  who  are  entirely  devoted  to  the 
king  and  country,  can  deserve  the  name  of  rebels  and  traitors? 
In  vindication  of  their  loyalty,  he  points  to  the  peaceable  conduct 
of  his  soldiers,  and  calls  upon  the  whole  country  to  witness  against 
him  if  they  can.  He  reproaches  some  of  the  men  in  power  with 
the  meanness  of  their  capacity ;  others  with  their  ill-gotten  wealth ; 
he  inquires  what  arts,  sciences,  schools  of  learning  or  manufac 
tures  they  had  promoted;  he  justifies  his  warring  against  the  In- 


*  Burk,  ii.  261. 

f  T.  M.  says:   "Bacon  calls  a  convention  at  Middle  Plantation,  fifteen  miles 
from  Jamestown." 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  301 

dians,  and  inveighs  against  Sir  William  Berkley  for  siding  with 
them;  insisting  that  he  had  no  right  to  interfere  with  the  fur- 
trade,  since  it  was  a  monopoly  of  the  crown,  and  asserting  that 
the  governor's  factors  on  the  frontier  trafficked  in  the  blood  of 
their  countrymen,  by  supplying  the  savages  with  arms  and  am 
munition,  contrary  to  law.  He  concludes  by  appealing  to  the 
king  and  parliament. 

In  compliance  with  Bacon's  invitation,  a  great  convention,  in 
cluding  many  of  the  principal  men  of  the  colony,  assembled  at 
his  quarters  in  August,  1676,  at  Middle  Plantation.  In  prepar 
ing  an  oath  to  be  administered  to  the  people,  the  three  articles 
proposed  were  read  by  James  Minge,  clerk  of  the  house  of  bur 
gesses:  First,  that  they  should  aid  General  Bacon  in  the  Indian 
war;  second,  that  they  would  oppose  Sir  William  Berkley's  endea 
vors  to  hinder  the  same;  third,  that  they  would  oppose  any  power 
sent  out  from  England,  till  terms  were  agreed  to,  granting  that 
the  country's  complaint  should  be  heard  against  Sir  William  be 
fore  the  king  and  parliament.  A  "bloody  debate"  ensued,  espe 
cially  on  this  last  article,  and  it  lasted  from  noon  till  midnight, 
Bacon  and  some  of  the  principal  men  supporting  it,  and  he  pro 
tested  that  unless  it  should  be  adopted  he  would  surrender  his 
commission  to  the  assembly.  Some  report*  that  Bacon  con 
tended  in  this  debate  single-handed  against  "a  great  many 
counted  the  wisest  in  the  country."  With  what  interest  would 
we  read  a  report  of  his  speech !  But  his  eloquence,  like  Henry's, 
lives  only  in  tradition.  In  this  critical  conjuncture,  when  the 
scales  of  self-defence  and  of  loyalty  hung  in  equipoise,  "the  gun 
ner  of  York  Fort  brought  sudden  news  of  fresh  murders  perpe 
trated  by  the  Indians  in  Gloucester  County,  near  Carter's  Creek, 
adding  that  a  great  number  of  poor  people  had  taken  refuge  in 
the  fort.  Bacon  demanded,  "  How  it  could  be  possible  that  the 
chief  fort  in  Virginia  should  be  threatened  by  the  Indians?" 
The  gunner  replied,  "  That  the  governor  on  the  day  before  had 
conveyed  all  arms  and  ammunition  out  of  the  fort  into  his  own 
vessel."  This  probably  took  place  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  July. 
Dunmore  removed  the  gunpowder  a  century  afterwards.  The  dis- 


*  Narrative  of  Indian  and  Civil  Wars,  18. 


302  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

closure  produced  a  deep  sensation,  and  the  convention  now  became 
reconciled  to  the  oath.  Among  the  subscribers  on  this  occasion 
were  Colonel  Ballard,  Colonel  B-cale,  Colonel  Swan,  and  'Squire 
Bray,  of  the  council;  Colonels  Jordan,  Smith,  of  Purton,  Scar- 
burgh,  Miller,  Lawrence,  and  William  Drummond.  He  had  been 
recently  governor  of  North  Carolina.  It  has  been  supposed 
that  he  was  a  Presbyterian.  He  was  a  Scotchman;  but  the 
command  of  a  colony  would  hardly  at  that  time  have  been  in 
trusted  to  a  Presbyterian.*  Writs  were  issued  in  his  majesty's 
name  for  an  assembly  to  meet  on  the  fourth  day  of  September; 
they  were  signed  by  the  four  members  of  the  council.  The  oath 
was  administered  to  the  people  of  every  rank,  except  servants, 
and  it  was  as  follows:  " Whereas,  the  country  hath  raised  an 
army  against  our  common  enemy,  the  Indians,  and  the  same, 
under  the  command  of  General  Bacon,  being  upon  the  point  to 
march  forth  against  the  said  common  enemy,  hath  been  diverted 
and  necessitated  to  move  to  the  suppressing  of  forces  by  evil-dis 
posed  persons  raised  against  the  said  General  Bacon  purposely  to 
foment  and  stir  up  civil  war  among  us,  to  the  ruin  of  this,  his 
majesty's  country.  And  whereas,  it  is  notoriously  manifest  that 
Sir  William  Berkley,  Knight,  governor  of  the  country,  assisted 
counselled,  and  abetted  by  those  evil-disposed  persons  aforesaid, 
hath  not  only  commanded,  fomented,  and  stirred  up  the  people 
to  the  said  civil  war,  but  failing  therein  hath  withdrawn  himself, 
to  the  great  astonishment  of  the  people  and  the  unsettlement  of 
the  country.  And  whereas,  the  said  army  raised  by  the  country 
for  the  causes  aforesaid  remain  full  of  dissatisfaction  in  the  mid 
dle  of  the  country,  expecting  attempts  from  the  said  governor 
and  the  evil  counsellors  aforesaid.  And  since  no  proper  means 
have  been  found  out  for  the  settlement  of  the  distractions,  and 
preventing  the  horrid  outrages  and  murders  daily  committed  in 
many  places  of  the  country  by  the  barbarous  enemy ;  it  hath 
been  thought  fit  by  the  said  general  to  call  unto  him  all  such 
sober  and  discreet  gentlemen  as  the  present  circumstances  of  the 
country  will  admit,  to  the  Middle  Plantation,  to  consult  and  ad 
vise  of  re-establishing  the  peace  of  the  country.  So  we,  the  said 

*  Bancroft,  ii.  130 ;  Anderson's  Hist,  of  Col.  Church,  ii.  519,  in  note. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  303 

gentlemen,  being,  this  3d  of  August,  1676,  accordingly  met, 
do  advise,  resolve,  declare,  and  conclude,  and  for  ourselves  do 
swear  in  manner  following :  First,  That  we  will  at  all  times  join 
with  the  said  General  Bacon,  and  his  army,  against  the  common 
enemy  in  all  points  whatsoever.  Secondly,  That,  whereas,  certain 
persons  have  lately  contrived,  and  designed  the  raising  forces 
against  the  said  general  and  the  army  under  his  command, 
thereby  to  beget  a  civil  war,  we  will  endeavor  the  discovery 
and  apprehending  all  and  every  of  those  evil-disposed  persons, 
and  them  secure  until  further  order  from  the  general.  Thirdly, 
And  whereas,  it  is  credibly  reported,  that  the  governor  hath  in 
formed  the  king's  majesty  that  the  said  general  and  the  people 
of  the  country  in  arms  under  his  command,  their  aiders  and 
abettors,  are  rebellious  and  removed  from  their  allegiance,  and 
that  upon  such  like  information,  he,  the  said  governor,  hath  ad 
vised  and  petitioned  the  king  to  send  forces  to  reduce  them :  we 
do  further  declare,  and  believe  in  our  consciences,  that  it  consists 
with  the  welfare  of  this  country,  and  with  our  allegiance  to  his 
most  sacred  majesty,  that  we,  the  inhabitants  of  Virginia,  to  the 
utmost  of  our  power,  do  oppose  and  suppress  all  forces  what 
soever  of  that  nature,  until  such  time  as  the  king  be  fully  informed 
of  the  state  of  the  case  by  such  person  or  persons  as  shall  be 
sent  from  the  said  Nathaniel  Bacon,  in  the  behalf  of  the  people, 
and  the  determination  thereof  be  remitted  hither.  And  we  do 
swear  that  we  will  him,  the  said  general,  and  the  army  under  his 
command,  aid  and  assist  accordingly."* 

Drummond  advised  that  Sir  William  Berkley  should  be  de 
posed,  and  Sir  Henry  Chicheley  substituted  in  his  place;  his 
counsel  not  being  approved  of,  he  said:  "Do  not  make  so  strange 
of  it,  for  I  can  show  from  ancient  records,  that  such  things  have 
been  done  in  Virginia,"  referring  probably  to  the  case  of  Sir 
John  Harvey  But  it  was  agreed  that  the  governor's  withdrawal 
should  be  taken  for  an  abdication.  Sarah  Drummond,  a  patriot 
heroine,  was  no  less  enthusiastic  in  Bacon's  favor  than  her  hus 
band.  She  exclaimed,  "  The  child  that  is  unborn  shall  have  cause 
to  rejoice  for  the  good  that  will  come  by  the  rising  of  the  coun- 

*  Beverley,  B.  i.  74. 


304  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

try."  Ralph  Weldinge  said:  "We  must  expect  a  greater  power 
from  England  that  would  certainly  be  our  ruin."  But  Sarah 
Drummond  remembered  that  England  was  divided  into  two  hos 
tile  factions  between  the  Duke  of  York  and  the  Duke  of  Mon- 
mouth.  Picking  up  from  the  ground  a  small  stick  and  breaking 
it,  she  added:  "I  fear  the  power  of  England  no  more  than  a 
broken  straw."  Looking  for  relief  from  the  odiqus  navigation  act, 
she  declared:  "Now  we  can  build  ships,  and,  like  New  England, 
trade  to  any  part  of  the  world;"  for  New  England  evaded  that 
act,  which  her  people  considered  an  invasion  of  their  rights,  they 
not  being  represented  in  parliament. 

Bacon  also  issued  proclamations,  commanding  all  men  in  the 
land,  in  case  of  the  arrival  of  the  forces  expected  from  England, 
to  join  his  standard  and  to  retire  into  the  wilderness,  and  resist 
the  troops,  until  they  should  agree  to  treat  of  an  accommodation 
of  the  dispute. 

There  was  a  gentleman  in  Virginia,  Giles  Bland,  only  son  of 
John  Bland,  an  eminent  London  merchant,  who  was  personally 
known  to  the  king,  and  had  a  considerable  interest  at  court.  He 
was,  as  has  been  seen,  also  a  generous  friend  of  Virginia.  His 
brother,  Theodorick  Bland,  sometime  a  merchant  at  Luars,  in 
Spain,  came  over  to  Virginia  in  1654,  where,  settling  at  West- 
over,  upon  James  River,  in  Charles  City  County,  he  died,  in 
April,  1671,  aged  forty-five  years,  and  was  buried  in  the  chancel 
of  the  church,  which  he  built,  and  gave,  together  with  ten  acres 
of  land,  a  court-house  and  prison  for  the  county  and  parish.  He 
lies  buried  in  the  Westover  churchyard  between  two  of  his  friends, 
the  church  having  long  since  fallen  down.  He  was  of  the  king's 
council  and  speaker  of  the  house  of  burgesses,  and  was,  in 
fortune  and  understanding,  inferior  to  no  man  of  his  time  in  the 
country.  He  married  Ann,  daughter  of  Richard  Bennet,  some 
time  governor  of  the  colony.*  When  John  Bland  sent  out  his 
son  Giles  Bland  to  Virginia  to  take  possession  of  the  estate  of 
his  uncle  Theodorick,  he  got  him  appointed  collector-general  of 
the  customs.  The  governors  had  hitherto  held  this  office,  and  it 
was  in  1676  that  a  collector  of  the  revenue  was  first  sent  over 


Bland  Papers,  i.  148. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF    VIRGINIA.  305 

from  England  under  parliamentary  sanction,  and  it  is  therefore  pro 
bable  that  the  appointment  of  Bland  diminished  the  perquisites  of 
Governor  Berkley.  Giles  Bland,  in  his  capacity  of  collector,  had  a 
right  to  board  any  vessel  whenever  he  might  think  it  proper.  He 
was  a  man  of  talents,  education,  courage,  and  haughty  bearing, 
and  having  before  quarrelled  with  the  governor,  now  sided  warmly 
with  Bacon.  There  happened  to  be  lying  in  York  River  a  vessel 
of  sixteen  guns,  commanded  by  a  Captain  Laramore,  and  Bland 
went  on  board  of  her  with  a  party  of  armed  men,  under  pretence 
of  searching  for  contraband  goods,  and  seizing  the  captain,  con 
fined  him  in  the  cabin.  Laramore,  discovering  Eland's  designs, 
resolved  to  deceive  him  in  his  turn,  and  entered  into  his  measures 
with  such  apparent  sincerity  that  he  was  restored  to  the  command  of 
his  vessel.  With  her,  another  vessel  of  four  guns,  under  Captain 
Carver,  and  a  sloop,  Bland,  now  appointed  Bacon's  lieutenant- 
general,  sailed  with  two  hundred  and  fifty  men  for  Accomac,  and 
after  capturing  another  vessel,  appeared  off  Accomac  with  four 
sail. 

This  peninsula,  separated  from  the  main  land  of  Virginia  by 
the  wide  Chesapeake  Bay,  was  then  hardly  accessible  by  land, 
owing  to  the  great  distance  and  the  danger  of  Indians.  The 
position  was  therefore  geographically  advantageous  for  the  fugi 
tive  governor ;  but  as  yet  few  of  the  inhabitants  had  rallied  to 
his  standard.  They  indeed  shared  in  the  general  disaffection, 
and  availed  themselves  of  this  occasion  to  lay  their  grievances 
before  Sir  William  Berkley,  who  found  himself  unable  to  redress 
his  own.  Some  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Eastern  Shore  at  this 
time  were  engaged  in  committing  depredations  on  the  estates  of  the 
planters  on  the  other  side  of  the  bay,  just  as  the  adherents  of 
Lord  Dunmore  acted  a  century  afterwards.  Upon  the  appear 
ance  of  Bland  and  his  little  squadron,  Sir  William  Berkley,  having 
not  a  single  vessel  to  defend  him,  was  overwhelmed  with  despair; 
but  at  this  juncture  he  received  a  note  from  Laramore,  offering, 
if  he  would  send  him  some  assistance,  to  deliver  Bland,  with  all 
his  men,  prisoners  into  his  hands.  The  governor,  having  no  high 
opinion  of  Laramore,  suspected  that  his  note  might  be  only  a 
bait  to  entrap  him ;  but  upon  advising  with  his  friend  Colonel 
Philip  Ludwell,  he  knowing  Laramore  and  having  a  good  opinion 

20 


306  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

of  him,  counselled  the  governor  to  accept  the  offer  as  the  best 
alternative  now  left  him,  and  gallantly  undertook  to  engage  in 
the  enterprise  at  the  hazard  of  his  life.  Sir  William  consenting, 
Ludwell,  with  twenty-six  well-armed  men,  appeared  at  the  ap 
pointed  time  alongside  of  Laramore's  vessel.  Laramore  was  pre 
pared  to  receive  the  loyalists,  and  Ludwell  boarded  her  without 
the  loss  of  a  man,  and  soon  after  captured  the  other  vessels. 
According  to  T.  M.'s  Account,  Captain  Carver  was  at  this  time, 
upon  Sir  William's  invitation,  holding  an  interview  with  him  on 
shore.  Bland,  Carver,  and  the  other  chiefs  were  sent  to  the 
governor,  and  the  rest  of  the  prisoners  secured  on  board  of  the 
vessels.  Eland's  expedition  appears  to  have  been  very  badly  ma 
naged,  and  the  drunkenness  of  his  men  probably  rendered  his 
party  so  easy  a  prey.*  The  greater  part  of  the  prisoners  screened 
themselves  from  punishment  by  entering  into  the  governor's  ser 
vice.  When  Laramore  waited  on  the  governor,  he  clasped  him  in 
his  arms,  called  him  his  deliverer,  and  gave  him  a  large  share  of 
his  favor.  In  a  few  days  the  brave  old  Carver  was  hanged  on 
the  Accomac  shore.  Sir  William  Berkley  afterwards  described 
him  as  "  a  valiant  man  and  stout  seaman,  miraculously  delivered 
into  my  hand."  Sir  Henry  Chicheley,  the  chief  of  the  council, 
who,  with  several  other  gentlemen,  was  a  prisoner  in  Bacon's 
hands,  afterwards  exclaimed  against  this  act  of  the  governor  as 
most  rash  and  cruel,  and  he  expected,  at  the  time,  to  be  executed 
in  the  same  manner  by  way  of  retaliation.  Bland  was  put  in 
irons  and  badly  treated,  as  it  was  reported. 

Captain  Gardner,  sailing  from  the  James  River,  went  to  the 
governor's  relief  with  his  own  vessel,  the  Adam  and  Eve,  and  ten 
or  twelve  sloops,  which  he  had  collected  upon  hearing  of  Eland's 
expedition.  Sir  William  Berkley,  by  this  unexpected  turn  of 
affairs,  raised  from  the  abyss  of  despair  to  the  pinnacle  of  hope, 
resolved  to  push  his  success  still  further.  With  Laramore's  ves 
sel  and  Gardner's,  and  sixteen  or  seventeen  sloops,  and  a  motley 
band  of  six  hundred,  or,  according  to  another  account,  one  thou 
sand  men  in  arms,  " rogues  and  royalists,"  the  governor  returned 
in  triumph  to  Jamestown,  September  7th,  1676,  where,  falling 

*  Bacon's  Proceedings,  20 ;  Force's  Hist.  Tracts,  i. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  307 

on  his  knees,  he  returned  thanks  to  God,  and  again  proclaimed 
Bacon  and  his  adherents  rebels  and  traitors.  There  were  now  in 
Jamestown  nine  hundred  Baconites,  as  they  had  come  to  be  styled, 
under  command  of  Colonel  Hansford,  commissioned  by  Bacon. 
Berkley  sent  in  a  summons  for  surrender  of  the  town,  with  offer 
of  pardon  to  all  except  Drummond  and  Lawrence.  Upon  this, 
all  of  them  retired  to  their  homes  except  Hansford,  Lawrence, 
Drummond,  and  a  few  others,  who  made  for  the  head  of  York 
River,  in  quest  of  Bacon,  who  had  returned  to  that  quarter. 

During  these  events  Bacon  was  executing  his  designs  against 
the  Indians.  As  soon  as  he  had  dispatched  Bland  to  Accomac, 
he  crossed  the  James  River  at  his  own  house,  at  Curies,  and  sur 
prising  the  Appomattox  Indians,  who  lived  on  both  sides  of  the 
river  of  that  name,  a  little  below  the  falls,  (now  Petersburg,)  he 
burnt  their  town,  killed  a  large  number  of  the  tribe,  and  dispersed 
the  rest.*  Burkf  places  this  battle  or  massacre  on  Bloody  Run, 
a  small  stream  emptying  into  the  James  at  Richmond,  but  he  re 
fers  to  no  authority,  and  probably  had  none  better  than  a  loose 
tradition.  The  Appomattox  Indians,  it  appears,  occupied  both 
sides  of  the  river  in  question,  and  it  is  altogether  improbable  that 
Indians  still  inhabited  the  north  bank  of  the  James  River  near 
Curies.  Besides,  if  they  had  still  inhabited  that  side,  it  would 
have  been  unnecessary  to  cross  the  James  before  commencing  the 
attack.  Curies  was  a  proper  point  for  crossing  the  James  with  a 
view  of  attacking  the  Indians  on  the  Appomattox. 

From  the  falls  of  the  Appomattox,  Bacon  traversed  the  country 
to  the  southward,  destroying  many  towns  on  the  banks  of  the 
Nottoway,  the  Meherrin,  and  the  Roanoke.  His  name  had  be 
come  so  formidable,  that  the  natives  fled  everywhere  before  him, 
and  having  nothing  to  subsist  upon,  save  the  spontaneous  produc 
tions  of  the  country,  several  tribes  perished,  and  they  who  sur 
vived  were  so  reduced  as  to  be  never  afterwards  able  to  make 
any  firm  stand  against  the  Long-knives,  and  gradually  became 
tributary  to  them. 

*  History  of  Bacon's  Rebellion,  in  Va.  Gazette  for  1769. 
f  Burk,  ii.  176. 


CHAPTER    XXXVL 


Bacon  Marches  back  upon  Jamestown  —  Singular  Stratagem  —  Berkley's  Second 
Flight  —  Jamestown  Burnt  —  Bacon  proceeds  to  Gloucester  to  oppose  Brent  — 
Bacon  dies  —  Circumstances  of  his  Death  and  Burial  —  His  Father  an  Author  — 
Marriage  and  Fortune  of  Nathaniel  Bacon,  Jr.  —  His  Widow. 

BACON,  having  exhausted  his  provisions,  had  dismissed  the 
greater  part  of  his  forces  before  Lawrence,  Drummond,  Hans- 
ford,  and  the  other  fugitives  from  Jamestown  joined  him.  Upon 
receiving  intelligence  of  the  governor's  return,  Bacon,  collecting 
a  force  variously  estimated  at  one  hundred  and  fifty,  three  hun 
dred,  and  eight  hundred,  harangued  them  on  the  situation  of 
affairs,  and  marched  back  upon  Jamestown,  leading  his  Indian 
captives  in  triumph  before  him.  The  contending  parties  came 
now  to  be  distinguished  by  the  names  of  Rebels  and  Royalists. 
Finding  the  town  defended  by  a  palisade  ten  paces  in  width,  run 
ning  across  the  neck  of  the  peninsula,  he  rode  along  the  work, 
and  reconnoitred  the  governor's  position.  Then,  dismounting 
from  his  horse,  he  animated  his  fatigued  men  to  advance  at  once, 
and,  leading  them  close  to  the  palisade,  sounded  a  defiance  with 
the  trumpet,  and  fired  upon  the  garrison.  The  governor  re 
mained  quiet,  hoping  that  want  of  provisions  would  soon  force 
Bacon  to  retire;  but  he  supplied  his  troops  from  Sir  William 
Berkley's  seat,  at  Greenspring,  three  miles  distant.  He  after 
wards  complained  that  "his  dwelling-house  at  Greenspring  was 
almost  ruined;  his  household  goods,  and  others  of  great  value, 
totally  plundered;  that  he  had  not  a  bed  to  lie  on;  two  great 
beasts,  three  hundred  sheep,  seventy  horses  and  mares,  all  his 
corn  and  provisions,  taken  away." 

Bacon  adopted  a  singular  stratagem,  and  one  hardly  compati 
ble  with  the  rules  of  chivalry.  Sending  out  small  parties  of 
horse,  he  captured  the  wives  of  several  of  the  principal  loyalists 
(308) 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  309 

then  with  the  governor,  and  among  them  the  lady  of  Colonel 
Bacon,  Sr.,  Madame  Bray,  Madame  Page,  and  Madame  Ballard. 
Upon  their  being  brought  into  the  camp,  Bacon  sends  one  of 
them  into  Jamestown  to  carry  word  to  their  husbands  that  his 
purpose  was  to  place  their  wives  in  front  of  his  men  in  case  of  a 
sally.*  Colonel  Ludwellf  reproaches  the  rebels  with  "ravishing 
of  women  from  their  homes,  and  hurrying  them  about  the  country 
in  their  rude  camps,  often  threatening  them  with  death."  But, 
according  to  another  and  more  impartial  authority,;};  Bacon  made 
use  of  the  ladies  only  to  complete  his  battery,  and  removed  them 
out  of  harm's  way  at  the  time  of  the  sortie.  He  raised  by 
moonlight  a  circumvallation  of  trees,  earth,  and  brush-wood, 
around  the  governor's  outworks.  At  daybreak  next  morning 
the  governor's  troops,  being  fired  upon,  made  a  sortie;  but  they 
Were  driven  back,  leaving  their  drum  and  their  dead  behind  them. 
Upon  the  top  of  the  work  which  he  had  thrown  up,  and  where 
alone  a  sally  could  be  made,  Bacon  exhibited  the  captive  ladies 
to  the  views  of  their  husbands  and  friends  in  the  town,  and  kept 
them  there  until  he  completed  his  works.  The  peninsula  of 
Jamestown  is  formed  by  the  James  River  on  the  south,  and  a 
deep  creek  on  the  north  encircling  it  within  ten  paces  of  the  river. 
This  island,  for  it  is  so  styled,  is  about  two  miles  long,  east  and 
west,  and  one  mile  broad.  It  is  low,  consisting  mainly  of 
marshes  and  swamps,  and  in  consequence  very  unhealthy. 
There  are  no  springs,  and  the  water  of  the  wells  is  brackish. 
Jamestown  stood  along  the  river  bank  about  three-quarters  of  a 
mile,  containing  a  church,  and  some  sixteen  or  eighteen  well- 
built  brick  houses.  The  population  of  this  diminutive  metropolis 
consisted  of  about  a  dozen  families,  (for  all  of  the  houses  were 
not  inhabited,)  "getting  their  living  by  keeping  of  ordinaries  at 
extraordinary  rates." 

Bacon,  after  completing  his  works,  in  which  he  was  much  as 
sisted  by  the  conspicuous  white  aprons  of  the  ladies,  now  mounted 
a  small  battery  of  two  or  three  cannon,  according  to  some  com 
manding  the  shipping,  but  not  the  town,  according  to  others 


*  Mrs.  Cotton's  Letter.  f  Letter  in  Chalmers'  Annals,  349. 

Narrative  of  Indian  and  Civil  Wars. 


310  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

commanding  both.  Sir  William  Berkley  had  three  great  guns 
planted  at  the  distance  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  paces. 
But  such  was  the  cowardice  of  his  motley  crowd  of  followers,  tho 
bulk  of  them  mere  spoilsmen,  "rogues  and  royalists,"  intent  only 
on  the  plunder  of  forfeited  estates  promised  them  by  "his  honor," 
that  although  superior  to  Bacon's  force  in  time,  place,  and  num 
bers,  yet  out  of  six  hundred  of  them,  only  twenty  gentlemen 
were  found  willing  to  stand  by  him.  So  great  wras  their  fear, 
that  in  two  or  three  days  after  the  sortie  they  embarked  in  the 
night  with  all  the  town  people  and  their  goods,  and  leaving  the 
guns  spiked,  weighing  anchor  secretly,  and  dropping  silently 
down  the  river ;  retreating  from  a  force  inferior  in  number,  and 
which,  during  a  rainy  week  of  the  sickliest  season,  had  been  ex 
posed,  lying  in  open  trenches,  to  far  more  hardship  and  privation 
than  themselves.  At  the  dawn  of  the  following  day,  Bacon  en 
tered,  where  he  found  empty  houses,  a  few  horses,  two  or  three 
cellars  of  wine,  a  small  quantity  of  Indian-corn,  "and  many 
tanned  hides."  It  being  determined  that  it  should  be  burned,  so 
that  the  "rogues  should  harbor  there  no  more,"  Lawrence  and 
Drummond,  who  owned  two  of  the  best  houses,  set  fire  to  them 
in  the  evening  with  their  own  hands,  and  the  soldiers,  following 
their  example,  laid  in  ashes  Jamestown,  including  the  church,  the 
first  brick  one  erected  in  the  colony.  Sir  William  Berkley  and 
his  people  beheld  the  flames  of  the  conflagration  from  the  vessels 
riding  at  anchor,  about  twenty  miles  below. 

Bacon  now  marched  to  York  River,  and  crossed  at  Tindall's 
(Gloucester)  Point,  in  order  to  encounter  Colonel  Brent,  who  was 
marching  against  him  from  the  Potomac,  with  twelve  hundred 
men.  But  the  greater  part  of  his  men,  hearing  of  Bacon's  suc 
cess,  deserting  their  colors  declared  for  him,  "resolving  with  tho 
Persians,  to  go  and  worship  the  rising  sun."*  Bacon,  making 
his  headquarters  at  Colonel  Warmer's,  called  a  convention  in 
Gloucester,  and  administered  the  oath  to  the  people  of  that 
county,  and  began  to  plan  another  expedition  against  the  Indians, 
or,  as  some  report,  against  Accomac,  when  he  fell  sick  of  a  dys 
entery  brought  on  by  exposure.  Retiring  to  the  house  of  a  Dr. 

*  Mrs.  Cotton's  Letter. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  311 

Pate,  and,  lingering  for  some  weeks,  he  died.  Some  of  the 
loyalists  afterwards  reported  that  he  died  of  a  loathsome  disease, 
and  by  a  visitation  of  God;  which  is  disproven  by  T.  M.'s  Ac 
count,  by  that  published  in  the  Virginia  Gazette,  and  by  the  Re 
port  of  the  King's  Commissioners.  Some  of  Bacon's  friends 
suspected  that  he  was  taken  off  by  poison ;  but  of  this  there  is  no 
proof.  In  his  last  hours  he  requested  the  assistance  of  a  minis 
ter  named  Wading,  whom  he  had  arrested  not  long  before  for  his 
opposition  to  the  taking  of  the  oath  in  Gloucester,  telling  him 
that  "it  was  his  place  to  preach  in  the  church,  and  not  in  the 
camp." 

The  place  of  Bacon's  interment  has  never  been  discovered,  it 
having  been  concealed  by  his  friends,  lest  his  remains  should  be 
insulted  by  the  vindictive  Berkley,  in  whom  old  age  appears  not 
to  have  mitigated  the  fury  of  the  passions.  According  to  one 
tradition,  in  order  to  screen  Bacon's  body  from  indignity,  stones 
were  laid  on  his  coffin  by  his  friend  Lawrence,  as  was  supposed; 
according  to  others,  it  was  conjectured  that  his  body  had  been 
buried  in  the  bosom  of  the  majestic  York  where  the  winds  and 
the  waves  might  still  repeat  his  requiem : — 

"While  none  shall  dare  his  obsequies  to  sing 
In  deserved  measures ;  until  time  shall  bring 
Truth  crowned  with  freedom,  and  from  danger  free, 
To  sound  his  praises  to  posterity."* 

Lord  Chatham,  in  his  letters  addressed  to  his  nephew,  the  Earl 
of  Camelford,  advises  him  to  read  "Nathaniel  Bacon's  Historical 
and  Political  Observations,  which  is,  without  exception,  the  best 
and  most  instructive  book  we  have  on  matters  of  that  kind." 
This  book,  though  at  present  little  known,  formerly  enjoyed  a 
high  reputation.  It  is  written  with  a  very  evident  bias  to  the 
principles  of  the  parliamentary  party,  to  which  Bacon  adhered. 
It  was  published  in  1647,  again  in  1651,  secretly  reprinted  in 
1672,  and  again  in  1682,  for  which  edition  the  publisher  was 
indicted  and  outlawed.  The  author  was  probably  related  to  the 

*  Extract  from  verses  on  his  death,  attributed  to  a  servant,  or  attendant,  who 
was  with  him  in  his  last  moments,  and  entitled  "Bacon's  Epitaph  made  by  his 
Man/'  (Force's  Hist.  Tracts,  i.) 


312  ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA. 

great  Lord  Bacon.*  Nathaniel  Bacon,  Jr.,  came  over  to  Virgi 
nia  about  the  year  1672,  when  the  third  edition  of  that  work  was 
secretly  reprinted  in  England.  In  the  quarto  edition  the  author, 
Nathaniel  Bacon,  is  said  to  have  been  of  Gray's  Inn.  It  wras 
published  during  the  Protectorate.  He  appears  probably  to  have 
been,  in  Oliver  Cromwell's  time,  recorder  of  the  borough  of  Ips 
wich,  and  to  have  lived  at  Freston,  near  Saxmundham,  in  Suffolk. 
His  son,  Nathaniel  Bacon,  Jr.,  styled  the  Rebel,  married,  against 
the  consent  of  his  father,  who  violently  exhibited  his  disapproba 
tion,  Elizabeth,  eldest  daughter  of  Sir  Edward  Duke,  and  sister 
to  Sir  John  Duke,  of  Benhill-lodge,  near  Saxmundham.  Hay, 
who  set  out  upon  his  travels  into  foreign  parts  in  1663,  says  he 
was  accompanied  by  Mr.  Willoughby,  Sir  Philip  Skippon,  and 
Mr.  Nathaniel  Bacon,  "a  hopeful  young  gentleman. "f  He 
owned  lands  in  England  of  the  yearly  value  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  pounds ;  and  after  his  marriage,  being  straitened  for  money, 
he  applied  to  Sir  Robert  Jason  for  assistance,  conveyed  the  lands 
to  him  for  twelve  hundred  pounds  sterling, J  and  removed  with 
his  wife  to  Virginia.  Dying,  he  left  Elizabeth  a  widow,  and 
children.  She  afterwards  married  in  Virginia  Thomas  Jcrvis,  a 
merchant,  who  lived  in  Elizabeth  City  County,  on  the  west  side 
of  Hampton  River, §  and  upon  his  death  she  became  his  execu 
trix,  and  in  1684  claimed  her  jointure  out  of  the  lands  sold  to 
Jason,  under  a  settlement  thereof  made  by  Bacon  on  his  mar 
riage,  in  consideration  of  her  portion. ||  Nathaniel  Bacon, 
Jr.,  was  cousin  to  Thomas,  Lord  Culpepper,^  subsequently  go 
vernor  of  Virginia.  Jervis  appears  to  have  been  owner  of  a  ves 
sel,  the  "Betty,"  (so  called  after  his  wife,)  in  which  Culpepper 
sailed  from  Virginia  for  Boston,  August  10th,  1680.  Elizabeth, 
relict  of  Jervis,  married  third  a  Mr.  Mole.  There  are,  at  the 
present  day,  persons  in  Virginia  of  the  name  of  Bacon,  who  claim 
to  be  lineal  descendants  of  the  rebel. 


Hist.  Magazine,  i.  216.  f  Ibid.,  i.  125. 

Hening,  ii.  374.  $  Ibid.,  ii.  472. 

Vernon's  Reports,  i.  284.  fl  Va.  Hist.  Reg.,  iii.  190. 


CHAPTER    XXXVII. 


Bacon  succeeded  by  Ingram  —  Hansford  and  others  executed  —  Ingram  and  others 
hold  West  Point  —  They  surrender  —  Close  of  Rebellion  —  Proceedings  of  Court- 
Martial  —  Execution  of  Drummond  —  His  Character  —  Mrs.  Afra  Behu  —  Richard 
Lawrence  —  His  Character. 

UPON  Bacon's  death,  toward  the  end  of  1676,  the  exact  date 
of  which  can  hardly  be  ascertained,  he  was  succeeded  by  his 
lieutenant-general,  Joseph  Ingram,  (whose  real  name  was  said  to 
be  Johnson,)  who  had  lately  arrived  in  Virginia.  Ingram,  sup 
ported  by  George  Wakelet,  or  Walklett,  his  major-general,  who 
was  very  young,  Langston,  Richard  Lawrence,  and  their  ad 
herents,  took  possession  of  West  Point,  at  the  head  of  York 
River,  fortified  it,  and  made  it  their  place  of  arms.  West  Point, 
or  West's  Point,  so  called  from  the  family  name  of  Lord  Dela 
ware,  was  at  one  time  known  as  "De  la  War,"  and  is  so  laid 
down  on  John  Henry's  Map,  dated  1770.  There  is  still  extant 
there*  a  ruinous  house  of  stone-marl,  which  was  probably  occu 
pied  by  Ingram  and  his  confederates.  A  bake-oven  serves  to 
strengthen  the  conjecture. 

As  soon  as  Berkley  heard  of  Bacon's  death,  he  sent  over 
Robert  Beverley,  with  a  party,  in  a  sloop  to  York  River,  where 
they  captured  Colonel  Hansford  and  some  twenty  soldiers,  at  the 
house  where  Colonel  Reade  had  lived,  which  appears  to  have 
been  at  or  near  wiiere  Yorktown  now  stands.  Hansford  was 
taken  to  Accomac,  tried,  and  condemned  to  be  hanged,  and  was 
the  first  native  of  Virginia  that  perished  in  that  ignominious 
form,  and  in  America  the  first  martyr  that  fell  in  defending  the 
rights  of  the  people.  He  was  described  by  Sir  William  Berkley 
as  "one  Hansford,  a  valiant  stout  man,  and  a  most  resolved 
rebel."  When  he  came  to  the  place  of  execution,  distant  about 

*  1847. 

(313) 


314  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AXD 

a  mile  from  the  place  of  his  confinement,  he  appeared  well  re 
solved  to  bear  his  fate,  complaining  only  of  the  manner  of  his 
death.  Neither  during  his  trial  before  the  court-martial,  nor 
afterwards,  did  he  supplicate  any  favor,  save  that  "he  might  be 
shot  like  a  soldier,  and  not  hanged  like  a  dog;"  but  he  was  told 
that  he  was  condemned  not  as  a  soldier,  but  as  a  rebel.  During 
the  short  respite  allowed  him  after  his  sentence,  he  professed  re 
pentance  and  contrition  for  all  the  sins  of  his  past  life,  but  re 
fused  to  acknowledge  what  was  charged  against  him  as  rebellion, 
to  be  one  of  them;  desiring  the  people  present  to  take  notice  that 
"he  died  a  loyal  subject  and  lover  of  his  country,  and  that  he 
had  never  taken  up  arms  but  for  the  destruction  of  the  Indians, 
who  had  murdered  so  many  Christians."  His  execution  took 
place  on  the  13th  of  November,  1676.* 

Captain  Wilford,  Captain  Farloe,  and  several  others  of  less  note, 
were  put  to  death  in  Accomac.  Wilford,  younger  son  of  a  knight 
who  had  lost  his  estate  and  life  in  defence  of  Charles  the  First, 
had  taken  refuge  in  Virginia,  where  he  became  an  Indian  inter 
preter,  in  which  capacity  he  was  very  serviceable  to  Bacon.  Far- 
loe  had  been  made  an  officer  by  Bacon,  upon  the  recommendation 
of  Sir  William  Berkley,  or  some  of  the  council.  He  was  a  mathe 
matical  scholar,  and  of  a  peaceable  disposition,  and  his  untimely 
end  excited  much  commiseration.  Major  Cheesman  died  in 
prison,  probably  from  ill  usage.  His  wife  took  to  herself  the 
entire  blame  for  his  having  joined  Bacon,  and  on  her  bended 
knees  implored  Sir  William  Berkley  to  put  her  to  death  in  his 
stead.  The  governor  answered  by  applying  to  her  an  epithet  of 
infamy.  Several  other  prisoners  came  to  their  death  in  prison 
in  the  same  way  with  Cheesman. 

Sir  William  Berkley  now  repaired  to  York  River  with  four 
merchant-ships,  two  or  three  sloops,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty 
men.f  According  to  another  account^  he  sent  Colonel  Ludwell 
with  part  of  his  forces  to  York  River,  while  he  himself  with  the 
rest  repaired  to  Jamestown ;  but  this  appears  to  be  erroneous. 
Sir  William  proclaimed  a  general  pardon,  excepting  certain  per- 


*  Ingram's  Proceedings,  83 ;   Force's  Hist.  Tracts,  i. 

f  T.  M.  and  Mrs.  Cotton.  J  In  Va.  Gazette. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  315 

sons  named,  especially  Lawrence  and  Drummond.  Greenspring, 
the  governor's  residence,  still  held  out,  being  garrisoned  with  a 
hundred  men  under  a  captain  Drew,  previously  a  miller,  the  ap 
proaches  barricaded,  and  three  pieces  of  cannon  planted.  A 
party  of  one  hundred  and  twenty,  dispatched  by  the  governor  to 
surprise  at  night  a  guard  of  about  thirty  men  and  boys,  under 
Major  Whaley,  at  Colonel  Bacon's  house  on  Queen's  Creek,  were 
defeated,  with  the  loss  of  their  commander,  named  Farrel.  Colo 
nel  Bacon  and  Colonel  Ludwell  were  present  at  this  affair. 
Major  Lawrence  Smith,  with  six  hundred  Gloucester  men,  was 
likewise  defeated  by  Ingram  at  Colonel  Pate's  house,  Smith 
saving  himself  by  flight,  and  his  men  being  all  made  prisoners. 
The  officer  next  in  command  under  Smith  was  a  minister.  Cap 
tain  Couset  with  a  party  being  sent  against  Raines,  who  headed 
the  insurgents  on  the  south  side  of  James  River,  Raines  was 
killed,  and  his  men  captured. 

Meanwhile  Ingram,  Wakelet,  and  their  companions  in  arms, 
foraged  with  impunity  on  the  estates  of  the  loyalists,  and  bade 
defiance  to  the  aged  governor.  They  defended  themselves  against 
the  assaults  of  Ludwell  and  others  with  such  resolution  and  gal 
lantry,  that  Berkley,  fatigued  and  exhausted,  at  length  sent,  by 
Captain  Grantham,  a  complaisant  letter  to  Wakelet — or,  as  some 
say,  to  Ingram — offering  an  amnesty,  on  condition  of  surrender. 
This  was  agreed  to,  and  in  reward  for  his  submission,  Berkley 
presented  to  Wakelet  all  the  Indian  plunder  deposited  at  West 
Point.  Greenspring  was  also  surrendered  by  Drew  upon  terms 
offered  by  Sir  William  Berkley.  A  court-martial  was  held  on 
board  of  a  vessel  in  York  River,  January  the  llth,  1676-7.* 
Four  of  the  insurgents  were  condemned  by  this  court :  one  of 
them,  by  name  Young,  had,  according  to  Sir  William  Berkley, 
held  a  commission  under  General  Monk  long  before  he  de 
clared  for  the  king;  another,  a  carpenter,  who  had  formerly 

*  Consisting  of  the  Right  Honorable  Sir  William  Berkley,  Knight,  Governor 
and  Captain-General  of  Virginia;  Colonel  Nathaniel  Bacon,  Colonel  William 
Clayborne,  Colonel  Thomas  Ballard,  Colonel  Southy  Littleton,  Colonel  Philip 
Ludwell,  Lieutenant-Colonel  John  West,  Colonel  Augustine  Warner,  Major  Law 
rence  Smith,  Major  Robert  Beverley,  Captain  Anthony  Armistead,  Colonel  Mat 
thew  Kemp,  and  Captain  Daniel  Jenifer. 


316  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY  AND 

been  a  servant  of  the  governor,  but  had  been  made  a  colonel 
in  Bacon's  army;  one,  Hall,  was  a  clerk  of  a  county  court, 
but,  by  his  writings,  "more  useful  to  the  rebels  than  forty 
armed  men." 

When  West  Point  was  surrendered,  Lawrence  and  Drummond 
were  at  the  Brick-house  in  New  Kent,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river.  On  the  nineteenth  day  of  January,  Drummond  was  taken 
in  the  Chickahominy  Swamp,  half  famished,  and  on  the  following 
day  was  brought  in  a  prisoner  to  Sir  William  Berkley,  who  was 
then  on  board  of  a  vessel  at  Colonel  Bacon's,  on  Queen's  Creek. 
The  governor,  who,  through  personal  hostility,  had  vowed  that 
Drummond  should  not  live  an  hour  after  he  fell  into  his  power, 
upon  hearing  of  his  arrival,  immediately  went  on  shore  and  saluted 
him  with  a  courtly  bow,  saying,  "Mr.  Drummond,  you  are  very 
wwwelcome;  I  am  more  glad  to  see  you  than  any  man  in  Vir 
ginia.  Mr.  Drummond,  you  shall  be  hanged  in  half  an  hour." 
He  replied,  "What  your  honor  pleases."  A  court-martial  was 
immediately  held,  in  time  of  peace,  at  the  house  of  James  Bray, 
Esq.,  whither  the  prisoner  was  conveyed  in  irons.  He  was 
stripped;  and  a  ring — a  pledge  of  domestic  affection — was  torn 
from  his  finger  before  his  conviction ;  he  was  condemned  without 
any  charge  being  alleged,  and  although  he  had  never  borne  arms  ; 
and  he  was  not  permitted  to  defend  himself.  Condemned  at  one 
o'clock,  he  was  hurried  away  to  execution  on  a  gibbet  at  four 
o'clock,  at  Middle  Plantation,  with  one  John  Baptista,  "a  common 
Frenchman,  that  had  been  very  bloody."  Drummond  was  a  sedate 
Scotch  gentleman,  who  had  been  governor  of  the  infant  colony 
of  North  Carolina,  of  estimable  character,  unsullied  integrity,  and 
signal  ability.  He  had  rendered  himself  extremely  obnoxious  to 
the  governor's  hatred  by  the  lively  concern  which  he  had  always 
evinced  in  the  public  grievances.  Sir  William  Berkley  mentions 
him  as  "  one  Drummond,  a  Scotchman,  that  we  all  suppose  was 
the  original  cause  of  the  whole  rebellion."  When  afterwards  the 
petition  of  his  widow,  Sarah  Drummond,  depicting  the  cruel  treat 
ment  of  her  husband,  was  read  in  the  king's  council  in  England, 
the  lord  chancellor,  Finch,  said:  "I  know  not  whether  it  be  law 
ful  to  wish  a  person  alive,  otherwise  I  could  wish  Sir  William 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  317 

Berkley  so,  to  see  what  could  be  answered  to  such  barbarity;  but 
he  has  answered  it  before  this."* 

Mrs.  Afra  Behn  celebrated  Bacon's  Rebellion  in  a  tragi-comedy, 
entitled  "The  Widow  Ranter,  or  the  History  of  Bacon  in  Vir 
ginia."  Dryden  honored  it  with  a  prologue.  The  play  failed 
on  the  stage,  and  was  published  in  1690;  there  is  a  copy  of  it  in 
the  British  Museum,  f  It  sets  historical  truth  at  defiance,  and  is 
replete  with  coarse  humor  and  indelicate  wit.  It  is  probable  that 
Sarah  Drummond  may  have  been  intended  by  "The  Widow 
Ranter."  It  appears  that  one  or  two  expressions  in  the  Decla 
ration  of  Independence  occur  in  this  old  play. 

On  the  24th  of  January,  1677,  six  other  insurgents  were  con 
demned  to  death  at  Greenspring,  and  executed.  Henry  West  was 
banished  for  seven  years,  and  his  estate  confiscated,  save  five 
pounds  allowed  him  to  pay  his  passage.  William  West  and  John 
Turner,  sentenced  to  death  at  the  same  time,  escaped  from  prison. 
William  Bookings,  likewise  sentenced,  died  in  prison.  Richard 
Lawrence,  with  four  companions,  disappeared  from  the  frontier, 
proceeding  on  horseback  and  armed,  through  a  deep  snow,  pre 
ferring  to  perish  in  the  wilderness  rather  than  to  share  Drum- 
mond's  fate.  Lawrence  was  educated  at  Oxford,  and  for  wit, 
learning,  and  sobriety,  was  equalled  by  few  there.  He  had  been 
one  of  the  commissioners  for  adjusting  the  boundary  line  between 
Maryland  and  Virginia  in  1663.  He  had  been  defrauded  of  a 
handsome  estate  by  Berkley's  corrupt  partiality  in  behalf  of  a 
favorite.  The  rebellion,  as  it  was  called,  was  by  most  people 
mainly  attributed  to  Lawrence;  and  it  is  said  that  he  had  before 
thrown  out  intimations  that  he  hoped  to  find  means  by  which  he 
not  only  should  be  able  to  repair  his  own  losses,  but  also  see  the 
country  relieved  from  the  governor's  "avarice  and  French  des 
potic  modes."  Lawrence  had  married  a  rich  widow,  who  kept  a 
large  house  of  entertainment  at  Jamestown,  which  gave  him  an 
extensive  influence.  Nathaniel  Bacon,  Jr.,  probably  had  lodged 


*  Morrison's  Letter,  in  Burk,  ii.  268. 

j  Thomas  H.  Wynne,  Esq.,  of  Pdchmond,  who  is  laudably  curious  in  matters 
connected  with  Virginia  history,  has  a  copy  of  this  play,  and  I  have  been  in 
debted  to  him  for  the  use  of  that  and  several  other  rare  books. 


318  ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA. 

at  his  house  when  search  was  made  for  him  on  the  morning  of 
his  escape.  The  author  of  T.  M.'s  Account  says:  "But  Mr, 
Bacon  was  too  young,  too  much  a  stranger  there,  and  of  a  dis 
position  too  precipitate,  to  manage  things  to  that  length  those 
were  carried,  had  not  thoughtful  Mr.  Lawrence  been  at  the 
bottom." 


CHAPTER    XXXVIIL 

1677'. 

Arrival  of  an  English  Regiment — The  Royal  Commissioners — Punishment  of  Re 
bels — Execution  of  Giles  Bland — Commissioners  investigate  the  Causes  of  the 
Rebellion — Seize  the  Assembly's  Journals — Number  of  Persons  executed — 
Cruel  Treatment  of  Prisoners — Bacon's  Laws  repealed — Act  of  Pardon — Ex 
ceptions — Singular  Penalties — Evaded  by  the  Courts — Many  of  Bacon's  Laws 
re-enacted — Berkley  recalled — Succeeded  by  Jeffreys — Sir  William  Berkley's 
Death— Notice  of  his  Life  and  Writings — His  Widow. 

Ox  the  29th  day  of  January,  1677,  a  fleet  arrived  within  the 
capes,  from  England,  under  command  of  Admiral  Sir  John 
Berry,  or  Barry,  .with  a  regiment  of  soldiers  commanded  by 
Colonel  Herbert  Jeffreys  and  Colonel  Morrison.  Sir  William 
Berkley  held  an  interview  with  them  at  Kiquotan,  on  board  of 
the  Bristol;  and  these  three  were  associated  in  a  commission  to 
investigate  the  causes  of  the  late  commotions  and  to  restore 
order.  They  were  instructed  to  offer  a  reward  of  three  hundred 
pounds  to  any  one  who  should  arrest  Bacon,  who  was  to  be  taken 
by  "all  ways  of  force,  or  design."  And  the  other  colonies  were 
commanded  by  the  king  not  to  aid  or  conceal  him;  and  it  was 
ordered,  in  case  of  his  capture,  that  he  should  be  brought  to  trial 
here;  or,  if  his  popularity  should  render  it  expedient,  be  sent  to 
England  for  trial  and  punishment.  They  were  authorized  to 
pardon  all  who  would  duly  take  the  oath  of  obedience,  and  give 
security  for  their  good  behavior.  Freedom  was  to  be  offered  to 
servants  and  slaves  who  would  aid  in  suppressing  the  revolt.* 
The  same  measure  had  been  before  adopted  by  the  Long  Parlia 
ment,  and  was  resorted  to  a  century  afterwards  by  Governor  Dun- 
more.  It  is  the  phenomenon  of  historical  pre-existence.  The 
general  court  and  the  assembly  having  now  met,  several  more  of 

*  Chalmers'  Annals,  336. 

(319) 


320  HISTORY  OF  THE  COLONY  AND 

Bacon's  adherents  were  convicted  by  a  civil  tribunal  held  at 
Greenspring,  and  put  to  death — most  of  them  men  of  competent 
fortune  and  respectable  character.  Among  them  was  Giles 
Bland,  whose  friends  in  England,  it  was  reported,  had  procured 
his  pardon  to  be  sent  over  with  the  fleet ;  but  if  so,  it  availed  him 
nothing.  It  was  indeed  whispered  that  he  was  executed  under 
private  orders  brought  from  England,  the  Duke  of  York  having 
declared,  with  an  oath,  that  "Bacon  and  Bland  shall  die." 
Bland  was  convicted  March  eighth,  and  executed  on  the  fifteenth, 
at  Bacon's  Trench,  near  Jamestown,  with  another  prisoner, 
Robert  Jones.  Three  others  were  put  to  death  on  another  day 
at  the  same  place.  Anthony  Arnold  was  hung  on  the  fifteenth 
of  March,  in  chains,  at  West  Point.  Two  others  suffered  capi 
tally  on  the  same  day,  but  at  what  place  does  not  appear,  proba 
bly  in  their  own  counties.* 

In  the  month  of  April,  Secretary  Ludwell  wrote  to  Coventry, 
the  English  secretary  of  state,  "that  the  grounds  of  this  rebel 
lion  have  not  proceeded  from  any  real  fault  in  the  government, 
but  rather  from  the  lewd  disposition  of  desperate  fortunes  lately 
sprung  up  among  them,  which  easily  seduced  the  willing  minds 
of  the  people  from  their  allegiance,  in  the  vain  hopes  of  taking 
the  country  wholly  out  of  his  majesty's  hands  into  their  own. 
Bacon  never  intended  more  by  the  prosecution  of  the  Indian  war 
than  as  a  covert  to  his  villanies." 

The  commissioners,  who  assisted  in  the  trial  of  these  prisoners,, 
now  proceeded  to  inquire  into  the  causes  of  the  late  distractions ; 
they  sat  at  Swan's  Point.  The  insurgents,  who  comprised  the 
great  body  of  the  people  of  Virginia,  had  found  powerful  friends 
among  the  people  of  England,  and  in  parliament;  and  the  com 
missioners  discountenanced  the  excesses  of  Sir  William  Berkley, 
and  the  loyalists,  and  invited  the  planters  in  every  quarter  to 
bring  in  their  grievances  without  fear.  Jeffreys,  one  of  the  com 
missioners,  was  about  to  succeed  Governor  Berkley.  In  their 
zeal  for  investigation  the  commissioners  seized  the  journals  of  the 
assembly;  and  the  burgesses  in  October,  1677,  demanded  satis 
faction  for  this  indignity,  declaring  that  such  a  seizure  could  not 

*  Burk,  ii.  255. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  321 

have  been  authorized  even  by  an  order  under  the  great  seal,  be 
cause  "they  found  that  such  a  power  had  never  been  exercised 
by  the  king  of  England" — an  explicit  declaration  of  the  legisla 
tive  independence  of  the  colony.  Their  language  was  stigma 
tized  by  Charles  the  Second  as  seditious.* 

The  number  of  persons  executed  was  twenty-three,  f  of  whom 
twelve  were  condemned  by  court-martial.  The  jails  were  crowded 
with  prisoners,  and  in  the  general  consternation  many  of  the  in 
habitants  were  preparing  to  leave  the  country.  During  eight 
months  Virginia  had  suffered  civil  war,  devastation,  executions, 
and  the  loss  of  one  hundred  thousand  pounds, — so  violent  was 
the  effort  of  nature  to  throw  off  the  malady  of  despotism  and 
misrule.  Charles  the  Second,  in  October,  issued  two  proclama 
tions,  authorizing  Berkley  to  pardon  all  except  Nathaniel  Bacon, 
Jr. ;  and  afterwards  another,  declaring  Sir  William's  of  February, 
1G77,  not  conformable  to  his  instructions,  in  excepting  others 
besides  Bacon  from  pardon,  and  abrogating  it.  Yet  the  king's 
commissioners  assisted  in  the  condemnation  of  several  of  the  pri 
soners.  An  act  of  pardon,  under  the  great  seal,  brought  over  by 
Lord  Culpepper,  was  afterwards  unanimously  passed  by  the  as 
sembly  in  June,  1680,  and  several  persons  are  excepted  in  it  who 
were  included  in  Sir  William's  "bloody  bill"  in  February,  1677. f 

The  people  complained  to  the  commissioners  of  the  illegal 
seizing  of  their  estates  by  the  governor  and  his  royalist  sup 
porters;  and  of  their  being  imprisoned  after  submitting  them 
selves  upon  the  governor's  proclamation  of  pardon  and  indem 
nity;  and  of  being  compelled  to  pay  heavy  fines  and  compositions 
by  threats  of  being  brought  to  trial,  which  was  in  every  instance 
tantamount  to  conviction.  Berkley  and  some  of  the  royalists 
that  sat  on  the  trial  of  the  prisoners,  were  forward  in  impeach 
ing,  accusing,  and  reviling  them — accusing  and  condemning,  both 
at  once.  Sir  William  Berkley  caused  Drummond's  small  planta 
tion  to  be  seized  upon  and  given  to  himself  by  his  council, 
removing  and  embezzling  the  personal  property,  and  thus  com 
pelling  his  widow,  with  her  children,  to  fly  from  her  home,  and 

*  Chalmers'  Revolt,  i.  163,  and  Annals,  337.  f  Hening,  ii.  370. 

J  Hening,  ii.  3CG,  428,  458. 

21 


322  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

wander  in  the  wilderness  and  woods  until  they  were  well-nigh  re 
duced  to  starvation,  when  relieved  by  the  arrival  of  the  commis 
sioners.  At  length  the  assembly,  in  an  address  to  the  governor, 
deprecated  any  further  sanguinary  punishments,  and  he  was  pre 
vailed  upon,  reluctantly,  to  desist.  All  the  acts  of  the  assembly 
of  June,  1676,  called  "Bacon's  Laws,"  wrere  repealed,  as  well  by 
the  order  and  proclamation  of  King  Charles,  as  also  by  act  of 
the  assembly  held  at  Greenspring,  in  February,  1677.* 

The  assembly  granted  indemnity  and  pardon  for  all  acts  com 
mitted  since  the  1st  of  April,  1676,  excepting  Nathaniel  Bacon, 
Jr.,  and  about  fifty  others,  including  certain  persons  deceased, 
executed,  escaped,  and  banished.  The  principal  persons  excepted 
were  Cheesman,  Hunt,  Hansford,  Wilford,  Carver,  Drummond, 
Crewes,  Farloe,  Hall,  William  and  Henry  "West,  Lawrence, 
Bland,  Whaley,  Arnold,  Ingram,  Wakelet,  Scarburgh,  and  Sarah, 
wife  of  Thomas  Grindon.  Twenty  were  attainted  of  high  trea 
son,  and  their  estates  confiscated.  The  provisoes  of  the  act  vir 
tually  left  the  whole  power  of  punishment  still  in  the  hands  of 
the  governor  and  council.  Minor  punishments  were  inflicted  on 
others;  some  were  compelled  to  sue  for  pardon  on  their  knees, 
with  a  rope  about  the  neck;  others  fined,  disfranchised,  or 
banished.  These  penalties  did  not  meet  with  the  approbation  of 
the  people,  and  were  in  several  instances  evaded  by  the  conni 
vance  of  the  courts.  John  Bagwell  and  Thomas  Gordon,  adjudged 
to  appear  at  Rappahannock  Court  with  halters  about  their  necks, 
were  allowed  to  appear  with  "small  tape;"  in  the  same  county 
William  Potts  wore  "a  Manchester  binding,"  instead  of  a  halter. 

The  assembly,  in  accordance  with  one  of  Bacon's  laws,  declared 
Indian  prisoners  slaves,  and  their  property  lawful  prize.  An 
order  was  made  for  building  a  new  state-house  at  Tindall's  (Glou 
cester)  Point,  on  the  north  side  of  York  River,  but  it  was  never 
carried  into  effect.  Many  of  the  acts  of  this  session  are  almost 
exact  copies  of  "Bacon's  Laws,"  the  titles  only  being  altered — a 
conclusive  proof  of  the  abuses  and  usurpations  of  those  in  power, 
and  of  the  merits  of  acts  passed  by  those  stigmatized  and  pu 
nished  as  rebels  and  traitors.  Such  likewise  was  the  conduct  of 

*  Hening,  ii.  365, 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  323 

the  British  Parliament  in  relation  to  the  legislation  of  the  Com 
monwealth  of  England.  The  fourth  of  May  was  appointed  a 
fast-day,  and  August  the  twenty-second  a  day  of  thanksgiving. 

Sir  William  Berkley,  worn  down  with  agitations  which  his  age 
was  unequal  to,  and  in  feeble  health,  being  recalled  by  the  king, 
ceased  to  be  governor  on  the  27th  of  April,  1677,  and  returned 
in  the  fleet  to  London,  leaving  Colonel  Herbert  Jeffreys  in  his 
place,  who  was  sworn  into  office  on  the  same  day.  His  commis 
sion  was  dated  November  the  llth,  1676 — the  twenty-eighth 
year  of  Charles  the  Second.  In  July,  1675,  Lord  Culpepper  had 
been  appointed  governor-in-chief  of  Virginia,  but  he  did  not  arrive 
till  the  beginning  of  1680 ;  had  he  come  over  when  first  appointed, 
it  might  have  prevented  Bacon's  Rebellion. 

Sir  William  Berkley  died  on  the  thirteenth  of  July,  1677,  of 
a  broken  heart,  as  some  relate,*  without  ever  seeing  the  king, 
having  been  confined  to  his  chamber  from  the  day  of  his  arrival. 
According  to  others,  King  Charles  expressed  his  approbation  of 
his  conduct,  and  the  kindest  regard  for  him,  and  made  frequent 
inquiry  respecting  his  health,  f  Others  again,  on  the  contrary, 
report  that  the  king  said  of  him:  "That  old  fool  has  hanged 
more  men  in  that  naked  country  than  I  have  done  for  the  murder 
of  my  father."{  Sir  William  Berkley  was  a  native  of  London, 
and  educated  at  Merton  College,  Oxford,  of  which  he  was  after 
wards  a  fellow,  and  in  1629  was  made  Master  of  Arts.  He  made 
the  tour  of  Europe  in  the  year  1630.  He  held  the  place  of 
governor  of  Virginia  from  1639  to  1651,  and  from  1659  to  1677 
— ^-a  period  of  thirty  years,  a  term  equalled  by  no  other  governor 
of  the  colony.  He  published  a  tragi-comedy,  "The  Lost  Lady," 
in  1639,  the  year  in  which  he  came  first  to  Virginia.  Pepys,  in 
his  Diary,  mentions  seeing  it  acted.  Sir  William  published  also, 
in  1663,  "A  Discourse  and  View  of  Virginia."  He  was  buried 
at  Twickenham,  since  illustrated  by  the  genius  of  Pope.  Sir 
William  Berkley  left  no  children.  By  a  will,  dated  May  the  2d, 
1676,  he  bequeathed  his  estate  to  his  widow.  He  declares  him 
self  to  have  been  under  no  obligation  whatever  to  any  of  his 


Chalmers'  Introduction,  i.  164.  f  Beverley,  B.  i.  79. 

T.  M.'s  Account. 


324  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

kindred  except  his  sister,  Mrs.  Jane  Davies,  (of  whom  he  appears 
to  have  been  fond,)  and  his  brother,  Lord  Berkley.  Sir  William 
married  the  widow  of  Samuel  Stephens,  of  Warwick  County,  Vir 
ginia.  She,  after  Sir  William's  death,  was  sued  by  William 
Drummond's  widow  for  trespass,  in  taking  from  her  land  a  quan 
tity  of  corn,  and  in  spite  of  a  strenuous  defence,  a  verdict  was 
found  against  the  defendant.  In  1680  she  intermarried  with 
Colonel  Philip  Ludwell,  of  Rich  Neck,  but  still  retained  the  title 
of  "Dame  (or  Lady)  Frances  Berkley." 

Samuel  Stephens  was  the  son  of  Dame  Elizabeth  Harvey 
(widow  of  Sir  John  Harvey)  by  a  former  marriage.* 

It  does  not  appear  when  Colonel  William  Clayborne,  first  of 
the  name  in  Virginia,  died,  or  where  he  was  buried,  but  probably 
in  the  County  of  New  Kent.  There  is  a  novel  entitled  "  Clay- 
borne  the  Rebel. "f 

Colonel  William  Clayborne,  Jr.,  eldest  son  of  the  above 
mentioned,  was  probably  the  one  appointed  (1676)  to  command 
a  fort  at  Indiantown  Landing,  in  New  Kent,  together  with  Major 
Lyddal,!  as  the  father  was  probably'then  too  old  for  that  post. 
Some  suppose  also  that  it  was  the  son  that  sat  on  the  trial  of 
the  rebels.  A  certificate  of  the  valor  of  William  Clayborne,  Jr., 
is  recorded  in  King  William  County  Court-house,  signed  by  Sir 
William  Berkley,  dated  in  March,  1677,  attested  by  Nathaniel 
Bacon,  Sir  Philip  Ludwell,  Ralph  Wormley,  and  Richard  Lee. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Thomas  Clayborne,  only  brother  of  William 
Clayborne,  Jr.,  lies  buried  not  far  from  West  Point,  in  King  Wil 
liam  County.  He  was  killed  by  an  Indian  arrow  which  wounded 
him  in  the  foot.  It  appears  that  each  of  the  sons  of  Secretary 
Clayborne  had  a  son  named  Thomas.  Colonel  Thomas  Clay- 
borne,  son  of  Captain  Thomas  Clayborne,  is  said  to  have  married 
three  times,  and  to  have  been  father  of  twenty-seven  children. 
One  of  his  daughters  married  a  General  Phillips  of  the  British 
army,  and  is  said  to  have  been  the  mother  of  Colonel  Ralph 
Phillips,  of  the  British  army,  who  fell  at  Waterloo,  and  of  the 

*  Mass.  Gen.  and  Antiq.  Register  for  1847,  p.  348. 

f  By  William  H.  Carpenter,  Esq.,  of  Maryland.     Published  in  1846. 

J  Hening,  ii.  526. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  325 

distinguished  Irish  orator  who  died  recently.  Another  son,  Wil 
liam  Clayborne,  married  a  Miss  Leigh,  of  Virginia,  and  was 
father  of  William  Charles  Cole  Clayborne,  Governor  of  Louisiana, 
and  of  General  Ferdinand  Leigh  Clayborne,  late  of  Mississippi. 
He  assisted  General  Jackson  in  planning  the  battle  of  New  Or 
leans.  The  widow  of  this  Governor  Clayborne  married  John  R. 
Grymes,  Esq.,  the  eminent  New  Orleans  lawyer.  And  a  daughter 
of  the  governor  married  John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  Esq.,  of  Baltimore. 

Colonel  Augustine  Clayborne,  son  of  Colonel  Thomas  Clay- 
borne,  was  appointed  clerk  of  Sussex  County  Court  in  the  year 
1754,  by  William  Adair,  secretary  of  the  colony.  His  son,  Bul- 
ler  Clayborne,  was  aid-de-camp  to  General  Lincoln,  and  is  said 
to  have  received  a  wound  while  interposing  himself  between  the 
general  and  a  party  of  British  soldiers.  Mary  Herbert,  a  sister 
of  Buller  Clayborne,  married  an  uncle  of  General  William  Henry 
Harrison.  Herbert  Clayborne,  eldest  son  of  Colonel  Augustine 
Clayborne,  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Buller  Herbert,  of  Puddle- 
dock,  near  Petersburg.  Puddledock  is  the  name  of  a  street  in 
London.  Herbert  Augustine  Clayborne  was  second  son  of  Her 
bert  Clayborne,  of  Elson  Green,  King  William  County,  and  Mary 
Burnet,  eldest  daughter  of  William  Burnet  Browne,  of  Elson 
Green,  and  before  of  Salem,  Massachusetts. 

The  Honorable  William  Browne,  of  Massachusetts,  married 
Mary  Burnet,  daughter  of  William  Burnet,  (Governor  of  New 
York  and  of  Massachusetts,)  and  Mary,  daughter  of  Dean  Stan 
hope,  of  Canterbury.  William  Burnet  was  eldest  son  of  Gilbert 
Burnet,  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  and  Mrs.  Mary  Scott,  his  second 
wife.  Thus  it  appears  that  Herbert  Clayborne  married  a  de 
scendant  of  Bishop  Burnet. 


CHAPTER    XXXIX. 

167V-1681. 

Failure  of  the  Charter — Sir  William  Berkley's  Proclamation  revoked — Ludwell's 
Quarrel  with  Jeffreys — Jeffreys  dying  is  succeeded  by  Sir  Henry  Chicheley — 
Culpepper,  Governor-in-Chief,  arrives — His  Administration — He  returns  to 
England  by  way  of  Boston. 

THE  agents  of  Virginia,  in  1675,  had  strenuously  solicited  the 
grant  of  a  new  charter,  and  their  efforts,  though  long  fruitless, 
Seemed  at  length  about  to  be  crowned  with  success,  when  the 
news  of  Bacon's  rebellion  furnished  the  government  with  a  new 
pretext  for  violating  its  engagements.  By  the  report  of  the 
committee  for  plantations,  adopted  by  the  king  in  council,  and 
twice  ordered  to  be  passed  into  a  new  charter  under  the  great 
seal,  it  was  provided,  "that  no  imposition  or  taxes  shall  be  laid 
or  imposed  upon  the  inhabitants  and  proprietors  there,  but  by  the 
common  consent  of  the  governor,  council,  and  burgesses,  as  hath 
been  heretofore  used,"  reserving,  however,  to  parliament  the 
right  to  lay  duties  upon  commodities  shipped  from  the  colony. 
The  news  of  the  rebellion  frustrated  this  scheme;  the  promised 
charter  slept  in  the  Hamper*  office;  and  the  one  actually  sent 
afterwards  was  meagre  and  unsatisfactory.  Colonel  Jeffreys, 
successor  to  Berkley,  effected  a  treaty  of  peace  with  the  Indians, 
each  town  agreeing  to  pay  three  arrows  for  their  land,  and 
twenty  beaver  skins  for  protection,  every  year.  He  convened  an 
assembly  at  the  house  of  Captain  Otho  Thorpe,  at  Middle  Plan 
tation,  in  October,  1677,  being  the  twenty-ninth  year  of  Charles 
the  Second.  William  Traverse  was  speaker,  and  Robert  Bever- 
ley  clerk.  The  session  lasted  for  one  month.  According  to 
instructions  given  to  Sir  William  Berkley,  dated  in  November, 
1676,  the  governor  was  no  longer  obliged  to  call  an  assembly 
yearly,  but  only  once  in  two  years,  and  the  session  was  limited 

*  Hening,  ii.  531 ;  Hamper,  i.e.  Hanaper. 

(326) 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  327 

to  fourteen  days,  unless  the  governor  should  see  good  cause  to 
continue  it  beyond  that  time;  and  the  members  of  the  assembly 
were  to  be  elected  only  by  freeholders.  During  this  session  re 
gulations  were  adopted  for  the  Indian  trade,  and  fairs  appointed 
for  the  sale  of  Indian  commodities;  but  the  natives  being  suspi 
cious  of  innovations,  these  provisions  soon  became  obsolete. 

In  1677  Colonel  Nathaniel  Bacon,  Sr.,  by  a  warrant  from  the 
treasury  in  England,  was  appointed  auditor  of  the  public  accounts. 
At  this  time  Colonel  Norwood  was  treasurer,  but  the  governor 
and  council,  from  motives  of  economy,  united  his  office  with  that 
of  auditor. 

It  has  before  been  mentioned  that  the  king,  by  proclamation 
in  1677,  revoked  and  abrogated  Sir  William  Berkley's  proclama 
tion  of  February  of  the  same  year,  as  containing  "an  exception 
and  exclusion  from  pardon  of  divers  and  sundry  persons  in  his 
said  proclamation  named,  for  which  he  hath  no  ground  or 
authority  from  our  foresaid  proclamation,  the  same  being  free 
and  without  exception  of  any  person  besides  the  said  Nathaniel 
Bacon,  who  should  submit  themselves  according  to  the  tenor  of 
our  said  proclamation."* 

This  appears  to  be  unjust  to  the  governor;  for  the  words  of 
the  king's  proclamation  of  October  are:  "And  we  do  by  these 
presents  give  and  grant  full  power  and  authority  to  you,  our  said 
governor,  for  us  and  in  our  name  to  pardon,  release,  and  forgive 
unto  all  such  our  subjects  (other  than  the  said  Nathaniel  Bacon) 
as  you  shall  think  fit  and  convenient  for  our  service,  all  treasons, 
felonies,"  etc.,  evidently  investing  the  governor  with  discretionary 
powers.  The  capitulation  agreed  upon  with  Ingram  and  Walklet, 
at  West  Point,  appears  to  have  been  violated  by  Governor  Berk 
ley  and  the  assembly.  Colonel  Philip  Ludwell,  alleging  that  he 
had  suffered  loss  by  Walklet's  incursions,  sued  him  in  New  Kent 
for  damages.  The  defendant  appealing  to  Jeffreys,  he  granted 
him  a  protection.  Whereupon,  Ludwell  declared  that  "the  go 
vernor,  Jeffreys,  was  a  worse  rebel  than  Bacon,  for  he  had  broke 


*  The  direction  of  this  proclamation  is  as  follows:  "To  our  trusty  and  well- 
beloved  Herbert  Jeffreys,  Esq.,  Lieutenant-Governor,  and  the  council  of  our 
colony  and  plantation  of  Virginia  in  the  West  Indies." 


328  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLOXY   AND 

the  laws  of  the  country,  which  Bacon  never  did;  that  he  was 
perjured  in  delaying  or  preventing  the  execution  of  the  laws, 
contrary  to  his  oath  of  governor;  that  he  was  not  worth  a  groat 
in  England;  and  that  if  every  pitiful  little  fellow  with  a  periwig 
that  came  in  governor  to  this  country  had  liberty  to  make  the 
laws,  as  this  had  done,  his  children,  nor  no  man's  else,  could  be 
safe  in  the  title  or  estate  left  them."  Jeffreys  having  laid  these 
charges  and  criminations  before  the  council,  they  submitted  the 
case  to  a  jury  who  found  Ludwell  guilty.  The  matter  was  referred 
to  the  king  in  council;  and  in  the  mean  while  the  accused  was 
compelled  to  give  security  in  the  penalty  of  a  thousand  pounds, 
to  abide  the  determination  of  the  case,  and  five  hundred  for  his 
good  behavior  to  the  governor. 

Westmoreland  was  the  only  county  that  declared  that  it  had 
no  grievances  to  complain  of,  and  the  sincerity  of  this  declara 
tion  may  well  be  doubted.  Accomac  claimed  as  a  reward  for  her 
loyalty  an  exemption  from  taxation  for  a  period  of  twenty  years. 
A  letter,  bearing  date  December  the  27th,  1677,  addressed  by  the 
king  to  Jeffreys,  informed  him  that  Lord  Culpepper  had  been  ap 
pointed  governor,  but  that  while  he  (Jeffreys)  continued  to  per 
form  the  duties  of  the  office,  he  should  be  no  loser,  and  stating 
the  arrangement  which  had  been  made  as  to  the  payment  of  their 
salaries.  Jeffreys  dying  in  December,  1678,  was  succeeded  by 
the  aged  Sir  Henry  Chicheley,  deputy  governor,  who  entered 
upon  the  duties  on  the  thirteenth  of  that  month,  his  commission 
being  dated  February  28th,  1674. 

Thomas,  Lord  Culpepper,  Baron  of  Thorsway,  had  been  ap 
pointed  in  July,  1675,  governor  of  Virginia  for  life — an  able,  but 
artful  and  covetous  man.*  He  had  been  one  of  the  commission 
ers  for  plantations  some  years  before.  He  was  disposed  to  look 
upon  his  office  as  a  sinecure,  but  being  reproved  in  December, 
1679,  by  the  king  for  remaining  so  long  in  England,  he  came 
over  to  the  colony  in  1680,  and  was  sworn  into  office  on  the  tenth 
of  May.  He  found  Virginia  tranquil.  He  brought  over  several 
bills  ready  draughted  in  England  to  be  passed  by  the  assembly, 


*  Account  of  Va.  in  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  first  series,  v.  142. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  329 

it  being  "intended  to  introduce  here  the  modes  of  Ireland."* 
His  lordship  being  invested  with  full  powers  of  pardon,  found  it 
the  more  easy  to  obtain  from  the  people  whatever  he  asked. 
After  procuring  the  enactment  of  several  popular  acts,  including 
one  of  indemnity  and  oblivion,  he  managed  to  have  the  impost  of 
two  shillings  on  every  hogshead  of  tobacco  made  perpetual,  and 
instead  of  being  accounted  for  to  the  assembly,  as  formerly,  to  be 
disposed  of  as  his  majesty  might  think  fit.  Culpepper,  notwith 
standing  the  impoverished  condition  of  the  colony,  contrived  to 
enlarge  his  salary  from  one  thousand  pounds  to  upwards  of  two 
thousand,  besides  perquisites  amounting  to  eight  hundred  more. 
After  the  rebellion,  the  governor  was  empowered  to  suspend  a 
councillor  from  his  place.  It  was  also  ordered,  that  in  case  of 
the  death  or  removal  of  the  governor,  the  president,  or  oldest 
member  of  the  council,  with  the  assistance  of  five  members  of 
that  body,  should  administer  the  government  until  another  ap 
pointment  should  be  made  by  the  crown. f 

In  the  year  1680  Charles  the  Second  granted  to  William 
Blathwayt  the  place  of  surveyor  and  auditor-general  of  all  his 
revenues  in  America,  with  a  salary  of  five  hundred  pounds  to  be 
paid  out  of  the  same,  Virginia's  share  of  the  salary  being  one 
hundred  pounds. 

In  August  of  this  year,  Lord  Culpepper  returned  to  England, 
by  way  of  Boston,  in  the  ship  "Betty,"  belonging  to  Jervis,  who 
married  the  widow  of  Nathaniel  Bacon,  Jr.,  (a  cousin  of  Culpep 
per,)  Jervis  being  also  a  passenger.  Elizabeth,  or  Betty,  was  the 
Christian  name  of  Bacon's  widow.  The  vessel  having  run 
aground  in  the  night,  his  lordship  landed  on  the  wild  New  Eng 
land  shore,  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles  from  Boston,  with  two 
servants,  each  carrying  a  gun,  and  made  his  way  twenty  miles  to 
Sandwich,  where  he  was  furnished  with  horses  and  a  guide,  and 
so  reached  Boston,  where  the  Betty  arrived  ten  days  thereafter. 
In  a  letter,  dated  September  the  twentieth,  addressed  to  his  sister, 
he  mentions  that  he  has  with  him,  "John  Polyn,  the  cook,  the 


*  Chalmers'  Introduction,  i.  164. 

j-  In  1G78  the  vestry  at  Middle  Plantation  determined  to  erect  a  brick  church, 
the  former  one  being  of  wood. 


330  ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA. 

page,  the  great  footman,  and  the  little  one  that  embroiders." 
The  Betty  conveyed  soldiers,  servants,*1  plate,  goods,  and  furni 
ture.  Culpepper  was  received  at  Boston  by  twelve  companies  of 
militia;  and  was  well  pleased  with  the  place,  "finding  no  differ 
ence  between  it  and  Old  England,  but  only  want  of  company."* 

Virginia  now  enjoyed  repose,  and  large  crops  of  tobacco  were 
raised,  and  the  price  again  fell  to  a  low  ebb.  The  discontents  of 
the  planters  were  aggravated  by  the  act  "for  cohabitation  and 
encouragement  of  trade  and  manufacture,"  restricting  vessels  to 
certain  prescribed  ports  where  the  government  desired  to  esta 
blish  towns. 

In  the  year  1680  Charleston  was  founded,  the  metropolis  of  the 
infant  colony  of  South  Carolina.  By  the  grant  of  Pennsylvania, 
made  by  Charles  the  Second  to  William  Penn,  dated  in  March, 
1681,  Virginia  lost  another  large  portion  of  her  territory. 

*  Va.  Hist.  Reg.,  iii.  189. 


CHAPTER    XL. 


1681-1683. 


Statistics  of  Virginia — Colonial  Kevenue — Courts  of  Law — Ecclesiastical  Affairs 
— Militia — Indians — Negroes — Riotous  cutting  up  of  Tobacco-plants — Culpep- 
per  returns — Declaration  of  Assembly  expunged  —  The  Governor  alters  the 
Value  of  Coin  by  Proclamation. 

FROM  a  statistical  account  of  Virginia,  as  reported  by  Culpep- 
per  to  the  committee  of  the  colonies,  in  1681,  it  appears  that 
there  were  at  that  time  forty-one  burgesses,  being  two  from  each 
of  twenty  counties,  and  one  from  Jamestown.  The  colonial  re 
venue  consisted — First,  of  parish  levies,  "  commonly  managed  by 
sly  cheating  fellows,  that  combine  to  cheat  the  public."  Secondly, 
public  levies  raised  by  act  of  assembly,  both  derived  from  tithables 
or  working  hands,  of  which  there  were  about  fourteen  thousand. 
The  cost  of  collecting  this  part  of  the  revenue  was  estimated  at 
not  less  than  twenty  per  centum.  Thirdly,  two  shillings  per 
hogshead  on  tobacco  exported,  which,  together  with  some  tonnage 
duties,  amounted  to  three  thousand  pounds  a  year.  The  county 
courts  held  three  sessions  in  the  year,  an  appeal  lying  to  the 
governor  and  council,  and  from  them,  in  actions  of  three  hundred 
pounds  sterling  value,  to  his  majesty;  in  causes  of  less  conse 
quence,  to  the  assembly. 

The  ecclesiastical  affairs  of  the  colony  were  subject  to  the  con 
trol  of  the  governor,  who  granted  probates  of  wills,  and  had  the 
right  of  presentation  to  all  livings,  the  ordinary  value  of  which 
was  sixty  pounds  per  annum ;  but  at  that  particular  time,  owing 
to  the  impoverishment  of  the  country  and  the  low  price  of 
tobacco,  not  worth  half  that  sum.  The  number  of  livings  was 
seventy-six.  Lord  Culpepper  adds:  "And  the  parishes  paying 
the  ministers  themselves,  have  used  to  claim  the  right  of  presen 
tation,  (or  rather  of  not  paying,)  whether  the  governor  will  or 
not,  which  must  not  be  allowed,  and  yet  must  be  managed  with 
great  caution."  There  was  no  fort  in  Virginia  defensible  against 

(331) 


332  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

a  European  enemy,  nor  any  security  for  ships  against  a  superior 
sea  force.  There  were  perhaps  fifteen  thousand  fighting  men  in 
the  country.* 

His  lordship  describes  the  north  part  of  Carolina  as  "the  re 
fuge  of  our  renegades,  and  till  in  better  order,  dangerous  to  us." 
Yet  it  is  certain  that  some  of  the  early  settlers  of  this  part  of 
North  Carolina  were  of  exemplary  character,  and  were  driven 
from  Virginia  by  intolerance  and  persecution.  According  to  his 
lordship,  "  Maryland  is  now  in  a  ferment,  and  not  only  troubled 
with  our  disease,  poverty,  but  in  a  great  danger  of  falling  to 
pieces."  The  colony  of  Virginia  was  at  peace  with  the  Indians; 
but  long  experience  had  taught,  in  regard  to  that  treacherous 
race,  that  when  there  was  the  least  suspicion  then  was  there  the 
greatest  danger.  But  the  most  ruinous  evil  that  afflicted  the 
colony  was  the  extreme  low  price  of  the  sole  commodity,  tobacco. 
"For  the  market  is  overstocked,  and  every  crop  overstocks  it 
more.  Our  thriving  is  our  undoing,  and  our  buying  of  blacks 
hath  extremely  contributed  thereto  by  making  more  tobacco,  "f 

Emancipated  Indian  or  negro  slaves  were  prohibited  from  buy 
ing  Christian  servants,  but  were  allowed  to  buy  those  of  their 
own  nation.  Negro  children  imported  had  their  ages  recorded 
by  the  court,  and  became  tithable  at  the  age  of  twelve  years.  In 
June,  1680,  an  act  was  passed  for  preventing  an  insurrection  of 
the  negro  slaves,  and  it  was  ordered  that  it  should  be  published 
twice  a  year  at  the  county  courts  of  the  parish  churches. J 
Negroes  were  not  allowed  to  remain  on  another  plantation  more 
than  four  hours  without  leave  of  the  owner  or  overseer. 

After  "his  excellency,"  Lord  Culpepper,  went  away  from  Vir 
ginia  in  August,  1680,  leaving  Sir  Henry  Chicheley  deputy 
governor,  tranquillity  prevailed  until  the  time  for  shipping  to 
bacco  in  the  following  year,  when  the  trade  was  greatly  obstructed 
by  the  act  for  establishing  towns,  which  required  vessels  to  be 
laden  at  certain  specified  places.  The  act  being  found  impracti 
cable,  was  disobeyed,  and  much  disturbance  ensued.  In  compli- 


*  The  number  of  half-armed  train-bands,  in  1680,  were  7268  foot  and  1300 
horse — total,  8568. — Chalmers*  Annals,  357. 

f  Chalmers'  Annals,  355.  |  Hening,  ii.  481,  492. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OP   VIRGINIA.  333 

ance  with  the  petitions  of  several  dissatisfied  counties,  an  assem 
bly  was  called  together  in  April,  1682,  by  Sir  Henry  Chicheley, 
without  the  consent  of  the  council.  The  session  being  occupied 
in  agitating  debates,  the  body  was  dissolved,  and  another  sum 
moned,  according  to  an  order  just  received  from  the  crown,  to 
meet  in  November,  1682,  by  which  time  Culpepper  was  com 
manded  to  return  to  Virginia.  The  disaffected  in  the  petitioning 
counties,  Gloucester,  New  Kent,  and  Middlesex,  in  May  pro 
ceeded  riotously  to  cut  up  the  tobacco-plants  in  the  beds,  espe 
cially  the  sweet-scented,  which  was  produced  nowhere  else.  To 
put  a  stop  to  this  outbreak,  the  deputy  governor  issued  sundry 
proclamations.* 

Lord  Culpepper  having  arrived,  the  assembly  met  shortly  after 
wards.  He  demanded  of  the  council  an  account  of  their  adminis 
tration  during  his  absence,  and  it  was  rendered.  In  his  address 
to  the  assembly,  he  enlarged  upon  the  king's  generous  and  unde 
served  concessions  to  the  colony;  he  announced  the  king's  high 
displeasure  at  the  declaration  made  by  them  that  the  seizing  of 
their  records  by  the  king's  commissioners  was  an  unwarrantable 
violation  of  their  privileges,  and,  in  the  king's  name,  ordered  the 
same  to  be  expunged  from  the  journal  of  the  house,  and  proposed 
to  them  a  bill  asserting  the  right  of  the  king  and  his  officers  to 
call  for  all  their  records  and  journals  whenever  they  should  think 
it  necessary  for  the  public  service. 

The  governor  claiming  authority  to  raise  the  value  of  the  coin, 
the  assembly  warmly  opposed  it,  as  a  dangerous  encroachment 
on  their  constitutional  rights ;  and  a  bill  was  brought  in  for  regu 
lating  the  value  of  coins,  which  was  interrupted  by  the  governor, 
who  claimed  that  power  as  belonging  to  the  royal  prerogative. 
He  issued  a  proclamation,  in  1683,  raising  the  value  of  crowns, 
rix  dollars,  and  pieces  of  eight,  from  five  to  six  shillings,  half 
pieces  to  three  shillings,  quarter  pieces  to  eighteen  pence,  and  the 
New  England  coin  to  one  shilling,  declaring  money  at  this  rate  a 
lawful  tender,  except  for  the  duty  of  two  shillings  a  hogshead  on 
tobacco,  the  quit-rents,  and  other  duties  payable  to  his  majesty, 
and  for  debts  contracted  for  bills  of  exchange.  His  own  salary 


*  Hening,  ii.  561. 


334  ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA. 

and  the  king's  revenues  were,  in  this  way,  in  a  period  of  distress, 
exempted  from  the  operation  of  the  act,  a  proceeding  characteristic 
of  the  reign  of  Charles  the  Second,  in  which  official  energy  was 
mainly  exhibited  in  measures  of  injustice  and  extortion. 

The  ringleaders  in  the  plant  cutting  were  arrested,  and  some 
of  them  hanged  upon  a  charge  of  treason;  and  this,  together  with 
the  enactment  of  a  riot  act,  and  making  the  offence  high  treason, 
put  a  stop  to  the  practice.* 

*  Chalmers'  Annals,  340;  Hening,  iii.  10. 


CHAPTER    XLI. 

1G83-1688. 

Persecution  of  Robert  Beverley — Plots  and  Executions  in  England — Culpepper 
returns  to  England — Spencer,  President — Culpepper  is  displaced — Succeeded 
b}T  Effingham — Beverley,  found  guilty,  asks  Pardon,  and  is  released — Miscel 
laneous  Aifairs — Death  of  Charles  the  Second — Succeeded  by  James  the  Se 
cond — Beverley  again  Clerk — Duke  of  Monmouth  beheaded — Adherents  of 
Monmouth  sent  Prisoners  to  Virginia — Instructions  respecting  them — Death 
of  B-obert  Beverley — Despotism  of  James  the  Second — Servile  Insurrection 
prevented — Virginia  refuses  to  contribute  to  the  erection  of  Forts  in  New 
York — Commotions  in  Virginia — Effingham's  Corruption  and  Tyranny — He 
embarks  for  England — Ludwell  dispatched  to  lay  Virginia's  Grievances  before 
the  Government — Abdication  of  James  the  Second. 

THE  vengeance  of  the  government  fell  heavily  upon  Major 
Robert  Beverley,  clerk  of  the  house  of  burgesses,  as  the  chief 
instigator  of  these  disturbances.  He  had  incurred  the  displea 
sure  of  the  governor  and  council  by  refusing  to  deliver  up  to 
them  copies  of  the  legislative  journals,  without  permission  of  the 
house.  Beverley  had  rendered  important  services  in  suppressing 
Bacon's  rebellion,  and  had  won  the  special  favor  of  Sir  William 
Berkley ;  but  as  circumstances  change,  men  change  with  them, 
and  now  by  a  steady  adherence  to  his  duty  to  the  assembly,  he 
drew  down  upon  his  head  unrelenting  persecution.  In  the  month 
of  May,  1682,  he  was  committed  a  close  prisoner  on  board  the 
ship  Duke  of  York,  lying  in  the  Rappahannock.*  Ralph 
AYormley,  Matthew  Kemp,  and  Christopher  Wormley,  were 
directed  to  seize  the  records  in  Beverley's  possession,  and  to 
break  open  doors  if  necessary.  He  complained,  in  a  note  ad 
dressed  to  the  captain,  and  claimed  the  rights  of  a  freeborn  Eng 
lishman.  He  was  transferred  from  the  Duke  of  York  to  Captain 
Jeffries,  commander  of  the  Concord,  and  a  guard  set  over  him. 
He  was  next  sent  on  board  of  Colonel  Custis's  sloop,  to  be  taken 

*  Hening,  iii.  540. 

(335) 


66b  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AXD 

to  Northampton.  Escaping  from  the  custody  of  the  sheriff  of 
York,  the  prisoner  was  retaken  at  his  own  house  in  Middlesex, 
and  sent  to  Northampton,  on  the  Eastern  Shore.  Some  months 
after,  he  applied  for  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  which  was  refused; 
and  in  a  short  time,  being  again  found  at  large,  he  was  remanded 
to  Northampton.  In  January,  1683,  new  charges  were  brought 
against  him:  First,  that  he  had  broken  open  letters  addressed 
to  the  secretary's  office;  Secondly,  that  he  had  made  up  the 
journal,  and  inserted  his  majesty's  letter  therein,  notwithstand 
ing  it  had  first  been  presented  at  the  time  of  the  prorogation; 
Thirdly,  that  in  1682  he  had  refused  copies  of  the  journal  to  the 
governor  and  council,  saying  "he  might  not  do  it  without  leave 
of  his  masters." 

In  the  year  1680,  England  was  agitated  and  alarmed  with  the 
"Popish  plot;"  and  the  Earl  of  Stafford  and  divers  others  were 
executed  on  the  information  of  Gates  and  other  witnesses.  In 
July,  1683,  Lord  Russell  was  beheaded  on  a  charge  of  treason, 
and  others  suffered  the  same  fate  as  being  implicated  in  what  was 
styled  the  "Protestant  plot." 

Culpepper,  after  staying  about  a  year  in  Virginia,  returned  to 
England,  leaving  his  kinsman,  secretary  Nicholas  Spencer,  presi 
dent.  Thus,  again,  quitting  the  colony  in  violation  of  his  orders, 
he  was  arrested  immediately  on  his  arrival;  and  having  received 
presents  from  the  assembly,  contrary  to  his  instructions,  a  jury 
of  Middlesex  found  that  he  had  forfeited  his  commission.  This 
example  having  shown  that  he  who  acts  under  independent 
authority  will  seldom  obey  even  reasonable  commands,  no  more 
governors  were  appointed  for  life.*  Beverleyf  gives  a  different 
account:  "The  next  year,  being  1684,  upon  the  Lord  Culpepper 
refusing  to  return,  Francis,  Lord  Howard  of  Effingham,  was  sent 
over  governor."  But  Chalmers,  having  access  to  the  records  of 
the  English  government,  appears  to  be  the  better  authority. 

Lord  Culpepper  having  it  in  view,  as  was  said,  to  purchase  the 
propriety  of  the  Northern  Neck,  lying  between  the  Rappahan- 
nock  and  the  Potomac,  in  order  to  further  his  design,  had  fo 
mented  a  dispute  between  the  house  of  burgesses  and  the  coun- 

*  Chalmers'  Annals,  345.  f  Beyerley,  B.  i.  89. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  337 

cil ;  and  the  quarrel  running  nigh,  his  lordship  procured  from  the 
king  instructions  to  abolish  appeals  from  the  general  court  to  the 
assembly,  and  transfer  them  to  the  crown.  However,  Culpepper 
being  a  man  of  strong  judgment,  introduced  some  salutary 
amendments  to  the  laws.  During  his  time,  instead  of  fixed  gar 
risons,  rangers  were  employed  in  guarding  the  frontier.  In  Oc 
tober  died  Lieutenant-Colonel  Thomas  Clayborne,  (son  of  Colonel 
William  Clayborne,)  mortally  wounded  in  an  engagement  with 
the  Indians,  which  took  place  near  West  Point,  at  the  head  of 
York  River;  he  lies  buried  on  the  same  spot,  in  compliance  with 
his  dying  request.  The  son  appears  to  have  inherited  the  spirit 
of  his  father. 

Lord  Culpepper  was  succeeded  by  Francis,  Lord  Howard  of 
Effingham,  whose  appointment  was  the  last  act  of  Charles  the 
Second  in  relation  to  the  colony  of  Virginia.  Lord  Effingham 
was  appointed  in  August,  1683,  the  thirty-fifth  year  of  the  king's 
reign,  commissioned  in  September,  and  arriving  in  Virginia 
during  February,  1684,  entered  upon  the  duties  of  the  office  in 
April.  The  assembly  met  on  the  following  day.  Acts  were 
passed  to  prevent  plant  cutting,  and  preserve  the  peace;  to  sup 
ply  the  inhabitants  with  arms  and  ammunition ;  to  repeal  the  act 
for  encouragement  of  domestic  manufactures ;  to  provide  for  the 
better  defence  of  the  colony;  laying  for  the  first  time  an  impost 
on  liquors  imported  from  other  English  plantations;  exempting 
such  as  were  imported  by  Virginians  for  their  own  use,  and  in 
their  own  vessels.  The  burgesses,  in  behalf  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Northern  Neck,  then  called  Potomac  Neck,  prayed  the  go 
vernor  to  secure  them  by  patent  in  their  titles  to  their  lands, 
which  had  been  invaded  by  Culpepper's  charter.  The  governor 
replied  that  he  was  expecting  a  favorable  decision  on  the  matter 
from  the  king. 

About  this  time  the  name  of  Zach.  Taylor,  a  surveyor,  is  men 
tioned,  an  ancestor  of  General  Zachary  Taylor,  some  time  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States.* 

In  May,  1684,  Robert  Beverley  was  found  guilty  of  high  mis- 


*  One  of  the  James  River  merchant-vessels  mentioned  by  the  first  William 
Byrd,  was  called  the  "Zach.  Taylor." 

99 


338  HISTORY  OP  THE  COLONY  AND 

demeanors,  but  judgment  being  respited,  and  the  prisoner  asking 
pardon  on  his  bended  knees,  was  released,  upon  giving  security 
for  his  good  behavior.  His  counsel  was  William  Fitzhugh,  of 
Stafford  County,  a  lawyer  of  reputation,  and  a  planter.  Bever- 
ley  was  charged  with  having  led  the  people  to  believe  that  there 
would  be  a  "cessation"  of  the  tobacco  crop  in  1680,  and  such 
appears  to  have  been  the  general  impression  in  the  summer  of 
that  year.*  The  abject  terms  in  which  he  now  sued  for  pardon 
form  a  singular  contrast  to  his  former  constancy;  and  it  is 
curious  to  find  the  loyal  Beverley,  the  strenuous  partizan  of 
Berkley,  now  the  victim  of  the  tyranny  which  he  had  formerly 
defended  with  so  much  energy  and  success. 

On  the  twentieth  day  of  May,  of  this  year,  Lord  Baltimore 
was  at  Jamestown  on  a  visit  to  the  governor,  with  a  view  of  cm- 
barking  there  for  England. 

Owing  to  the  incursions  of  the  Five  Nations  upon  the  frontiers 
of  Virginia,  it  was  deemed  expedient  to  treat  with  them  through 
the  governor  of  New  York ;  and  for  this  purpose  Lord  Effing- 
ham,  Governor  of  Virginia,  leaving  the  administration  in  the 
hands  of  Colonel  Bacon,  of  the  council,  and  accompanied  by  two 
councillors,  sailed,  June  the  twenty- third,  in  the  "  Quaker  Ketch," 
to 'New  York,  and  thence  repaired  to  Albany,  in  July.  There  he 
met  Governor  Dongan,  of  New  York,  the  agent  of  Massachu 
setts,  the  magistrates  of  Albany,  and  the  chiefs  of  the  warlike 
Mohawks,  Oneidas,  Onondagos,  and  Cayugas.  The  tomahawk 
was  buried,  the  chain  of  friendship  brightened,  and  the  tree  of 
peace  planted.  It  was  during  this  year  that  the  charter  of 
Massachusetts  was  dissolved  by  a  writ  of  quo  ivarranio.  In  the 
same  year  Talbot,  a  kinsman  of  the  Calverts,  and  a  member  of 
the  Maryland  Council,  killed,  in  a  private  rencontre,  Rousby,  the 
collector  of  the  customs  for  that  province;  he  was  tried  in  Vir 
ginia,  and  convicted,  but  subsequently  pardoned  by  James  the 
Second. 

Evelynf  says:  "I  can  never  forget  the  inexpressible  luxury, 
and  profaneness,  gaming,  and  all  dissoluteness,  and,  as  it  were, 
total  forgetfulness  of  God.  (it  being  Sunday  evening,)  which  this 

*  Ta.  Hist,  Reg.,  i.  166.  f  Diary,  ii.  211. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  839 

day  se'nnight  I  was  witness  of,  the  king  sitting  and  toying  with 
his  concubines,  Portsmouth,  Cleveland,  and  Mazarine,  etc.,  a 
French  boy  singing  love-songs  in  that  glorious  gallery,  while 
about  twenty  of  the  great  courtiers,  and  other  dissolute  persons, 
were  at  basset  round  a  large  table,  a  bank  of  at  least  two  thou 
sand  pounds  in  gold  before  them;  upon  which  two  gentlemen, 
who  were  with  me,  made  reflections  with  astonishment.  Six  days 
after,  all  was  in  the  dust." 

Rochester,  in  his  epigram,  described  Charles  the  Second  as  one 

Who  never  said  a  foolish  thing,  and  never  did  a  wise  one. 

But  it  is  much  easier  to  discover  the  foolish  things  that  he  did, 
than  the  wise  things  that  he  said.  He  was  good-natured,  free 
from  vindictiveness,  and  had  some  appreciation  of  science. 

The  succession  of  James  the  Second  to  the  throne  was  pro 
claimed  in  the  Ancient  Dominion  of  Virginia  awith  extraor 
dinary  joy."  The  enthusiasm  of  their  loyalty  was  soon  lowered, 
for  the  assembly  meeting  on  the  1st  day  of  October,  1685,  and 
warmly  resisting  the  negative  power  claimed  by  the  governor, 
was  prorogued  on  the  same  day  to  the  second  of  November  fol 
lowing.  Robert  Beverley  was  again  clerk.  Strong  resolutions, 
complaining  of  the  governor's  veto,  were  passed.  After  sitting 
for  some  time  this  and  other  bills  wrere  presented  to  him  for  his 
signature,  which  he  refused  to  give,  and  appearing  suddenly  in 
the  house  prorogued  it  again  to  the  20th  of  October,  1686. 

The  Duke  of  Monmouth,  an  illegitimate  son  of  Charles  the 
Second,  failing  in  a  rash  insurrection,  was  beheaded,  July  the 
fourteenth  of  this  year. 

The  first  parliament  of  the  new  reign  laid  an  impost  on  to 
bacco;  the  planters,  in  abject  terms,  supplicated  James  to  sus 
pend  the  duty  imposed  on  their  staple ;  but  he  refused  to  comply. 
They  also  took  measures  to  encourage  domestic  manufactures, 
which  were  disapproved  of  by  the  lords  of  the  committee  of  colo 
nies,  as  contrary  to  the  acts  of  navigation.  Nevertheless,  on  the 
reception  of  the  news  of  the  defeat  of  the  Duke  of  Monmouth, 
the  Virginians  sent  a  congratulatory  address  to  the  king. 

A  number  of  the  prisoners  taken  with  Monmouth,  and  who  had 
escaped  the  cruelty  of  Jeffreys,  were  sent  to  Virginia;  and  King 


340  HISTORY   OP   THE    COLONY  AND 

James  instructed  Effingham  on  this  occasion  in   the  following 
letter:* 

"  RIGHT  TRUSTY  AND  WELL-BELOVED, — We  greet  you  well. 
As  it  has  pleased  God  to  deliver  into  our  hands  such  of  our 
rebellious  subjects  as  have  taken  up  arms  against  us,  for  which 
traitorous  practices  some  of  them  have  suffered  death  according 
to  law;  so  we  have  been  graciously  pleased  to  extend  our  mercy 
to  many  others  by  ordering  their  transportation  to  several  parts 
of  our  dominions  in  America,  where  they  are  to  be  kept  as  ser 
vants  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  same ;  and  to  the  end  their  punish 
ment  may  in  some  measure  answer  their  crimes,  we  do  think  fit 
hereby  to  signify  our  pleasure  unto  you,  our  governor  and  coun 
cil  of  Virginia,  that  you  take  all  necessary  care  that  such  con 
victed  persons  as  were  guilty  of  the  late  rebellion,  that  shall 
arrive  within  that  our  colony,  whose  names  are  hereunto  annexed,f 
be  kept  there,  and  continue  to  serve  their  masters  for  the  space 
of  ten  years  at  least.  And  that  they  be  not  permitted  in  any 
manner  to  redeem  themselves  by  money  or  otherwise  until  that 
term  be  fully  expired.  And  for  the  better  effecting  hereof,  you 
are  to  frame  and  propose  a  bill  to  the  assembly  of  that  our  colony, 
with  such  provisions  and  clauses  as  shall  be  requisite  for  this 
purpose,  to  which  you,  our  governor,  are  to  give  your  assent,  and 
to  transmit  the  same  unto  us  for  our  royal  confirmation.  Wherein 
expecting  a  ready  compliance,  we  bid  you  heartily  farewell. 
Given  at  our  court  at  Whitehall,  the  4th  of  October,  1685,  in  the 
first  year  of  our  reign. 

"SUNDERLAXD." 

Virginia  made  no  law  conformable  to  the  requisitions  of  the 
king. 

James  the  Second,  strongly  resenting  the  too  democratical  pro 
ceedings  of  the  Virginia  assembly,  ordered  their  dissolution,  and 
that  Robert  Beverley,  as  chief  promoter  of  these  disputes,  should 
be  disfranchised  and  prosecuted, J  and  directed  that  in  future  the 
appointment  of  the  clerk  of  the  house  of  burgesses  should  be 

*  Chalmers'  Annals,  358 

|  The  list  is  still  preserved  in  the  London  state-paper  office. 

J  Hening,  iii.  40. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA. 

made  by  the  governor.  Several  persons  were  punished  about 
this  time  for  seditious  and  treasonable  conduct.  In  May,  1687, 
the  assembly  was  dissolved.  In  the  spring  of  this  year  Robert 
Beverley  died — the  victim  of  tyranny  and  martyr  of  constitu 
tional  liberty :  long  a  distinguished  loyalist,  he  lived  to  become 
still  more  distinguished  as  a  patriot.  It  is  thus  in  human  incon 
sistency  that  extremes  meet. 

The  English  merchants  engaged  in  the  tobacco  trade,  in  August, 
1687,  complained  to  the  committee  of  the  colonies  of  the  mis 
chiefs  consequent  upon  the  exportation  of  tobacco  in  bulk ;  and 
the  committee  advised  the  assembly  to  prohibit  this  practice. 
The  assembly  refused  compliance ;  but  the  regulation  was  subse 
quently  established  by  parliament.  A  meditated  insurrection  of 
the  blacks  was  discovered  in  the  Northern  Neck  just  in  time  to 
prevent  its  explosion.  In  November  a  message  had  been  received 
from  the  Governor  of  New  York,  communicating  the  king's  in 
structions  to  him  to  build  forts  for  the  defence  of  that  colony, 
and  the  king's  desire  that  Virginia  should  contribute  to  that  ob 
ject,  as  being  for  the  common  defence  of  the  colonies.  This 
project  of  James,  it  was  suspected,  had  its  origin  in  his  own  pro 
prietary  interest  in  New  York.  The  Virginians  replied,  that  the 
Indians  might  invade  Virginia  without  passing  within  a  hundred 
miles  of  those  forts,  and  the  contribution  was  refused.  In  De 
cember,  William  Byrd  succeeded  Colonel  Nathaniel  Bacon,  Sr., 
as  auditor  of  the  accounts  of  his  majesty's  revenue  in  Virginia; 
he  continued  to  hold  that  place  for  seventeen  years.  His  MS. 
accounts  are  still  preserved. 

James  the  Second,  influenced  by  the  counsels  and  the  gold  of 
France,  and  in  violation  of  the  most  solemn  pledges  made  to  the 
parliament  when  he  ascended  the  throne,  showed  himself  incor 
rigibly  bent  upon  introducing  absolute  government  and  establish 
ing  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  in  England.  In  Virginia  the 
council  displayed,  as  usual,  servility  to  power.  Upon  the  dissolu 
tion  of  the  assembly,  the  colony  was  agitated  with  apprehensions 
and  alarm.  Rumors  were  circulated  of  terrible  plots,  now  of  the 
Papists,  then  of  the  Indians.  The  County  of  Stafford  was  in 
flamed  by  the  bold  harangues  of  John  Waugh,  a  preacher  of  the 
established  church,  and  three  councillors  were  dispatched  to  allay 


342  ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA. 

the  commotions.  Part  of  Rappahannock  County  was  in  arms. 
Colonel  John  Scarburgh,  of  the  Eastern  Shore,  was  prosecuted 
for  saying  to  the  governor  that  "his  majesty  King  James  would 
wear  out  the  Church  of  England,  for  that  when  there  were  any 
vacant  offices  he  supplied  them  with  men  of  a  different  persua 
sion."  Scarburgh  was  discharged  by  the  council.  Others  were 
prosecuted  and  imprisoned;  and  James  Collins  was  put  in  irons 
for  treasonable  words  uttered  against  the  king. 

Effingham,  no  less  avaricious  and  unscrupulous  than  his  prede 
cessor  Culpepper,  by  his  extortions  and  usurpations  aroused  a 
general  spirit  of  indignation.  He  prorogued  and  dissolved  the 
assembly;  he  erected  a  new  court  of  chancery,  making  himself  a 
petty  lord  chancellor;  he  multiplied  fees,  and  stooped  to  share 
them  with  the  clerks,  and  silenced  the  victims  of  his  extortions 
by  arbitrary  imprisonment.  The  house  of  burgesses,  preparing 
to  petition  the  king  against  the  new  invention  of  a  seal,  by  which 
his  lordship  extracted  from  the  country  one  hundred  thousand 
pounds  of  tobacco  per  annum  of  extraordinary  fees  and  perquisites, 
and  the  governor  getting  wind  of  it,  sent  for  them,  and  they, 
knowing  that  his  object  was  to  dissolve  them,  completed  the  peti 
tion,  signed  it,  and  ordered  their  clerk  and  one  of  their  members 
to  transmit  it  to  Whitehall  for  the  king.  But  instead  of  being 
delivered  to  his  majesty,  the  original  petition  was  sent  back  from 
England  to  the  governor,  with  an  account  of  the  manner  in  which 
it  had  been  transmitted.  In  consequence  whereof,  Colonel  Thomas 
Milner,  being  a  surveyor  and  clerk  of  the  house,  was  removed 
from  those  offices,  and  the  burgess  being  a  lawyer,  was  prohibited 
from  practising  at  the  bar.* 

At  length,  the  complaints  of  the  Virginians  having  reached 
England,  Effingham  embarked,  in  1688,  for  that  country,  and 
the  assembly  dispatched  Colonel  Ludwell  to  lay  their  grievances 
before  the  government;  but  before  they  reached  the  mother 
country,  the  revolution  had  taken  place,  and  James  the  Secondf 
had  closed  a  short  and  inglorious  reign,  spent  in  preposterous 
invasions  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  by  abdicating  the  crown. 

#  Account  of  Virginia,  in  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  first  series. 
|  Chalmers'  Annals,  347. 


CHAPTER    XLIL 

1688-1696. 

Accession  of  William  and  Mary — Proclaimed  in  Virginia — The  House  of  Stuart — 
President  Bacon — Colonel  Francis  Nicholson,  Lieutenant-Governor — The  Rev. 
James  Blair,  Commissary — College  of  William  and  Mary  chartered — Its  En 
dowment,  Objects,  Professorships — Death  of  John  Page — Nicholson  succeeded 
by  Andros— Post-office— Death  of  Queen  Mary— William  the  Third— Board  of 
Trade. 

WILLIAM,  PRINCE  OF  ORANGE,  landed  at  Torbay  in  November, 
1688,  and  he  and  Mary  were  proclaimed  king  and  queen  on  the 
13th  day  of  February,  1689.  The  coronation  took  place  on  the 
eleventh  day  of  April.  They  had  been  for  several  months  seated 
on  the  throne  before  they  were  proclaimed  in  Virginia.  The 
delay  was  owing  to  the  reiterated  pledges  of  fealty  made  by  the 
council  to  James,  and  from  an  apprehension  that  he  might  be 
restored  to  the  kingdom.  Some  of  the  Virginians  insisted  that, 
as  there  was  no  king  in  England,  so  there  was  also  an  interregnum 
in  the  government  of  the  colony.  At  length,  in  compliance  with 
the  repeated  commands  of  the  privy  council,  William  and  Mary 
were  proclaimed,  at  James  City,  in  April,  1689,  Lord  and  Lady 
of  Virginia.  This  glorious  event,  with  the  circumstances  con 
nected  with  it,  was  duly  announced  to  the  lords  commissioners  of 
plantations,  in  a  letter,  dated  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  that  month, 
by  Nicholas  Spencer,  secretary  of  state. 

The  accession  of  the  Prince  of  Orange  dispelled  the  clouds  of 
discontent  and  alarm,  and  inspired  the  people  of  the  colony  with 
sincere  joy.  For  about  seventy  years  Virginia  had  been  subject 
to  the  house  of  Stuart,  and  there  was  little  in  the  retrospect  to 
awaken  regret  at  their  downfall.  They  had  cramped  trade  by 
monopolies  and  restrictions,  lavished  vast  bodies  of  land  on  their 
profligate  minions,  and  often  entrusted  the  reigns  of  power  to  in 
competent,  corrupt,  and  tyrannical  governors.  The  dynasty  of 
the  Stuarts  fell  buried  in  the  ruins  of  misused  power. 

When  the  last  of  the  Stuart  governors,  Lord  Howard  of  Effing- 

(343) 


344  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

ham,  returned  to  England,  he  had  left  the  administration  in  the 
hands  of  Colonel  Nathaniel  Bacon,  Sr.,  president  of  the  council. 
Upon  the  accession  of  William  and  Mary,  England  being  on  the 
eve  of  a  war  with  France,  the  president  and  council  of  Virginia 
were  directed  by  the  Duke  of  Shrewsbury  to  put  the  colony  in  a 
posture  of  defence. 

Colonel  Philip  Ludwell,  who  had  been  sent  out  as  an  agent  of 
the  colony  to  prefer  complaints  against  Lord  Howard  of  Effing- 
ham  before  the  privy  council,  now  at  length  obtained  a  decision 
in  some  points  rather  favorable  to  the  colony,  but  the  question  of 
prerogative  was  determined  in  favor  of  the  crown,  and  it  was  de 
clared  that  an  act  of  1680  was  revived  by  the  king's  disallowing 
the  act  of  repeal. 

Bacon's  administration  was  short;  he  had  now  obtained  an 
advanced  age.  In  his  time  the  project  of  a  college  was  re 
newed,  but  not  carried  into  effect.  President  Bacon  resided  in 
York  County.  He  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Richard 
Kingsmill,  Esq.,  of  James  City  County.  Leaving  no  issue,  by 
his  will  he  bequeathed  his  estates  to  his  niece,  Abigail  Burwell, 
and  his  "riding  horse,  Watt,  to  Lady  Berkley,"  at  that  time 
wife  of  Colonel  Philip  Ludwell.  President  Bacon  died  on  the 
16th  of  March,  1692,  in  the  seventy-third  year  of  his  age,  and 
lies  buries  on  King's  Creek,*  as  does  also  Elizabeth,  his  wife, 
who  died  in  the  year  1691,  aged  sixty-seven. f  The  name  of  the 
wife  of  Nathaniel  Bacon,  Jr.,  was  likewise  Elizabeth. 

In  the  year  1690  Lord  Effingham,  reluctant  to  revisit  a  province 
where  he  was  so  unacceptable,  being  still  absent  from  Virginia 
on  the  plea  of  ill  health,  Francis  Nicholson,  who  had  been  driven 
from  New  York  by  a  popular  outbreak,  came  over  as  lieutenant- 
governor.  He  found  the  colony  ready  for  revolt.  The  people 
were  indignant  at  seeing  Effingham  still  retained  in  the  office  of 
governor-in-chief,  believing  that  Nicholson  would  become  his  tool. 
The  revolution  in  England  seemed  as  yet  productive  of  no  amend 
ment  in  the  colonial  administration.  Nicholson,  however,  now 

•*  James  City  Records,  cited  in  "Farmer's  Register"  for  1839,  p.  407. 

f  Dr.  Williamson,  of  Williamsburg,  obligingly  sent  me  the  inscription  and  the 
coat  of  arms,  as  copied  by  him  from  her  tombstone,  which  was  ploughed  up 
on  the  banks  of  Queen's  Creek. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  345 

courted  popularity ;  he  instituted  athletic  games,  and  offered  prizes 
to  those  who  should  excel  in  riding,  running,  shooting,  wrestling, 
and  fencing.  The  last  alone  could  need  any  encouragement  in 
such  a  country  as  Virginia.  He  proposed  the  establishment  of  a 
post-office,  and  recommended  the  erection  of  a  college,  but  refused 
to  call  an  assembly  to  further  the  scheme,  being  under  obliga 
tions  to  Effingham  to  stave  off  assemblies  as  long  as  possible,  for 
fear  of  complaints  being  renewed  against  his  arbitrary  adminis 
tration.*  Nevertheless,  Nicholson  and  the  council  headed  a  pri 
vate  subscription,  and  twenty-five  hundred  pounds  were  raised, 
part  of  this  sum  being  contributed  by  some  London  merchants. 
The  new  governor  made  a  progress  through  the  colony,  mingling 
freely  with  the  people,  and  he  carried  his  indulgence  to  the  com 
mon  people  so  far  as  frequently  to  suffer  them  to  enter  the  room 
where  he  was  entertaining  company  at  dinner,  and  diverted  him 
self  with  their  scrambling  among  one  another  and  carrying  off 
the  viands  from  the  table — like  Sancho  Panza's  on  the  Island  of 
Barataria.  There  is  but  one  step  from  the  courtier  to  the  dema 
gogue. 

Virginia  felt  the  embarrassments  which  war  had  brought  upon 
England,  and  acts  were  passed  for  encouraging  domestic  manu 
factures,  for  which  Nicholson  found  an  apology  in  the  scanty 
supplies  imported.  The  assembly  congratulated  the  Prince  of 
Orange  on  his  accession,  and  thanking  him  for  his  present  of 
warlike  stores,  begged  for  further  favors  of  the  royal  bounty. 

When  Colonel  Nicholson  entered  on  the  duties  of  governor,  the 
Rev.  James  Blair,  a  native  of  Scotland,  newly  appointed  commis 
sary  of  Virginia,  assumed  the  supervision  of  the  churches  of  the 
colony.  He  came  over  to  this  country  in  1685,  and  settled  in 
the  County  of  Henrico,  where  he  remained  till  1694,  when  he 
removed  to  Jamestown.  The  functions  of  commissary,  who  was 
a  deputy  of  the  Bishop  of  London,  had  been  previously  discharged 
by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Temple,  but  he  was  not  regularly  commissioned. 

At  the  instance  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Blair,  in  1691  the  assembly 
entered  heartily  into  the  scheme  of  a  college,  and  in  the  same 
year  he  was  dispatched  with  an  address  to  their  majesties,  King 
William  and  Queen  Mary,  soliciting  a  charter. 

*  Beverley,  B.  i.  92. 


346  HISTORY  OF  THE  COLONY  AXD 

The  first  assembly  under  the  new  dynasty  met  at  James  City, 
in  April,  1691,  being  the  third  year  of  their  reign.  Acts  were 
passed  for  putting  the  colony  in  a  better  state  of  defence,  for  re 
ducing  the  poll  tax,  and  laying  a  duty  on  liquors,  and  for  appoint 
ing  a  treasurer.  Colonel  Edward  Hill  was  appointed  to  that 
office.  The  same  assembly  met  again  by  prorogation,  in  April 
of  the  ensuing  year. 

Commissary  Blair  was  graciously  received  at  court,  and  in 
February,  1692,  their  majesties  granted  the  charter.*  The  college 
was  named  in  honor  of  their  majesties.  The  king  gave  about 
two  thousand  pounds  toward  the  building,  out  of  the  quit-rents. 
Seymour,  the  English  attorney-general,  having  received  the  royal 
commands  to  prepare  the  charter  of  the  college,  which  was  to  be 
accompanied  with  a  grant  of  money,  remonstrated  against  this 
liberality,  urging  that  the  nation  was  engaged  in  an  expensive 
war ;  that  the  money  was  wanted  for  better  purposes,  and  that  he 
did  not  see  the  slightest  occasion  for  a  college  in  Virginia.  The 
Rev.  Mr.  Blair,  in  reply,  represented  to  him  that  its  intention 
was  to  educate  and  qualify  young  men  to  be  ministers  of  the 
gospel;  and  begged  Mr.  Attorney  would  consider  that  the  people 
of  Virginia  had  souls  to  be  saved  as  well  as  the  people  of  Eng 
land.  "Souls!"  exclaimed  the  imperious  Seymour;  "damn  your 
souls! — make  tobacco. "f 

The  site  selected  for  the  college  was  in  the  Middle  Plantation 
Old  Fields,  near  the  church.  The  college  was  endowed  by  the 
crown  with  twenty  thousand  acres  of  land  in  Pamunkey  Neck, 
and  on  the  south  side  of  Blackwater  Swamp;  the  patronage  of 
the  office  of  surveyor-general ;  together  with  the  revenue  arising 
from  a  duty  of  one  penny  a  pound  on  all  tobacco  exported  from 
Virginia  and  Maryland  to  the  other  plantations,  the  nett  pro- 


*  The  following  gentlemen,  nominated  by  the  assembly,  were  constituted  a 
senate,  or  board  of  trustees :  Francis  Nicholson,  lieutenant-governor  of  the 
colony;  William  Cole,  Ralph  Wormley,  William  Byrd,  Esquires,  of  the  council; 
John  Leare,  James  Blair,  John  Farnifold,  Stephen  Fauce,  and  Samuel  Gray, 
clerks  (clergymen;)  Thomas  Milner,  Christopher  Robinson,  Charles  Scarburgh, 
John  Smith,  Benjamin  Harrison,  Miles  Gary,  Henry  Hartwell,  William  Ran 
dolph,  and  Matthew  Page,  gentlemen  and  burgesses. 

f  Franklin's  Correspondence. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  347 

ceeds  being  two  hundred  pounds.  The  college  was  also  allowed 
to  return  a  burgess  to  the  assembly.  The  assembly  afterwards 
added  to  the  revenue  a  duty  on  skins  and  furs.*  Dr.  Blair  was 
the  first  president  of  the  college,  being  appointed  under  the  char 
ter  to  hold  the  office  for  life.  The  plan  of  the  building  was  the 
composition  of  Sir  Christopher  Wren.  The  objects  proposed  by 
the  establishment  of  the  college  were  declared  to  be  the  furnish 
ing  of  a  seminary  for  the  ministers  of  the  gospel,  and  that  the 
youth  may  be  piously  educated  in  good  letters  and  manners,  and 
that  the  Christian  faith  should  be  propagated  among  the  Western 
Indians. f  In  addition  to  the  five  professorships  of  Greek  and 
Latin,  the  mathematics,  moral  philosophy,  and  two  of  divinity 
provided  for  by  the  charter,  a  sixth,  called  the  Braiferton,  from 
an  estate  in  England  which  secured  the  endowment,  had  been 
annexed  by  the  celebrated  Robert  Boyle,  for  the  instruction  and 
conversion  of  the  Indians. 

The  trustees  met  with  many  difficulties  in  their  undertaking 
during  the  administration  of  Governor  Andros,  and  were  in 
volved  in  a  troublesome  controversy  concerning  the  lands  appro 
priated  to  the  institution,  with  Secretary  Wormley,  the  most 
influential  man  in  the  colony,  next  to  the  governor. 

In  January,  1692,  died  John  Page,  of  Rosewell,  of  the  king's 
council  in  the  colony,  aged  sixty — a  learned  and  pious  man;  first 
of  the  name  in  Virginia,  and  father  of  the  Honorable  Colonel 
Matthew  Page,  who  was  also  of  the  council.  A  religious  work, 
entitled  "A  Deed  of  Gift  for  my  Son,"  by  this  John  Page,  has 
been  published. 

During  the  same  year  Governor  Nicholson  was  succeeded  by 
Sir  Edmund  Andros,  whose  high-handed  course  had  rendered  him 
so  odious  to  the  people  of  New  England  that  they  had  lately 
imprisoned  him.  He  was,  nevertheless,  kindly  received  by  the 
Virginians,  whose  solicitations  to  King  William  for  warlike  stores 
he  had  promoted.  He  soon  gave  offence  by  ordering  ships  to 
cruise  against  vessels  engaged  in  contraband  trade.  In  the  year 
1693  an  act  was  passed  for  the  organizing  of  a  post-office  esta- 


*  Hening,  iii.  123,  241,  356:  Catalogue  of  William  and  Mary  College. 

•}•  Anderson's  Hist,  of  Church  of  England  in  the  Colonies,  second  ed.,  iii.  108. 


348  ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA. 

blishment  in  Virginia,  to  consist  of  a  central  office,  and  a  sub- 
office  in  each  county,  fixing  the  rates  of  postage  to  be  paid  to 
Thomas  Neale,  Esq.,  who  was  authorized  by  an  act  of  parliament 
to  establish  post-offices  in  the  colonies.  The  postage  on  a  letter 
consisting  of  one  sheet,  for  a  distance  not  exceeding  eighty  miles, 
was  three  pence.  Four  companies  of  rangers  protected  the  fron 
tiers,  while  English  frigates  guarded  the  coast;  and  the  colony 
enjoyed  a  long  repose. 

The  amiable  and  excellent  Queen  Mary  died  on  the  28th  day 
of  December,  1694;  and  the  king  now  assumed  the  title  of  Wil 
liam  the  Third.  Since  the  dissolution  of  the  Virginia  Company, 
the  superintendence  of  the  colonies  had  been  entrusted  to  a  com 
mittee  of  the  privy  council;  in  1696  the  board  of  trade  was 
established  for  that  purpose. 


CHAPTER    XLIII. 

1696-1698. 

State  and  Condition  of  Virginia — Exhausting  Agriculture — Depression  of  Me 
chanic  Art — Merchants — Current  Coin — Grants  of  Land — Powers  of  Governor 
— The  Council — Court  of  Claims — County  Courts — General  Court — Secretary, 
Sheriffs,  Collectors,  and  Vestries— Revenue — The  Church. 

THE  following  statistical  account  of  Virginia  appears  to  have 
been  reported  by  Lord  Culpepper,  in  1781,  to  the  Committee  of 
the  colonies.  It  is  to  be  found  in  the  Historical  Collections  of 
Massachusetts,*  the  manuscript  having  been  communicated  by 
Carter  B.  Harrison,  Esq.,  of  Virginia,  by  the  hands  of  the  Rev. 
John  Jones  Spooner,  corresponding  member.  The  picture  is 
harsh,  but  drawn  by  a  vigorous  hand,  without  fear,  favor,  or 
affection. 

In  point  of  natural  advantages  Virginia  was  surpassed  by  few 
countries  on  the  globe,  but  in  commerce,  manufactures,  education, 
government  in  church  and  state,  was  one  of  the  poorest  and  most 
miserable.  The  staple  tobacco  swallowed  up  every  thing,  so  that 
the  markets  were  often  glutted  with  bad  tobacco,  which  became 
a  mere  drug,  and  would  not  pay  freight  and  customs.  Perhaps  not 
one  hundredth  part  of  the  land  was  yet  cleared,  and  none  of  the 
marsh  or  swamp  drained.  As  fast  as  the  soil  was  worn  out  by 
exhausting  crops  of  tobacco  and  corn,  it  was  left  to  grow  up 
again  in  woods.  The  plough  was  not  much  used,  in  the  first 
clearing  the  roots  and  stumps  being  left,  and  the  ground  tilled 
only  with  hoes,  and  by  the  time  the  stumps  were  decayed  the 
ground  was  worn  out.  Manure  was  neglected.  Of  grain  the 
planters  usually  raised  only  enough  for  home  consumption,  there 
being  no  market  for  it,  and  scarce  any  money.  But  their  main 
labor  in  this  crop  being  in  the  summer,  they  fell  into  habits  of 

*  First  Series,  v.  124. 

(349) 


350  HISTORY  OF  THE  COLOXY  AXD 

indolence  for  the  rest  of  the  year.  The  circumstances  of  the 
country,  destitute  of  towns,  and  consisting  of  dispersed  planta 
tions,  were  unfavorable  for  mechanics,  then  called  tradesmen. 
The  depression  of  this  useful  and  important  class  although  les 
sened,  continues  in  the  present  day,  and  appears  to  be  inevitably 
connected  with  the  system  of  negro  slavery.  It  is  a  tax  paid  by 
the  whites  for  the  elevation  of  the  black  race.  The  merchants 
were  the  most  prosperous  class  in  the  colony,  but  they  labored 
under  great  disadvantages,  being  obliged  to  sell  on  credit,  and  to 
carry  on  "a  pitiful  retail  trade,"  and  to  depend  on  the  receivers 
who  went  about  among  the  planters  to  receive  the  tobacco  due, 
and  this  mode  of  collecting  was  subject  to  great  delays  and  losses. 
The  native-born  Virginians,  who  for  the  most  part  had  never 
been  out  of  the  colony,  were  averse  to  town  life,  and  felt  dissatis 
fied,  like  Daniel  JBoone  in  more  modern  times,  whenever  "the 
settlements  became  too  thick."  The  scarcity  of  money  was 
aggravated  by  the  governor,  who  found  it  to  his  interest  to  be 
paid  in  tobacco.  The  current  coin  of  the  dominion  of  Virginia 
consisted  of  pieces  of  eight,  the  value  of  which  was  fixed  by  law 
at  five  shillings ;  and  the  value  being  made  greater  in  Pennsyl 
vania  money,  they  were  consequently  drained  from  Virginia,  as 
at  the  present  day  gold  and  silver  are  ostracised  by  a  depreciated 
paper  currency. 

The  method  of  settling  the  colonial  territory  was  by  the  king's 
grant  of  fifty  acres  to  every  actual  settler,  but  this  rule  was  evaded 
and  perverted  in  various  ways,  and  rights  for  that  quantity  of 
land  could  easily  be  purchased  from  the  clerks  in  the  secretary's 
ofiice  at  from  one  to  five  shillings  each.  The  powers  of  the  gover 
nor  were  extensive ;  he  was  a  sort  of  viceroy,  being  commander- 
in-chief  and  vice-admiral,  lord  treasurer  in  issuing  warrants  for 
the  paying  of  moneys,  lord  chancellor  or  lord  keeper  as  passing 
grants  under  the  colony's  seal,  president  of  the  council,  chief  jus 
tice  of  the  courts,  with  some  powers  of  a  bishop  or  ordinary. 
The  governors  managed  to  evade  the  king's  instructions,  and  by 
official  patronage  to  silence  the  opposition  of  the  council,  and 
even  to  hold  the  burgesses  in  check.  The  governor  and  coun 
cillors  were  all  colonels  and  honorable,  and  their  adherents  mono 
polized  the  oifices.  The  governor's  salary  was  for  many  years 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  351 

one  thousand  pounds  per  annum,  to  which  the  assembly  added 
perquisites,  amounting  to  five  hundred  more,  and  a  further  addi 
tion  of  two  hundred  pounds  was  made  to  Sir  William  Berkley's 
salary,  making  the  whole  salary  seventeen  hundred  pounds. 
The  council,  in  effect  the  creatures  and  clients  of  the  governor, 
being  appointed  at  his  nomination,  and  receiving  office  and  place 
from  him,  had  the  powers  of  council  of  state,  (in  case  of  vacancy 
of  the  governor  the  oldest  of  them  ex  officio  acting  as  president 
ad  interim,)  of  upper  house  of  assembly  or  house  of  lords,  in  the 
general  court  of  supreme  judges,  and  as  colonels,  answering  to 
the  English  lord-lieutenants  of  counties.  The  councillors  were 
also  naval  officers  in  the  customs  department,  collectors  of  the 
revenue,  farmers  of  the  king's  quit-rents ;  out  of  the  council  were 
chosen  the  secretary,  auditor,  and  eschcators;  the  councillors 
were  exempt  from  arrests,  and  had  a  compensation  of  three 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds  divided  among  them,  according  to 
their  attendance.  They  met  together  after  the  manner  of  the 
king  and  council.  Their  clerk  received  fifty  pounds  per  annum 
salary,  besides  perquisites.  The  office  of  collector,  held  by  mem 
bers  of  the  council,  was  indeed  incompatible  with  their  office  of 
judge,  and  their  office  of  councillor  unfitted  them  for  auditing 
their  own  accounts  as  collectors,  and  in  different  capacities  they 
both  bought  and  sold  the  royal  quit-rents.* 

Upon  the  election  of  burgesses  there  was  commonly  held  a 
court,  called  a  court  of  claims,  where  all  who  had  any  claims 


*  The  council,  in  the  time  of  Governor  Andros,  consisted  of  Ralph  Wormley, 
collector  and  naval  officer  of  Rappahannock  River  ;  Colonel  Richard  Lee,  collec 
tor  and  naval  officer  of  upper  district  of  Potomac  River — these  two  having  been 
appointed  while  Sir  William  Berkley  was  governor;  Colonel  William  Byrd,  who 
was  appointed  auditor  during  Lord  Culpepper's  administration ;  Colonel  Chris 
topher  Wormley,  collector  and  naval  officer  of  the  lower  district  of  the  Potomac 
River,  appointed  while  Lord  Effingham  was  governor ;  Colonel  Edward  Hill, 
collector  and  naval  officer  of  upper  district  of  James  River;  Colonel  Edmund 
Jennings,  collector  and  naval  officer  of  York  River — these  two  "being  appointed 
in  Lord  Effingham's  time ;  Colonel  Daniel  Parke,  collector  and  naval  officer  of 
the  lower  district  of  James  River,  and  escheator  between  York  and  Rappahan 
nock  Rivers;  Colonel  Charles  Scarburgh,  collector  and  naval  officer  on  the 
Eastern  Shore,  and  Mr.  John  Lightfoot,  who  had  lately  arrived  in  the  country — 
these  last  four  appointed  while  Sir  Edmund  Andros  was  governor. 


352  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

against  the  public  might  present  them  to  the  burgesses,  together 
with  any  propositions  or  grievances,  "all  which  the  burgesses 
carry  to  the  assembly."  There  was  at  that  early  day  much  con 
fusion  in  the  laws,  and  it  was  difficult  to  know  what  laws  were  in 
force  and  what  were  not.  All  causes  were  decided  in  the  county 
court  or  in  the  general  court.  The  county  court  consisted  of 
eight  or  ten  gentlemen,  receiving  their  commission  from  the 
governor,  who  renewed  it  annually.  They  met  once  a  month,  or 
once  in  two  months,  and  had  cognizance  of  all  causes  exceeding 
in  value  twenty  shillings,  or  two  hundred  pounds  of  tobacco. 
These  country  gentlemen,  having  no  education  in  law,  not  unfre- 
quently  fell  into  mistakes  in  substance  and  in  form.  The  insuffi 
ciency  of  these  courts  was  now  growing  more  apparent  than 
formerly,  since  the  old  stock  of  gentry,  who  were  educated  in 
England,  were  better  acquainted  with  law  and  with  the  business 
of  the  world  than  their  sons  and  grandsons,  who  were  brought  up 
in  Virginia,  and  commonly  knew  only  reading,  writing,  and  arith 
metic,  and  were  not  very  proficient  in  them. 

The  general  court,  so  called  because  it  had  jurisdiction  of 
causes  from  all  parts  of  the  colony,  was  held  twice  a  year,  in 
April  and  October,  by  the  governor  and  council  as  judges,  at 
Jamestown.  This  court  was  never  commissioned,  but  grew  up 
by  custom  or  usurpation;  from  it  there  was  no  appeal,  except  in 
cases  of  over  three  hundred  pounds  sterling  value,  to  the  king, 
which  was  for  most  persons  impracticable,  on  account  of  the  dis 
tance  and  the  expensiveness.  Virginia  appears  to  have  been  the 
only  colony  where  the  executive  constituted  the  supreme  court. 
The  general  court  tried  all  causes  of  above  sixteen  pounds  ster 
ling,  or  sixteen  hundred  pounds  of  tobacco  in  value,  and  all 
appeals  from  the  county  courts,  and  it  had  cognizance  of  all 
causes  in  chancery,  in  king's  bench,  the  common  pleas,  the  ex 
chequer,  the  admiralty,  and  spirituality.  The  forms  of  proceed 
ing  in  the  general  court  were  quite  irregular.  The  duties  of  the 
secretary  were  as  multifarious  as  those  of  the  governor;  it  was, 
however,  for  the  most  part  a  sinecure,  the  business  being  per 
formed  by  a  clerk,  styled  the  clerk  of  the  general  court,  who  also 
employed  one  or  two  clerks  under  him.  The  secretary,  who  was 
properly  the  clerk  of  the  court,  yet  sate  as  judge  of  that  court. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  353 

The  governor  signed  all  patents  or  deeds  of  land,  and  there  was 
a  recital  in  them  that  he  granted  the  land  "by  and  with  the 
consent  of  the  council,"  yet  the  patents  were  never  read  by  the 
governor,  nor  did  the  council  take  any  notice  of  them.  He  like 
wise  countersigned  the  patents  after  the  words  "  compared,  and 
agrees  with  the  original,"  yet  the  secretary  never  read  or  com 
pared  them,  and  indeed  the  patent  which  he  signed  was  itself  the 
original.  "Men  make  laws,  but  we  live  by  custom."  The 
sheriffs  collected  all  money  duties.  The  auditor  audited  the  ac 
counts  of  the  collectors,  and  was  receiver-general  of  all  public 
moneys.  The  parish  levy,  for  the  support  of  the  church  and  of 
the  poor,  was  assessed  by  the  vestry,  about  the  month  of  Oc 
tober,  when  tobacco  was  ready;  the  whole  amount  assessed  was 
divided  by  the  number  of  tithables  of  the  parish,  and  collected 
from  the  heads  of  families.  The  county  levy  for  county  ex 
penses  was  assessed  by  the  justices  of  the  peace,  and  the  sum 
divided  by  the  number  of  tithables  in  the  county.  The  public 
levy  was  assessed  by  the  assembly  for  the  general  expenses  of 
the  colony,  and  the  sum  was  divided  by  the  number  of  tithables 
in  the  colony,  amounting  in  the  year  1690  to  about  twenty 
thousand.  The  three  levies  were  all  collected  by  the  sheriffs; 
they  averaged  about  one  hundred  pounds  of  tobacco  for  each 
tithable,  the  aggregate  amounting  to  two  millions  of  pounds  per 
annum. 

The  revenues  and  customs  that  came  into  the  auditor's  hands 
were  of  four  kinds:  First,  the  quit-rents,  being  one  shilling  per 
annum  on  every  fifty  acres  of  land,  payable  in  tobacco,  at  one 
penny  per  pound,  or  twenty-four  pounds  of  tobacco  for  every 
hundred  acres.  In  the  Northern  Neck,  lying  between  the  Poto 
mac  and  Rappahannock,  the  quit-rents  wrere  paid  by  the  heirs  of 
Lord  Culpepper.  The  tobacco  due  for  quit-rents  was  sold  by  the 
auditor  to  the  several  members  of  the  council,  who  paid  for  it  in 
money,  or  bills  of  exchange,  according  to  the  quantity.  The 
quit-rent  revenue  amounted  to  about  eight  hundred  pounds  ster 
ling  per  annum.  The  second  source  of  revenue  consisted  of  two 
shillings  per  hogshead,  export  duty,  on  tobacco,  and  fort  duties, 
being  fifteen  pence  per  ton  on  all  vessels  arriving.  These 
amounted  to  three  thousand  pounds  sterling  per  annum.  Ten 

23 


354  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

per  cent,  of  this  amount  was  paid  to  masters  of  vessels,  to  induce 
them  to  give  a  true  account.  The  collectors  received  ten  per 
cent,  for  collecting,  and  the  auditor  seven  per  cent.  The  third 
source  of  revenue  was  one  penny  per  pound  upon  tobacco  ex 
ported  from  Virginia  to  any  other  English  plantation  in  America. 
This,  as  has  been  mentioned,  was,  in  1692,  granted  to  the  college 
of  William  and  Mary.  The  college  paid  for  collecting  it  no  less 
than  twenty  per  cent.,  and  to  the  auditor  five  per  cent.  The 
nett  proceeds  were  worth  one  hundred  pounds  annually.  The 
fourth  source  of  revenue  was  any  money  duty  that  might  be  raised 
by  the  assembly. 

The  governor  was  lieutenant-general,  the  councillors  lieutenants 
of  counties,  with  the  title  of  colonel,  and  in  counties  where  no 
councillor  resided,  some  other  person  was  appointed,  with  the 
rank  of  major.  The  people  in  general  professed  to  be  of  the 
Church  of  England.  The  only  dissenters  were  three  or  four 
meetings  of  Quakers  and  one  of  Presbyterians.  There  were  fifty 
parishes,  and  in  each  two,  and  sometimes  three,  churches  and 
chapels.  The  division  of  the  parishes  was  unequal  and  incon 
venient.  The  governor  had  always  held  the  government  of  the 
church,  as  of  everything  else,  in  his  hands.  Ministers  were 
obliged  to  produce  their  orders  to  him,  and  show  that  they  had 
been  episcopally  ordained.  The  power  of  presentation  was,  by  a 
colonial  law,  in  the  vestry,  but  by  a  custom  of  hiring  preachers 
by  the  year,  it  came  to  pass  that  presentation  rarely  took  place. 
The  consequence  was  that  a  good  minister  either  would  not  come 
to  Virginia,  or  if  he  did,  was  soon  driven  away  by  the  high 
handed  proceedings  of  the  vestry.  The  minister  was  obliged  to 
be  careful  how  he  preached  against  the  vices  that  any  great  man 
of  the  vestry  was  guilty  of,  else  he  would  be  in  danger  of  losing 
his  living  at  the  end  of  the  year.  They  held  them  by  a  preca 
rious  tenure,  like  that  of  chaplains;  they  were  mere  tenants  at 
sufferance.  There  were  not  half  as  many  ministers  in  Virginia 
as  parishes.  The  governor  connived  at  this  state  of  things. 
The  minister's  salary  was  sixteen  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco 
per  annum.  King  Charles  the  Second  gave  the  Bishop  of 
London  jurisdiction  over  the  church  in  the  plantations,  in  all 
matters  except  three,  viz.:  marriage  licenses,  probates  of  wills, 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  355 

and  induction  of  ministers,  which  were  reserved  to  the  gover 
nor.  The  bishop's  commissary  made  visitation  of  the  churches 
and  inspection  of  the  clergy.  He  received  no  salary,  but  was 
allowed,  by  the  king,  one  hundred  pounds  per  annum  out  of  the 
quit-rents.* 

*  Account  of  Va.,  in  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  first  series. 


CHAPTER    XLIV. 

1698-irOS. 

Administration  of  Andros — Controversy  with  Blair — The  Rev.  Hugo  Jones' 
Account  of  Maryland — Andros  succeeded  by  Nicholson  —  Alteration  in  his 
Conduct — Supposed  Cause — Williarasburg  made  the  Seat  of  Government — 
His  tyrannical  Proceedings — Prejudice  of  Beverley,  the  Historian — Act  against 
Pirates — Offices  of  Speaker  and  Treasurer  combined — Capture  of  a  piratical 
Vessel — Death  of  Edward  Hill — Commencement  at  William  and  Mary — Demise 
of  William  the  Third — Succeeded  by  Anne — Nicholson's  Description  of  the 
People  of  Virginia. 

GOVERNOR  ANDROS  took  singular  pains  in  arranging  and  pre 
serving  the  public  records;  and  when,  in  1698,  the  State-house 
was  burned,  he  caused  the  papers  that  survived  to  be  arranged 
with  more  exactness  than  before.  He  ordered  that  all  the  Eng 
lish  statutes  should  be  law  in  Virginia;  this  preposterous  rule 
gave  great  dissatisfaction.  He  was  a  patron  of  manufactures; 
but  the  acts  for  establishing  fulling-mills  were  rejected  by  the 
board  of  trade.  He  encouraged  the  culture  of  cotton,  which, 
however,  fell  into  disuse. 

By  royal  instructions,  Andros  was  invested  with  the  powers  of 
ordinary,  or  representative  of  the  king  and  the  bishop  of  London, 
in  the  affairs  of  the  church.  This  brought  him  into  collision  with 
Commissary  Blair,  and  in  1694  the  governor  arbitrarily  sus 
pended  him  from  his  place  in  the  council,  to  which  he  had  been 
appointed  in  the  preceding  year.  While  in  England  on  the  busi 
ness  of  the  college,  in  1695,  the  doctor  preferred  charges  against 
Andros  as  an  enemy  to  religion,  to  the  church,  the  clergy,  and  the 
college.  The  charges  and  the  proofs  covered  thirty-two  folio 
pages  of  manuscript,  and  were  drawn  up  with  ability.  But  Blair 
had  to  contend  with  formidable  opposition,  for  Governor  Andros 
sent  over  to  London,  in  his  defence,  Colonel  Byrd,  of  Westover, 
Mr.  Harrison,  of  Surry  County,  Mr.  Povey,  who  was  high  in 
office  in  the  colony,  and  a  Mr.  Marshall,  to  arraign  the  Rev. 
(356) 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  357 

Commissary  himself  before  the  Bishop  of  London  and  the  Arch 
bishop  of  Canterbury.  Two  days  were  spent  at  Lambeth  Palace, 
in  the  examination,  the  charges  and  answers  filling  fifty-seven 
folio  pages  of  manuscript,  and  Dr.  Blair's  accusers  were  signally 
discomfited.  Much  of  the  prejudice  against  him  was  owing  to 
his  being  a  Scotchman — a  prejudice  at  that  time  running  very 
high  in  England.  The  result  was  that  Blair  returned  after  suc 
cessfully  accomplishing  the  object  of  his  mission,  and  having 
been  reinstated  in  the  council  by  the  king.  He  was,  neverthe 
less,  again  removed  upon  a  pretence  equally  frivolous.*  Andros 
was  sent  back  to  England  to  answer  in  person  the  charges  alleged 
against  him,  and  eventually,  they  being  substantiated,  he  was 
removed  from  his  office  of  deputy  governor  of  Virginia. f 

William  the  Third,  by  the  treaty  of  Ryswick,  in  1697,  ob 
tained  an  acknowledgment  of  his  right  to  the  crown,  and  vindi 
cated  the  principles  of  constitutional  freedom. 

The  Rev.  Hugo  Jones,  author  of  a  work  entitled  "  Present 
State  of  Virginia,"  writing  from  Maryland  in  this  year,  says  of 
the  people  there :  "  They  are,  generally  speaking,  crafty,  knav 
ish,  litigious,  dissemblers,  and  debauched.  A  gentleman  (I  mean 
one  of  a  generous  Cambro-Briton  temper)  is  rara  avis  in  terris. 
A  man  must  be  circumspect  and  prudent  if  he  will  maintain  his 
reputation  among  them.  Of  dealing,  it  is  very  true  what  was 
told  me  by  a  man  at  London,  that  none  is  fit  to  deal  with  a  Vir 
ginian  but  a  Virginian ;  however,  I  having  made  it  my  business 
both  in  London- and  at  sea  to  inquire  into  the  nature  of  the  peo 
ple,  that  I  might  know  the  better  how  to  behave  myself  among 
them,  have  gained  as  good  a  reputation  as  in  modesty  I  could  ex 
pect;  neither  have  I  been  much  imposed  upon  in  my  bargains. 
As  to  the  people's  disposition  in  matters  of  religion,  they  will 
follow  none  out  of  the  path  of  interest,  and  they  heartily  em 
brace  none  but  such  as  will  fill  the  barn  and  the  basket.  Most 
sects  are  here  professed,  but  in  general  they  are  practical 
atheists.  " 


*  Account  of  Va.  in  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  first  series,  v.  144. 
f  Old  Churches,  Ministers,  and  Families  of  Virginia,  i.  157. 
J  European  Magazine,  1796. 


358  HISTORY   OP   THE    COLONY   AND 

The  uncharitable  judgments  of  this  narrow-minded  writer  are 
not  entitled  to  much  weight.  Among  a  people  requiring  so  much 
ministerial  care,  he  found  ample  time  to  devote  to  the  study  of 
natural  history,  and  was  curious  in  the  examination  of  "fishes' 
bones"  and  "petrified  mushrooms." 

In  the  year  1698  died  Thomas  Ludwell,  Esq.,  some  time  secre 
tary  of  Virginia.  He  was  born  at  Bruton,  County  Somerset, 
England.  Sir  Edmund  Andros  was  succeeded  in  November, 
1698,  by  Colonel  Nicholson,  transferred  from  the  government  of 
Maryland.  He  entertained  a  plan  of  confederating  the  colonies 
together,  and  aspired  to  become  himself  the  viceroy  of  the  con 
templated  union.  Finding  himself  thwarted  in  these  projects, 
his  conduct  became  self-willed  and  overbearing.  In  a  memorial 
sent  to  England,  he  stated  that  tobacco  bore  so  low  a  price  as 
not  to  yield  even  clothes  to  the  planters ;  yet,  in  the  same  paper, 
advised  parliament  to  prohibit  the  plantations  from  making  their 
own  clothing;  in  other  words,  proposing  that  they  should  be  left 
to  go  naked.*  Indeed,  he  appeared  to  be  quite  altered  from 
what  he  had  been  during  his  former  administration  in  Virginia ; 
and  the  change  was  thought  to  be  not  a  little  owing  to  a  disap 
pointment  in  love.  He  had  become  passionately  attached  to  a 
daughter  of  Lewis  Burwell,  Jr.,  and  failing  to  win  her  favor  or 
that  of  her  parents,  in  his  suit,  he  became  infuriated,  and  per 
sisted,  Quixotically,  for  years  in  his  fruitless  purpose.  The 
young  lady's  father,  and  her  brothers,  and  Commissary  Blair, 
and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Fouace,  minister  of  the  parish,  were  especial 
objects  of  his  vengeance.  To  the  young  lady  he  threatened  the 
death  of  her  father  and  her  brothers,  if  she  did  not  yield  to  his 
suit.  He  committed  other  outrages  no  less  extraordinary. 

For  the  sake  of  a  healthier  situation,  Governor  Nicholson  re 
moved  the  seat  of  government  from  Jamestown,  now  containing 
only  three  or  four  good  inhabited  houses,  to  Middle  Plantation, 
so  called  from  its  lying  midway  between  James  and  York  Rivers. 
Here  he  projected  a  large  town,  laying  out  the  streets  in  the  form 
of  a  W  and  M,  in  honor  of  King  William  and  Queen  Mary. 
This  plan,  however,  appears  to  have  been  abandoned,  or  only 

*  Beverley,  B.  i.  98. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  359 

partially  carried  out.*  According  to  the  contemporary  histo 
rian  Beverley,  Nicholson  declared  openly  to  the  lower  order  of 
people  "that  the  gentlemen  imposed  upon  them;  that  the  ser 
vants  had  all  been  kidnapped,  and  had  a  lawful  action  against 
their  masters."  In  the  year  1700  Mr.  Fowler,  the  king's  attor 
ney-general  for  the  colony,  declaring  some  piece  of  service 
against  law,  the  governor  seized  him  by  the  collar,  and  swore 
"that  he  knew  no  laws  they  had,  and  that  his  commands  should 
be  obeyed  without  hesitation  or  reserve."  He  committed  gentle 
men  who  offended  him  to  prison  without  any  complaint,  and  re 
fused  to  allow  bail;  and  some  of  them  having  intimated  to  him 
that  such  proceedings  were  illegal,  he  replied,  "that  they  had  no 
right  at  all  to  the  liberties  of  English  subjects,  and  that  he 
would  hang  up  those  that  should  presume  to  oppose  him,  with 
magna  charta  about  their  necks."  He  often  extolled  the  govern 
ments  of  Fez  and  Morocco,  and  at  a  meeting  of  the  governors 
of  the  college,  told  them  "that  he  knew  how  to  govern  the 
Moors,  and  would  beat  them  into  better  manners."  At  another 
time  he  avowed  that  he  knew  how  to  govern  the  country  without 
assemblies,  and  if  they  should  deny  him  anything  after  he  had 
obtained  a  standing  army,  "he  would  bring  them  to  reason  with 
halters  about  their  necks."  His  outrages  made  him  jealous,  and 
to  prevent  complaints  being  sent  to  England  against  him,  he  is 
said  to  have  intercepted  letters,  employed  spies,  and  even  played 
the  eavesdropper  himself.  He  sometimes  held  inquisitorial  courts 
to  find  grounds  of  accusation  against  such  as  incurred  his  dis 
pleasure,  f 

Robert  Beverley,  author  of  a  "History  of  Virginia,"  pub 
lished  the  first  edition  of  it  in  1705.  He  was  a  son  of  Robert 
Beverley,  the  persecuted  clerk,  who  died  in  1687.  This  may 
account  somewhat  for  his  extreme  acrimony  against  Culpepper 
and  Effingham,  who  had  persecuted  his  father,  and  against 
Nicholson,  who  was  Effingham's  deputy.  In  his  second  edition, 
when  time  had,  perhaps,  mitigated  his  animosities,  Beverley 


*  Hugh  Jones'  Present  State  of  Virginia;  Beverley,  B.  L  99;  Va.  Hist,  Reg., 
vi.  15. 
f  Beverley,  B.  i.  97. 


360  HISTORY    OF   THE   COLONY  AXD 

omitted  many  of  his  accusations  against  these  governors.  In 
favor  of  Nicholson,  it  is  also  to  be  observed,  that  his  adminis 
tration  in  Maryland  and  in  South  Carolina  was  more  satisfac 
tory.  But  it  is  certain  that  he  was  an  erratic,  Quixotic,  irascible 
man,  who  could  not  bear  opposition,  and  an  extreme  high 
churchman. 

In  the  eleventh  year  of  William  the  Third  an  act  was  passed 
for  the  restraining  and  punishing  of  pirates  and  privateers,  the 
preamble  reciting  that  "nothing  can  more  conduce  to  the  honor 
of  his  most  sacred  majesty  than  that  such  articles  of  peace  as 
are  concluded  in  all  treaties  should  be  kept  and  preserved  in 
violable  by  his  majesty's  subjects  in  and  over  all  his  majesty's 
territories  and  dominions,  and  that  great  mischief  and  depreda 
tions  are  daily  done  upon  the  high  seas  by  pirates,  privateers, 
and  sea-robbers,  in  not  only  taking  and  pillaging  several  ships 
and  vessels  belonging  to  his  majesty's  subjects,  but  also  in 
taking,  destroying,  and  robbing  several  ships  belonging  to  the 
subjects  of  foreign  princes,  in  league  and  amity  with  his  ma 
jesty;"  and  they  prayed  that  crimes  committed  on  the  high  seas 
should  be  punished  as  if  committed  on  land,  in  Virginia.*  A 
committee  was  appointed  during  the  same  session  "to  revise  the 
laws  of  this  his  majesty's  ancient  and  great  colony  and  dominion 
of  Virginia."! 

Among  the  subjects  upon  which  a  tax  was  laid  for  the  building 
of  a  capitol,  were  servants  imported,  not  being  natives  of  Eng 
land  or  Wales,  fifteen  shillings  per  poll,  and  twenty  shillings  on 
every  negro  or  other  slave.  Colonel  Robert  Carter,  speaker  of 
the  house,  was  elected  to  fill  the  office  of  treasurer;  and  it  came 
to  be  the  custom  for  the  two  offices  of  speaker  and  treasurer  to 
be  held  by  the  same  person.  The  establishment  of  the  office  of 
a  treasurer  appointed  by  the  assembly,  giving  that  body  control 
of  the  colonial  purse,  added  much  to  the  independence  of  its 
legislative  power. 

*  Hening,  iii.  177. 

f  The  members  of  it  were  Edward  Hill,  Matthew  Page,  and  Benjamin  Harri 
son,  Esquires,  members  of  the  council ;  and  Miles  Gary,  John  Taylor,  Robert 
Beverley,  Anthony  Armistead,  Henry  Duke,  and  William  Buckner,  gentlemen  of 
the  house  of  burgesses. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  361 

In  the  second  year  of  Nicholson's  administration  a  piratical 
vessel  was  captured  within  the  capes  of  Virginia.  She  had  taken 
some  merchant-vessels  in  Lynhaven  Bay,  and  a  small  vessel  hap 
pening  to  witness  an  engagement  between  her  and  a  merchant 
man,  conveyed  intelligence  of  it  to  the  Shoram,  a  fifth-rate  man- 
of-war,  commanded  by  Captain  Passenger,  and  newly  arrived. 
Nicholson  chanced  to  be  at  Kiquotan  sealing  up  his  letters,  and, 
going  on  board  the  Shoram,  was  present  in  the  engagement  that 
followed.  The  Shoram,  by  daybreak,  having  got  in  between  the 
capes  and  the  pirate,  intercepted  her,  and  an  action  took  place 
on  the  29th  of  April,  1700,  when  the  pirate  surrendered  upon 
condition  of  being  referred  to  the  king's  mercy.  In  this  affair 
fell  Peter  Heyman,  grandson  of  Sir  Peter  Heyman,  of  Summer- 
field,  in  the  County  of  Kent,  England.  Being  collector  of  the 
customs  in  the  lower  district  of  James  River,  he  volunteered  to 
go  on  board  the  Shoram,  and  after  behaving  with  undaunted 
courage,  standing  on  the  quarter-deck  near  the  governor,  was 
killed  by  a  small  shot. 

During  this  year  died  the  Honorable  Colonel  Edward  Hill,  of 
Shirley,  on  the  James  River,  in  the  sixty-third  year  of  his  age ; 
he  was  of  the  council,  colonel  and  commander-in-chief  of  the 
Counties  of  Charles  City  and  Surry,  judge  of  his  majesty's  high 
court  of  admiralty,  and  some  time  treasurer  of  Virginia.  He  lies 
buried  at  Shirley,  and  a  portrait  of  him  and  his  wife  is  preserved 
there. 

In  the  year  preceding  this,  Protestant  dissenters,  qualified  ac 
cording  to  the  toleration  act  of  the  first  year  of  William  and  Mary, 
were  exempted  from  penalties  for  not  repairing  to  the  parish 
church,  if  they  attended  some  legal  place  of  worship  once  in  two 
months.*  The  press  was  not  yet  free  in  Virginia,  and  the  writ 
of  habeas  corpus  was  still  withheld. 

There  was  a  commencement  at  William  and  Mary  College  in 
the  year  1700,  at  which  there  was  a  great  concourse  of  people; 
several  planters  came  thither  in  coaches,  and  others  in  sloops 
from  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Maryland,  it  being  a  new 
thing  in  that  part  of  America  to  hear  graduates  perform  their 

*  Hening,  iii.  171. 


362 


HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 


exercises.  The  Indians  themselves  had  the  curiosity,  some  of 
them,  to  visit  Williamsburg  upon  that  occasion;  and  the  whole 
country  rejoiced  as  if  they  had  some  relish  of  learning.  Fifty- 
eight  years  before  this  there  had  been  celebrated  a  commence 
ment  at  Harvard  College,  in  Massachusetts.* 

In  the  year  1701  Colonel  Quarry,  surveyor-general  of  the  cus 
toms,  wrote  to  the  board  of  trade:  "This  malignant  humor  is 
not  confined  to  Virginia,  formerly  the  most  remarkable  for 
loyalty,  but  is  universally  diffused." 

During  the  month  of  March  of  this  year  died  William  the 
Third.  His  manner  was  taciturn,  reserved,  haughty;  his  genius 
military ;  his  decision  inflexible.  In  his  fondness  of  prerogative 
he  showed  himself  a  grandson  of  the  first  Charles;  as  the  de 
fender  of  the  Protestant  religion,  and  Prince  of  Orange,  he  dis 
played  toleration  toward  all  except  Papists.  The  government 
of  Virginia  under  him  was  not  materially  improved.  He  was 
succeeded  by  Anne,  daughter  of  James  the  Second.  Louis  the 
Fourteenth  having  recognized  the  Pretender  as  lawful  heir  to  the 
British  crown,  Anne,  shortly  after  she  succeeded  to  the  throne, 
in  1702,  declared  war  against  France,  and  its  ally  Spain;  but 
Virginia  was  not  directly  affected  by  the  long  conflict  that  en 
sued.  In  compliance  with  the  requests  of  the  assembly,  the 
queen  granted  the  colony  warlike  stores,  to  the  value  of  three 
thousand  and  three  hundred  pounds,  which  the  governor  was 
directed  to  pay  from  the  revenue  of  quit-rents.  Her  majesty, 
at  the  same  time,  renewed  the  requisition  formerly  made  by  the 
crown  for  an  appropriation  in  aid  of  the  defences  of  New  York ; 
but  the  burgesses  still  steadily  refused. 

During  the  reign  of  William  the  Third  the  commerce  of  Vir- 


*  In  1701  the  population  of  the  colonies  was  as  follows: — 


Connecticut 30,000 

25,000 

70,000 

10,000 

, 15,000 

30,000 

North  Carolina 5,000 


Maryland 

Massachusetts... 
New  Hampshire. 

New  Jersey 

New  York... 


Pennsylvania 20,000 

Rhode  Island 10,000 

South  Carolina 7,000 

Virginia 40,000 


Total 202,000 

(Compendium  of  United  States  Census.} 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  363 

ginia  had  been  seriously  interrupted,  and  her  customary  supplies 
withheld;  she,  therefore,  encouraged  the  domestic  manufacture 
of  linen  and  wool;  but  an  act  for  the  establishment  of  fulling- 
mills  was  rejected  by  the  board  of  trade,  as  also  was  one  for 
"the  better  securing  the  liberty  of  the  subject."  Governor 
Nicholson,  in  a  memorial  to  the  council  of  trade,  described  the 
people  of  Virginia  as  numerous,  rich,  and  of  republican  princi 
ples,  such  as  ought  to  be  lowered  in  time ;  that  then  or  never  was 
the  time  to  maintain  the  queen's  prerogative,  and  put  a  stop  to 
those  pernicious  notions,  which  were  increasing  daily,  not  only  in 
Virginia,  but  in  all  her  majesty's  other  governments,  and  that  a 
frown  from  her  majesty  now  would  do  more  than  an  army  there 
after;  and  he  insisted  on  the  necessity  of  a  standing  army.* 

*  Beverley,  B.  i.  104. 


CHAPTER    LXY. 

1703. 

Assembly  held  in  the  College — Ceremony  of  opening  the  Session — The  Gover 
nor's  Speech. 

A  MEETING  of  the  general  assembly  was  held  at  her  majesty's 
Royal  College  of  William  and  Mary,  in  March,  1703,  being  the 
second  year  of  Queen  Anne's  reign,  and,  by  prorogation,  again  in 
April,  1704.*  The  clerk  of  the  general  assembly  was  ordered 
to  wait  upon  the  house  of  burgesses  and  inform  them  that  his 
excellency  commanded  their  immediate  attendance  on  him  in  the 
council  chamber.  The  burgesses  having  complied  with  this  order, 
his  excellency  was  pleased  to  let  them  know  that  her  most  sacred 
majesty  having  been  pleased  to  renew  his  commission  to  be  her 
majesty's  lieutenant  and  governor-general  of  this  her  majesty's 
most  ancient  and  great  colony  and  dominion  of  Virginia,  he 
would  cause  the  said  commission  to  be  read  to  them.  This  being 
done,  he  read  them  that  part  of  his  instructions  wherein  the  coun 
cil  are  nominated,  and  informed  the  house  that  upon  the  death 
of  Colonel  Page,  the  number  of  councillors  having  fallen  under 
nine,  he  had  appointed  one  to  supply  that  vacancy.  The  gover 
nor  next  mentioned  to  the  house  that  he  had  commissioned  some 
of  her  majesty's  honorable  council  to  administer  the  oath  to  the 
burgesses.  Whereupon  they  withdrew,  and  the  oath  was  admi 
nistered  by  the  Honorable  William  Byrd,  John  Lightfoot,  and 
Benjamin  Harrison.  These  gentlemen  returning  to  the  council 
chamber,  the  clerk  of  the  assembly  was  ordered  to  wait  again 
upon  the  house  of  burgesses,  and  acquaint  them  that  his  excel 
lency  commanded  their  immediate  attendance  on  him.  The 

*  A  meeting  of  the  council  was  held,  consisting  of  his  Excellency  Francis 
Nicholson,  Esq.,  lieutenant  and  governor-general,  and  William  Byrd,  John  Light- 
foot,  Benjamin  Harrison,  Robert  Carter,  John  Custis,  Philip  Ludwell,  William 
Basset,  Henry  Duke,  Robert  Quarry,  and  John  Smith,  Esquires. 

(364) 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  365 

Louse  of  burgesses  complying  with  this  order,  the  governor  made 
the  following  speech: — 

"HONORABLE  GENTLEMEN, — 

"God  Almighty,  I  hope,  will  be  graciously  pleased  so  to 
direct,  guide,  and  enable  us,  as  that  we  may,  to  all  intents  and 
purposes,  answer  her  majesty's  writ  by  which  this  assembly  was 
called,  and  by  prorogation  is  now  met  in  this  her  majesty  Queen 
Anne  her  royal  capitol ;  which  being  appointed  by  law  for  hold 
ing  general  assemblies  and  general  courts,  my  hopes  likewise  are 
that  they  may  continue  to  be  held  in  this  place  for  the  promoting 
of  God's  glory,  her  majesty,  and  her  successors'  interest  and  ser 
vice  with  that  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  her  majesty's  most  an 
cient  and  great  colony  and  dominion  of  Virginia,  so  long  as  the 
sun  and  moon  endure.  Gentlemen,  her  most  sacred  majesty 
having  been  graciously  pleased  to  send  me  her  royal  picture  and 
arms  for  this  her  colony  and  dominion,  I  think  the  properest 
place  to  have  them  kept  in,  will  be  this  council  chamber;  but  it 
not  being  as  yet  quite  finished,  I  cannot  have  them  so  placed  as  I 
would. 

"By  private  accounts  which  I  have  from  England,  I  under 
stand  her  majesty  hath  lately  thought  fit  to  appoint  a  day  of 
public  fasting  and  humiliation  there ;  but  I  have  not  yet  seen  her 
majesty's  royal  proclamation  for  it,  which  makes  me  not  willing 
to  appoint  one  here  till  I  have.  And  had  it  not  been  for  this,  I 
designed  that  her  majesty's  royal  picture  and  arms  should  have 
been  first  seen  by  you  on  St.  George  his  day,  and  to  have  kept 
it  as  a  day  of  public  thanksgiving,  it  being  the  day  on  which  her 
majesty  was  crowned,  and  bearing  the  name  of  his  royal  high 
ness  the  Prince  of  Denmark,  and  likewise  of  the  patron  of  our 
mother  kingdom  of  England. 

"Honorable  gentlemen,  I  don't  in  the  least  doubt  but  that  you 
will  join  with  me  in  paying  our  most  humble  and  dutiful  acknow 
ledgments  and  thanks  to  her  most  sacred  majesty  for  this  great 
honor  and  favor  which  she  hath  been  pleased  to  bestow  upon  your 
country,  and  in  praying  that  she  may  have  a  long,  prosperous, 
successful,  and  victorious  reign,  as  also  that  she  may  in  all 
respects  not  only  equal,  but  even  outdo  her  royal  predecessor, 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA. 

Queen  Elizabeth,  of  ever-glorious  memory,  in  the  latter  end  of 
whose  reign  this  country  was  discovered,  and  in  honor  of  her 
called  Virginia. 

"It  is  now  within  two  years  of  a  century  since  its  being  first 
seated,  at  which  time,  if  God  Almighty  and  her  majesty  shall  be 
so  pleased,  I  design  to  celebrate  a  jubilee,  and  that  the  inhabit 
ants  thereof  may  increase  exceedingly,  and  also  abound  with 
riches  and  honors,  and  have  extraordinary  good  success  in  all 
their  undertakings,  but  chiefly  that  they  may  be  exemplary  in 
their  lives  and  conversations,  continue  in  their  religion  of  the 
Church  of  England  as  by  law  established,  loyal  to  the  crown 
thereof,  and  that  all  these  things  may  come  to  pass,  I  question 
not  but  you  will  most  cordially  join  with  me  in  our  most  un 
feigned  and  hearty  prayers  to  God  Almighty  for  them." 

At  the  close  of  this  verbose  speech,  the  burgesses  returned  to 
their  house,  and  the  council  adjourned.* 


*  Documents  in  S.  Literary  Messenger,  communicated  by  "Wyndham  Robert 
son,  Esq.,  having  been  copied  by  his  father,  while  he  was  clerk  of  the  council, 
from  old  papers  in  the  council  chamber. 


CHAPTER    XLVI. 


Quit-rents  —  Northy's  Opinion  against  the  Custom  of  the  Vestry's  employing  a 
Minister  by  the  Year  —  The  Free  Church  Disruption  in  Scotland  —  Controversy 
between  Blair  and  Nicholson  —  Convocation  —  Nicholson  recalled  —  Notice  of  his 
Career  —  Huguenots. 

BY  the  account  of  Colonel  William  Byrd,  receiver-general,  the 
nett  proceeds  of  her  majesty's  revenue  of  quit-rents  for  the  year 
1703  amounted  to  five  thousand  seven  hundred  and  forty-five 
pounds. 

In  the  Church  of  England  the  people  have  no  part  in  the 
choice  of  their  minister  ;  a  patron  appoints  him,  and  a  living  sup 
ports  him.  In  Virginia,  on  the  contrary,  the  salary  being  levied 
directly  from  the  people  by  the  vestries,  they  fell  upon  the  expe 
dient,  as  has  been  repeatedly  mentioned,  of  employing  a  minister 
for  a  year.  Governor  Nicholson,  an  extreme  high-churchman, 
procured  from  the  attorney-general,  Northy,  an  opinion  against 
this  custom,  and  it  was  sent  to  all  the  vestries,  with  directions  to 
put  it  on  record.  The  vestries,  nevertheless,  pertinaciously  re 
sisted  this  construction  of  the  law.  In  two  important  points  the 
church  establishment  in  Virginia  differed  from  that  in  England  — 
in  the  appointment  of  the  minister  by  the  vestry,  according  to 
the  act  of  1642,  and  in  the  absence  of  a  bishop. 

In  recent  times  the  disruption  of  the  Scottish  general  assembly 
resulted  in  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  which  thus,  by  sacri 
ficing  the  temporalities,  vindicated  its  independence  of  the  govern 
ment  in  things  spiritual.  In  Virginia  the  vestries  virtually 
maintained  a  like  independence.  In  Scotland  the  contest  arrayed 
against  each  other  schismatic  parties  in  the  established  kirk, 
known  as  the  Evangelical  and  the  Moderates,  whereas  in  Vir 
ginia  it  was  a  mere  contest  for  power  between  the  vestries  and 
the  government.  The  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  at  the  time  of 
the  disruption,  was  still  in  theory  in  favor  of  an  establishment  in 

(367) 


368  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLOXY   AND 

which  the  clergy  should  be  chosen  by  the  people  and  paid  by  the 
government.*  Even  in  England,  under  the  constitution  of  the 
established  church,  the  ministers  of  certain  exceptional  chapels 
were  formerly  elected  by  the  freeholders  of  the  parish,  subject  to 
the  approval  of  the  vicar,  and  the  violation  of  their  rights  in  this 
particular  was  sometimes  resented  in  the  ruder  districts  of  York 
shire,  by  outrageous  insults  offered  to  the  new  incumbent  during 
the  time  of  service,  and  by  brutal  personal  assaults  upon  the 
minister.! 

Before  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  proprietary 
government,  granted  by  Charles  the  First  to  Lord  Baltimore,  had 
at  length  been  abolished,  and  the  Church  of  England  established 
there.  There  was  less  tolerance  under  this  establishment  than 
before.  In  Maryland  as  in  Virginia,  the  discipline  of  the  church 
was  loose,  the  clergy  by  no  means  exemplary,  and  their  condition 
precarious  and  dependent. 

The  differences  between  Dr.  Blair  and  Governor  Nicholson  led 
to  a  tedious  controversy,  in  which  charges  of  malfeasance  in  offi 
cial  duty  and  private  misconduct,  especially  in  the  affair  of  his 
attachment  for  Miss  Burwell,  and  his  maltreatment  of  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Fouace,  were  transmitted  to  the  government  in  England, 
covering  forty-four  pages  folio  of  manuscript.  The  controversy 
produced  no  little  excitement  and  disturbance  in  the  colony;  a 
number  of  the  clergy  adhered  to  the  governor,  being  those  with 
whom  Commissary  Blair  was  unpopular,  and  whom  the  governor 
had  ingratiated  by  siding  with  them  against  the  vestries,  and  by 
representing  the  commissary  as  less  favorable  to  their  cause. 
Governor  Nicholson  ordered  a  convocation  to  be  assembled,  and 
during  its  session  held  private  interviews  with  his  adherents 
among  the  clergy,  who  signed  a  paper  denying  the  charges  made 
by  the  commissary  and  the  council.  A  public  entertainment 
given  to  them  was  satirized  in  a  ballad,  setting  forth  their  un- 
clerical  hilarity,  and  depicting  some  of  them  in  unfavorable 
colors.  This  ballad  soon  appeared  in  London.  In  this  convo 
cation  seventeen  of  the  clergy  were  opposed  to  the  commissary, 

*  Memoirs  of  Dr.  Chalmers,  iv.  287,  316. 
f  Mrs.  Gaskell's  Life  of  Charlotte  Bronte". 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF    VIRGINIA.  369 

and  only  six  in  his  favor.  Nevertheless  his  integrity  and  in 
domitable  perseverance  and  energy  triumphed;  and  at  length, 
upon  the  complaint  made  by  him,  together  with  six  members  of 
the  council  and  some  of  the  clergy,  particularly  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Fouace,  Colonel  Nicholson  was  recalled.*  He  ceased  to  be 
governor  in  August,  1705.  Before  entering  on  the  government 
of  Virginia  he  had  been  lieutenant-governor  of  New  York  under 
Andros,  and  afterwards  at  the  head  of  administration  from  1687 
to  1689,  when  he  was  expelled  by  a  popular  tumult.  From  1690 
to  1692  he  was  lieutenant-governor  of  Virginia.  From  1694  to 
1699  he  held  the  government  of  Maryland,  where,  with  the 
zealous  assistance  of  Commissary  Bray,  he  busied  himself  in 
establishing  Episcopacy.  Returning  to  the  government  of  Vir 
ginia,  Governor  Nicholson  remained  until  1705.  In  the  year  1710 
he  was  appointed  general  and  commander-in-chief  of  the  forces 
sent  against  Fort  Royal,  in  Acadia,  which  was  surrendered  to 
him.  During  the  following  year  he  headed  the  land  force  of 
another  expedition  directed  against  the  French  in  Canada.  The 
naval  force  on  this  occasion  was  commanded  by  the  imbecile 
Brigadier  Hill.  The  enterprise  was  corrupt  in  purpose,  feeble  in 
execution,  and  abortive  in  result.  This  failure  was  attributable 
to  the  mismanagement  and  inefficiency  of  the  fleet.  In  1713 
Colonel  Nicholson  was  governor  of  Nova  Scotia.  Having  re 
ceived  the  honor  of  knighthood  in  1720,  Sir  Francis  Nicholson 
was  appointed  governor  of  South  Carolina,  where  during  four 
years,  it  is  said,  he  conducted  himself  with  a  judicious  and  spirited 
attention  to  the  public  welfare,  and  this  threw  a  lustre  over  the 
closing  scene  of  his  long  and  active  career  in  America.  Return 
ing  to  England,  June,  1725,  he  died  at  London  in  March,  1728. 
He  is  described  as  an  adept  in  colonial  governments,  trained  by 
long  experience  in  New  York,  Virginia,  and  Maryland;  brave, 
and  not  penurious,  but  narrow  and  irascible ;  of  loose  morality, 
yet  a  fervent  supporter  of  the  church. "f 

Upon  the  revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes,  by  Louis  the  Four 
teenth,  in  1685,  more  than  half  a  million  of  French  Protestants, 
called  Huguenots,  fled  from  the  jaws  of  persecution  to  foreign 


*  Old  Churches,  etc.,  i.  158;  ii.  291.  f  Bancroft,  ii.  82. 

24 


370  ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA. 

countries.  About  forty  thousand  took  refuge  in  England. 
In  1690  William  the  Third  sent  over  a  number  of  them  to 
Virginia,  and  lands  were  allotted  to  them  on  James  River. 
During  the  year  1699  another  body  came  over,  conducted  by 
their  clergyman,  Claude  Philippe  de  Richebourg.  He  and  others 
were  naturalized  some  years  afterwards.  Others  followed  in 
succeeding  years;  the  larger  part  of  them  settled  at  Manakin- 
town,  on  the  south  bank  of  the  James  River,  about  twenty  miles 
above  the  falls,  on  rich  lands  formerly  occupied  by  the  Monacan 
Indians.  The  rest  dispersed  themselves  over  the  country,  some 
on  the  James,  some  on  the  Rappahannock.  The  settlement  at 
Manakintown  was  erected  into  the  parish  of  King  William,  in  the 
County  of  Henrico,  and  exempted  from  taxation  for  many  years. 
The  refugees  received  from  the  king  and  the  assembly  large  dona 
tions  of  money  and  provisions;  and  they  found  in  Colonel  Wil 
liam  Byrd,  of  Westover,  a  generous  benefactor.  Each  settler 
was  allowed  a  strip  of  land  running  back  from  the  river  to  the 
foot  of  the  hill.  Here  they  raised  cattle,  undertook  to  domesti 
cate  the  buffalo,  manufactured  cloth,  and  made  claret  wine  from 
wild  grapes.  Their  settlement  extended  about  four  miles  along 
the  river.  In  the  centre  they  built  a  church;  they  conducted 
their  public  worship  after  the  German  manner,  and  repeated 
family  worship  three  times  a  day.  Manakintown  was  then  on  the 
frontier  of  Virginia,  and  there  was  no  other  settlement  nearer 
than  the  falls  of  the  James  River,  yet  the  Indians  do  not  appear 
to  have  ever  molested  these  pious  refugees.  There  was  no  mill 
nearer  than  the  mouth  of  Falling  Creek,  twenty  miles  distant, 
and  the  Huguenots,  having  no  horses,  were  obliged  to  carry  their 
corn  on  their  backs  to  the  mill. 

Many  worthy  families  of  Virginia  are  descended  from  the 
Huguenots,  among  them  the  Maurys,  Fontaines,  Lacys,  Mun- 
fords,  Flournoys,  Dupuys,  Duvalls,  Bondurants,  Trents,  Mon- 
cures,  Ligons,  and  Le  Grands.  In  the  year  1714  the  aggregate 
population  of  the  Manakintown  settlement  was  three  hundred. 
The  parish  register  of  a  subsequent  date,  in  French,  is  preserved. 


CHAPTER    XLVII. 


Parishes  —  The  Rev.  Francis  Makemie  —  Dissenters  —  Toleration  Act  —  Ministers  — 

Commissary. 

IN  the  year  1702  there  were  twenty-nine  counties  in  Virginia, 
and  forty-nine  parishes,  of  which  thirty-four  were  supplied  with 
ministers,  fifteen  vacant.  In  each  parish  there  was  a  church,  of 
timber,  brick,  or  stone  ;  in  the  larger  parishes,  one  or  two  Chapels 
of  Ease;  so  that  the  whole  number  of  places  of  worship,  for  a 
population  of  sixty  thousand,  was  about  seventy.  In  every  parish 
a  dwelling-house  was  provided  for  the  minister,  with  a  glebe  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  land,  and  sometimes  a  few  ne 
groes,  or  a  small  stock  of  cattle.  The  salary  of  sixteen  thou 
sand  pounds  of  tobacco  was,  in  ordinary  quality,  equivalent  to 
c£80;  in  sweet-scented,  to  X160.  It  required  the  labor  of  twelve 
negroes  to  produce  this  amount.  There  were  in  Virginia,  at  this 
time,  three  Quaker  congregations,  and  as  many  Presbyterian; 
two  in  Accomac  under  the  care  of  Rev.  Francis  Makemie;  the 
other  on  Elizabeth  River. 

The  Rev.  Francis  Makemie,  who  is  styled  the  father  of  the 
American  Presbyterian  Church,  was  settled  in  Accomac  County 
before  the  year  1690,  when  his  name  first  appears  upon  the 
county  records.  He  appears  to  have  been  a  native  of  the  north 
of  Ireland,  being  of  Scotch  extraction,  and  one  of  those  called 
Scotch-Irish.  Licensed  by  the  presbytery  of  Lagan  in  1680, 
and  in  two  or  three  years  ordained  as  an  evangelist  for  America, 
he  came  over,  and  labored  in  Barbadoes,  Maryland,  and  Virginia. 
The  first  mention  of  his  name  on  the  records  of  the  county  court 
of  Accomac  bears  date  in  1690,  by  which  he  appears  to  have 
brought  suits  for  debts  due  him  in  the  business  of  merchandise. 
He  married  Naomi,  eldest  daughter  of  William  Anderson,  a 
wealthy  merchant  of  Accomac,  and  thus  acquired  an  independent 

(371) 


872  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

estate.  In  the  year  1699  he  obtained  from  the  court  of  that 
county  a  certificate  of  qualification  as  a  preacher  under  the 
toleration  act,  the  first  of  the  kind  known  to  be  on  record  in 
Virginia.  At  the  same  time,  upon  his  petition,  two  houses  be 
longing  to  him  were  licensed  as  places  of  public  worship.*  In  a 
letter  written  in  1710  by  the  presbytery  of  Philadelphia  to  that 
of  Dublin,  it  is  said:  "In  all  Virginia  we  have  one  small  congre 
gation  on  Elizabeth  River,  and  some  few  families  favoring  our 
way  in  Rappahannock  and  York."  Two  years  after,  the  Rev. 
John  Macky  was  the  pastor  of  the  Elizabeth  River  congregation. 
It  is  probable  that  the  congregations  organized  by  Mr.  Makemie, 
in  1690,  were  not  able  to  give  him  a  very  ample  support;  but, 
prosperous  in  his  worldly  aifairs,  he  appears  to  have  contributed 
liberally  from  his  own  means  to  the  promotion  of  the  religious 
interests  in  which  he  was  engaged.  According  to  tradition,  he 
suffered  frequent  annoyances  from  the  intolerant  spirit  of  the 
times  in  Virginia;  but  he  declared  that  "he  durst  not  deny 
preaching,  and  hoped  he  never  should,  while  it  was  wanting  and 
desired."  Beverley,  in  his  "History  of  Virginia,"  published  in 
1705,  says:  "They  have  no  more  than  five  conventicles  among 
them,  namely,  three  small  meetings  of  Quakers,  and  two  of 
Presbyterians,  'Tis  observed  that  those  counties  where  the  Pres 
byterian  meetings  are  produce  very  mean  tobacco,  and  for  that 
reason  can't  get  an  orthodox  minister  to  stay  among  them;  but 
whenever  they  could,  the  people  very  orderly  went  to  church." 


*  It  appears  from  his  will,  dated  in  1708,  that  he  also  owned  a  house  and  lot 
in  the  new  town  in  Princess  Anne  County,  on  the  eastern  branch  of  Elizabeth 
Biver,  and  a  house  and  lot  in  the  new  town  on  Wormley's  Creek,  called  Urbanna. 
Whether  he  used  these  houses  for  merchandise,  or  for  public  worship,  is  not 
known.  It  appears  from  Commissary  Blair's  report  on  the  state  of  the  church 
in  Virginia,  that  the  congregation  on  Elizabeth  River  existed  before  the  year 
1700.  From  the  fact  of  Mr.  Makemie's  directing,  in  his  will,  that  his  dwelling- 
house  and  lot  on  that  river  should  be  sold,  it  has  been  inferred  that  he  had  re 
sided  there  before  he  moved  to  the  opposite  shore  of  the  Chesapeake,  and  that 
the  church  in  question  was  gathered  by  him ;  if  so,  it  must  have  been  formed 
before  1690;  for  in  that  year  he  was  residing  on  the  Eastern  Shore.  Others 
have  supposed  that  the  congregation  on  Elizabeth  River  was  composed  of  a  small 
company  of  Scotch  emigrants,  whose  descendants  are  still  to  be  found  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Norfolk. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  373 

From  this  it  may  be  inferred  that  the  Eastern  Shore,  where 
Makemie  was  settled,  produced  poor  tobacco,  and  that  in  conse 
quence  of  it  there  was  no  minister  of  the  established  church  in 
his  neighborhood.  He  is  supposed  to  have  had  four  places  of 
preaching ;  his  labors  proved  acceptable ;  his  hearers  and  congre 
gations  increased  in  number,  and  there  was  a  demand  for  other 
ministers  of  the  same  denomination.  Mr.  Makemie,  about  the 
year  1704,  returned  to  the  mother  country  and  remained  there 
about  a  year.  During  the  following  year  two  ministers,  styled 
his  associates,  were  licensed,  by  authority  of  Governor  Seymour, 
to  preach  in  Somerset  County,  in  Maryland,  notwithstanding  the 
opposition  of  the  neighboring  Episcopal  minister.  Makemie's 
imprisonment  in  New  York  (by  Lord  Cornbury)  for  preaching  in 
that  city,  and  his  able  defence  upon  his  trial,  are  well  known. 
He  died  in  1708,  leaving  a  large  estate.  His  library  was  much 
larger  than  was  usually  possessed  by  Virginia  clergymen  in  that 
day,  and  included  a  number  of  law  books.  He  appointed  the 
Honorable  Francis  Jenkins,  of  Somerset  County,  Maryland,  and 
Mary  Jenkins,  his  lady,  executors  of  his  last  will  and  testament, 
and  guardians  of  his  children.* 

In  1699  a  penalty  of  five  shillings  was  imposed  on  such  per 
sons  in  Virginia  as  should  not  attend  the  parish  church  once  in 
two  months;  but  dissenters,  qualified  according  to  the  toleration 
act  of  the  first  year  of  William  and  Mary,  were  exempted  from 
this  penalty,  provided  they  should  attend  at  "any  congregation, 
or  place  of  religious  worship,  permitted  and  allowed  by  the  said 
act  of  parliament,  once  in  two  months,  "f  Hening  remarks  of  this 
law:  "It  is  surely  an  abuse  of  terms  to  call  a  law  a  toleration 
act  which  imposes  a  religious  test  on  the  conscience,  in  order  to 
avoid  the  penalties  of  another  law  equally  violating  every  princi 
ple  of  religious  freedom.  The  provisions  of  this  act  may  be  seen 
in  the  fourth  volume  of  Blackstone's  Commentaries,  page  53. 
Nothing  could  be  more  intolerant  than  to  impose  the  penalties  by 
this  act  prescribed  for  not  repairing  to  church,  and  then  to  hold 


*  Foote's  Sketches  of  Va.,  first  series,  40,  58,  63,84;  and  Force's  Historical 
Tracts,  iv. 

|  Ilenmg,  iii.  171. 


374  ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA. 

out  tlic  idea  of  exemption,  by  a  compliance  with  the  provisions 
of  such  a  law  as  the  statute  of  1  William  and  Mary,  adopted  by 
a  mere  general  reference,  when  not  one  person  in  a  thousand 
could  possibly  know  its  contents."  It  was  an  age  when  the  state 
of  religion  was  low  in  England,  and  of  those  ministers  sent  over 
to  Virginia  not  a  few  were  incompetent,  some  openly  profligate; 
and  religion  slumbered  in  the  languor  of  moral  lectures,  the 
maxims  of  Socrates  and  Seneca,  and  the  stereotyped  routine  of 
accustomed  forms.  Altercations  between  minister  and  people 
were  not  unfrequent;  the  parson  was  a  favorite  butt  for  aristo 
cratic  ridicule.  Sometimes  a  pastor  more  exemplary  than  the 
rest  was  removed  from  mercenary  motives,  or  on  account  of  a 
faithful  discharge  of  his  duties.  More  frequently  the  unfit  were 
retained  by  popular  indifference.  The  clergy,  in  effect,  did  not 
enjoy  that  permanent  independency  of  the  people  which  properly 
belongs  to  a  hierarchy.  The  vestry,  a  self-perpetuated  body  of 
twelve  gentlemen,  thought  themselves  "the  parson's  master,"  and 
the  clergy  in  vain  deplored  the  precarious  tenure  of  their  livings. 
The  commissary's  powers  were  few,  limited,  and  disputed;  he  was 
but  the  shadow  of  a  bishop ;  he  could  not  ordain  nor  confirm ;  he 
could  not  depose  a  minister.  Yet  the  people,  jealous  of  prelati- 
cal  tyranny,  watched  his  feeble  movements  with  a  vigilant  and 
suspicious  eye.  The  church  in  Virginia  was  destitute  of  an  effec 
tive  discipline.* 

*  Hawks ;  Bancroft ;  Beverley,  B.  iv.  26. 


CHAPTER    XLVIII. 

17'04-lT'lO. 

Edward  Nott,  Lieutenant-Governor — Earl  of  Orkney,  Titular  Governor-in-cbief — 
Kott's  Administration — Robert  Hunter  appointed  Lieutenant-Governor — Cap 
tured  by  the  French — The  Rev.  Samuel  Sandford  endows  a  Free  School — Lord 
Baltimore. 

Ox  the  13th  day  of  August,  1704,  the  Duke  of  Marlborough 
gained  a  celebrated  victory  over  the  French  and  Bavarians  at 
Blenheim.*  During  the  same  month  Edward  Nott  came  over  to 
Virginia,  lieutenant-governor  under  George  Hamilton,  Earl  of 
Orkney,  who  had  been  appointed  governor-in-chief,  and  from  this 
time  the  office  became  a  pensionary  sinecure,  enjoyed  by  one  re 
siding  in  England,  and  who,  out  of  a  salary  of  two  thousand 
pounds  a  year,  received  twelve  hundred.  The  Earl  of  Orkney, 
who  enjoyed  this  sinecure  for  forty  years,  having  entered  the 
army  in  his  youth,  was  made  a  colonel  in  1689-90,  and  in  1695-6 
was  created  Earl  of  Orkney,  in  consideration  of  his  merit  and 
gallantry.  He  was  present  at  the  battles  of  the  Boyne,  Athlone, 
Limerick,  Aghrim,  Steinkirk,  Lauden,  Namur,  and  Blenheim,  and 
was  a  great  favorite  of  William  the  Third.  In  the  first  year  of 
Queen  Anne's  reign  he  was  made  a  major-general,  and  shortly  after 
a  Knight  of  the  Thistle,  and  served  with  distinction  in  all  the  wars 
of  her  reign.  As  one  of  the  sixteen  peers  of  Scotland  he  was  a 
member  of  the  house  of  lords  for  many  years.  He  married,  in 
1695,  Elizabeth,  daughter  to  Sir  Edward  Villiers,  Knight,  (Maid 
of  Honor  to  Queen  Mary,)  sister  to  Edward,  Earl  of  Jersey,  by 
whom  he  had  three  daughters,  Lady  Anne,  who  married  the  Earl 
of  Inchequin,  Lady  Frances,  who  married  Sir  Thomas  Sanderson, 
Knight  of  the  Bath,  Knight  of  the  Shire  of  Lincoln,  and  brother 
to  the  Earl  of  Scarborough,  and  Lady  Harriet,  married  to  the 
Earl  of  Orrery. 

*  In  the  following  year  appeared  the  first  American  newspaper,  "  The  Boston 
News-Letter." 

(375) 


376  HISTORY  or  THE  COLONY  AND 

Nott,  a  mild,  benevolent  man,  did  not  survive  long  enough  to 
realize  what  the  people  hoped  from  his  administration.  In  the 
fall  after  his  arrival  he  called  an  assembly,  which  concluded  a 
general  revisal  of  the  laws  that  had  been  long  in  hand.  Some 
salutary  acts  went  into  operation,  but  those  relating  to  the  church 
and  clergy  proving  unacceptable  to  the  commissary,  as  encroach 
ing  on  the  confines  of  prerogative,  were  suspended  by  the  gover 
nor,  and  thus  fell  through.  Governor  Nott  procured  the  passage 
of  an  act  providing  for  the  building  of  a  palace  for  the  governor, 
and  appropriating  three  thousand  pounds  to  that  object,  and  he 
dissented  to  an  act  infringing  on  the  governor's  right  of  appoint 
ing  justices  of  the  peace,  by  making  the  concurrence  of  five  of 
the  council  necessary.  An  act  establishing  the  general  court  was 
afterwards  disallowed  by  the  board  of  trade,  because  it  did  not 
recognize  the  appellate  rights  of  the  crown.  This  assembly 
passed  a  new  act  for  the  establishment  of  ports  and  towns, 
"grounding  it  only  upon  encouragements  according  to  her 
majesty's  letter;"  but  the  Virginia  merchants  complaining  against 
it,  this  measure  also  failed. 

During  the  first  year  of  Nott's  administration  the  College  of 
William  and  Mary  was  destroyed  by  fire.*  The  assembly  had 
held  their  sessions  in  it  for  several  years.  Governor  Nott  died 
in  August,  1706,  aged  forty-nine  years.  The  assembly  erected  a 
monument  to  his  memory  in  the  graveyard  of  the  church  at  Wil- 
liamsburg.  In  the  inscription  he  is  styled,  "His  Excellency, 
Edward  Nott,  the  late  Governor  of  this  Colony."  It  appears  that 
he  and  his  successors  were  allowed  to  retain  the  chief  title,  as 
giving  them  more  authority  with  the  people,  the  Earl  of  Orkney 
being  quite  content  with  a  part  of  the  salary. 

England  having  now  adopted  the  French  policy  of  appointing 
military  men  for  the  colonial  governments,  in  1708  Robert  Hunter, 
a  brigadier-general,  a  scholar,  and  a  wit — a  friend  of  Addison 
and  Swift — was  appointed  lieutenant-governor  of  Virginia ;  but  he 
was  captured  on  the  voyage  by  the  French.  Dean  Swift,  in 


*  The  same  disaster  has  recently  befallen  this  venerable  institution,  on  the 
8th  of  February,  1859.  The  library,  comprising  many  rare  and  valuable  works, 
shared  the  fate  of  the  building.  The  walls  are  rising  again  on  the  same  spot. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  377 

January,  1708-9,  writes  to  him,  then  a  prisoner  in  Paris,  that 
unless  he  makes  haste  to  return  to  England  and  get  him  appointed 
Bishop  of  Virginia,  he  will  be  persuaded  by  Addison,  newly  ap 
pointed  secretary  of  state  for  Ireland,  to  accompany  him.*  Two 
months  later  he  writes  to  him:  "All  my  hopes  now  terminate  in 
being  made  Bishop  of  Virginia."  In  the  year  1710  Hunter  be 
came  Governor  of  New  York  and  the  Jerseys,  and  his  adminis 
tration  was  happily  conducted. 

SamuelSandford,  who  had  been  some  time  resident  in  Accomac 
County:  by  his  will,  dated  at  London  in  this  year,  he  leaves  a 
large  tract  of  land,  the  rents  and  profits  to  be  appropriated  to  the 
education  of  the  children  of  the  poor.  It  appears  probable  that 
he  had  served  as  a  minister  in  Accomac,  and  at  the  time  of  the 
making  of  his  will  was  a  minister  in  the  County  of  Gloucester, 
England. 

About  the  year  1709,  Benedict  Calvert,  Lord  Baltimore,  aban 
doned  the  Church  of  Rome  and  embraced  Protestantism.  To 
Charles  Calvert,  his  son,  likewise  a  Protestant,  the  full  privileges 
of  the  Maryland  charter  were  subsequently  restored  by  George 
the  First.f 

*  Anderson's  Hist.  Col.  Church,  iii.  127.  f  Ibid.,  iii.  183. 


CHAPTER    XLIX. 


Spotswood,  Lieutenant-Governor — His  Lineage  and  Early  Career — Dissolves  the 
Assembly — Assists  North  Carolina — Sends  Gary  and  others  Prisoners  to  Eng 
land — Death  of  Queen  Anne — Accession  of  George  the  First — German  Settle 
ment — Virginia's  Economy — Church  Establishment — Statistics. 

IN  the  year  1710  Colonel  Alexander  Spotswood  was  sent  over 
as  lieutenant-governor,  under  the  Earl  of  Orkney.  lie  was  de 
scended  from  the  ancient  Scottish  family  of  Spottiswoode.  The 
surname  is  local,  and  was  assumed  by  the  proprietors  of  the  lands 
and  Barony  of  Spottiswoode,  in  the  Parish  of  Gordon,  and  County 
of  Berwick,  as  soon  as  surnames  became  hereditary  in  Scotland. 
The  immediate  ancestor  of  the  family  was  Robert  de  Spotswood, 
born  during  the  reign  of  King  Alexander  the  Third,  who  suc 
ceeded  to  the  crown  of  Scotland  in  1249.  Colonel  Alexander 
Spotswood  was  born  in  1676,  the  year  of  Bacon's  Rebellion,  at 
Tangier,  then  an  English  colony,  in  Africa,  his  father,  Robert 
Spotswood,  being  physician  to  the  governor,  the  Earl  of  Middle- 
ton,  and  the  garrison  there.  The  grandfather  of  Alexander  was 
Sir  Robert  Spotswood,  Lord  President  of  the  College  of  Justice, 
and  Secretary  of  Scotland  in  the  time  of  Charles  the  First,  and 
author  of  "The  Practicks  of  the  Laws  of  Scotland."  He  was  the 
second  son  of  John  Spotswood,  or  Spottiswoode,  Archbishop  of 
St.  Andrews,  and  author  of  "The  History  of  the  Church  of  Scot 
land."  The  mother  of  Colonel  Alexander  Spotswood  was  a 
widow,  Catharine  Elliott;  his  father  died  at  Tangier  in  1688, 
leaving  this  his  only  child.*  Colonel  Alexander  Spotswood  was 
bred  in  the  army  from  his  childhood,  and  uniting  genius  with 
energy,  served  with  distinction  under  the  Duke  of  Marlborough. 

*  Douglas's  Peerage  of  Scotland;  Burke's  Landed  Gentry  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland,  ii.,  Art.  STOTTISWOODE;  Chalmers' Introduction,  i.  394;  Keith's  Hist, 
of  Va.,  173. 

(378) 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  379 

He  was  dangerously  wounded  in  the  breast  by  the  first  fire  which 
the  French  made  on  the  Confederates  at  the  battle  of  Blenheim. 
He  served  during  the  heat  of  that  sanguinary  war  as  deputy 
quartermaster-general.  In  after-life,  while  governor  of  Virginia, 
he  sometimes  showed  to  his  guests  a  four-pound  ball  that  struck 
his  coat.  Blenheim  Castle  is  represented  in  the  background  of 
a  portrait  of  him,  preserved  at  Chelsea,  in  the  County  of  King 
William. 

The  arrival  of  Governor  Spotswood  in  Virginia  was  hailed 
with  joy,  because  he  brought  with  him  the  right  of  Habeas  Cor 
pus — a  right  guaranteed  to  every  Englishman  by  Magna  Charta, 
but  hitherto  denied  to  Virginians.  He  entered  upon  the  duties 
of  his  office  in  June,  1710.  The  two  houses  of  the  assembly 
severally  returned  thanks  for  an  act  affording  them  "  relief  from 
long  imprisonments,"  and  appropriated  upwards  of  two  thousand 
pounds  for  completing  the  governor's  palace.  In  the  following 
year  Spotswood  wrote  back  to  England:  "This  government  is  in 
perfect  peace  and  tranquillity,  under  a  due  obedience  to  the  royal 
authority  and  a  gentlemanly  conformity  to  the  Church  of  Eng 
land."  The  assembly  was  continued  by  several  prorogations  to 
November,  1711.  During  the  summer  of  this  year,  upon  an 
alarm  of  an  intended  French  invasion  of  Virginia,  the  governor 
exerted  himself  to  put  the  colony  in  the  best  posture  of  defence. 
Upon  the  convening  of  the  assembly  their  jealousy  of  prerogative 
power  revived,  and  they  refused  to  pay  the  expense  of  collecting 
the  militia,  or  to  discharge  the  colonial  debt,  because,  as  Spots- 
wood  informed  the  ministry,  "they  hoped  by  their  frugality  to 
recommend  themselves  to  the  populace."  The  assembly  would 
only  consent  to  levy  twenty  thousand  pounds,  by  duties  laid 
chiefly  on  British  manufactures;  and  notwithstanding  the  gover 
nor's  message,  they  insisted  on  giving  discriminating  privileges 
to  Virginia  owners  of  vessels  in  preference  to  British  subjects 
proper,  saying  that  the  same  exemption  had  always  existed.  The 
governor  declined  the  proffered  levy,  and  finding  that  nothing 
further  could  be  obtained,  dissolved  the  assembly,  and  in  antici 
pation  of  an  Indian  war  was  obliged  to  solicit  supplies  from 
England. 

About  this  time,  the  feuds  that  raged  in  the  adjoining  province 


380  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY  AND 

of  North  Carolina,  threatening  to  subvert  all  regular  government 
there,  Hyde,  the  governor,  called  upon  Spotswood  for  aid.  He 
at  first  sent  Clayton,  a  man  of  singular  prudence,  to  endeavor  to 
reconcile  the  hostile  factions.  But  Gary,  the  ringleader  of  the 
insurgents,  having  refused  to  make  terms,  Spotswood  ordered  a 
detachment  of  militia  toward  the  frontier  of  North  Carolina,  while 
he  sent  a  body  of  marines,  from  the  coast-guard  ships,  to  destroy 
Gary's  naval  force.  In  a  dispatch,  Spotswood  complained  to 
Lord  Dartmouth  of  the  reluctance  that  he  found  in  the  inhabit 
ants  of  the  counties  bordering  on  North  Carolina,  to  march  to 
the  relief  of  Governor  Hyde.  No  blood  was  shed  upon  the  occa 
sion,  and  Gary,  Porter,  and  other  leaders  in  those  disturbances 
retiring  to  Virginia,  were  apprehended  by  Spotswood  in  July, 
1711,  and  sent  prisoners  to  England,  charged  with  treason.  In 
the  ensuing  year  Lord  Dartmouth  addressed  letters  to  the  colo 
nies,  directing  the  governors  to  send  over  no  more  prisoners  for 
crimes  or  misdemeanors,  without  proof  of  their  guilt. 

In  the  Tuscarora  war,  commenced  by  a  massacre  on  the  fron 
tier  of  North  Carolina  in  September  of  this  year,  Spotswood 
again  made  an  effort  to  relieve  that  colony,  and  prevented  the 
tributary  Indians  from  joining  the  enemy.  He  felt  that  little 
honor  was  to  be  derived  from  a  contest  with  those  who  fought 
like  wild  beasts,  and  he  rather  endeavored  to  work  upon  their 
hopes  and  fears  by  treaty.  To  allay  the  clamors  of  the  public 
creditors  the  governor  convened  the  assembly  in  1712,  and  de 
monstrated  to  them  that  during  the  last  twenty-two  years  the 
permanent  revenue  had  been  so  deficient  as  to  require  seven  thou 
sand  pounds  from  the  monarch's  private  purse  to  supply  it.  In 
the  month  of  January,  1714,  he  at  length  concluded  a  peace 
with  these  ferocious  tribes,  who  had  been  drawn  into  the  contest, 
and,  blending  humanity  with  vigor,  he  taught  them  that  while  he 
could  chastise  their  insolence  he  commiserated  their  fate. 

On  the  seventeenth  day  of  November  the  governor,  in  his  ad 
dress  to  the  assembly,  announced  the  death  of  Queen  Anne,  the 
last  of  the  Stuart  monarchs,  and  the  succession  of  George  the 
First,  the  first  of  the  Guelfs,  but  maternally  a  grandson  of  James 
the  First. 

The  frontier  of  the  colony  of  Virginia  was  now  undisturbed  by 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  381 

Indian  incursions,  so  that  the  expenditure  was  reduced  to  one- 
third  of  what  had  been  previously  required.  A  settlement  of 
German  Protestants  had  recently  been  effected  under  the  gover 
nor's  auspices,  in  a  region  hitherto  unpeopled,  on  the  Rapidan.* 
The  place  settled  by  these  Germans  was  called  Germanna,  after 
wards  the  residence  of  Spotswood.  These  immigrants,  being 
countrymen  of  the  new  sovereign,  could  claim  an  additional  title 
to  the  royal  favor  on  that  account.  Spotswood  was  at  the  time 
endeavoring  to  extend  the  blessings  of  a  Christian  education  to 
the  children  of  the  Indians,  and  although  the  beneficial  result  of 
this  scheme  might  to  some  appear  too  remote,  he  declared  that 
for  him  it  was  a  sufficient  encouragement  to  think  that  posterity 
might  reap  the  benefit  of  it.  The  Indian  troubles,  by  which  the 
frontier  of  Virginia  had  of  late  years  suffered  so  much,  the  gover 
nor  attributed  mainly  to  the  clandestine  trade  carried  on  with 
them  by  unprincipled  men.  The  same  evil  has  continued  down 
to  the  present  day.  In  the  before-mentioned  address  to  the 
assembly,  Spotswood  informed  them  that  since  their  preceding 
session  he  had  received  a  supply  of  ammunition,  arms,  and  other 
necessaries  of  war,  sent  out  by  the  late  Queen  Anne. 

During  eleven  years,  from  1707  to  1718,  while  other  colonies 
were  burdened  with  taxation  for  extrinsic  purposes,  Virginia 
steadily  adhered  to  a  system  of  rigid  economy,  and  during  that 
interval  eighty-three  pounds  of  tobacco  per  poll  was  the  sum-total 
levied  by  all  acts  of  assembly,  f  The  Virginians  now  began  to 
scrutinize,  with  a  jealous  eye,  the  circumstances  of  the  govern 
ment,  and  the  assembly  "held  itself  entitled  to  all  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  an  English  parliament." 

The  act  of  1642,  reserving  the  right  of  presentation  to  the 
parish,  the  license  of  the  Bishop  of  London,  and  the  recommenda 
tion  of  the  governor,  availed  but  little  against  the  popular  will, 
and  there  were  not  more  than  four  inducted  ministers  in  the 
colony.  Republicanism  was  thus  finding  its  way  even  into  the 


*  There  are  several  rivers  in  Virginia  called  after  Queen  Anne:  the  North 
Anna,  South  Anna,  Eivanna,  and  Kapidan;  and  the  word  Fluvanna  appears  to 
be  derived  from  the  same  source. 

f  Va.  Hist.  Reg.,  iv.  11. 


382  HISTORY    OF    THE   COLOXY   AND 

church,  and  vestries  were  growing  independent.  The  parish 
sometimes  neglected  to  receive  the  minister ;  sometimes  received 
but  did  not  present  him,  the  custom  being  to  employ  a  minister 
by  the  year.  In  1703  it  was  decided  that  the  minister  was  an 
incumbent  for  life,  and  could  not  be  displaced  by  the  parish,  but 
the  vestries,  by  preventing  his  induction,  excluded  him  from 
acquiring  a  freehold  in  his  living,  and  he  might  be  removed  at 
pleasure.  The  ministers  were  not  always  men  who  could  win  the 
esteem  of  the  people  or  command  their  respect.  The  Virginia 
parishes  were  so  extensive  that  parishioners  sometimes  lived  at 
the  distance  of  fifty  miles  from  the  parish  church,  and  the  assem 
bly  would  not  augment  the  taxes  by  narrowing  the  bounds  of  the 
parishes,  even  to  avoid  the  dangers  of  "paganism,  atheism,  or 
sectaries."  Schism  was  threatening  "to  creep  into  the  church, 
and  to  generate  faction  in  the  civil  government."*  "In  Vir 
ginia,"  says  the  Rev.  Hugh  Jones,")"  "there  is  no  ecclesiastical 
court,  so  that  vice,  profaneness,  and  immorality  are  not  sup 
pressed.  The  people  hate  the  very  name  of  bishop's  court." 
"All  which  things,"  he  adds,  "make  it  absolutely  necessary  for 
a  bishop  to  be  settled  there,  to  pave  the  way  for  mitres  in  English 
America." 

There  is  preserved  the  record  of  the  trial  of  Grace  Sherwood, 
in  the  County  of  Princess  Anne,  for  witchcraft.  Being  put  in 
the  water,  with  her  hands  bound,  she  was  found  to  swim.  A 
jury  of  old  women  having  examined  her,  reported  that  "she  was 
not  like  them."  She  was  ordered  by  the  court  to  be  secured 
"by  irons,  or  otherwise,"  in  jail  for  farther  trial.  The  pic 
turesque  inlet  where  she  was  put  in  the  water  is  still  known  as 
"Witch  Duck."  The  custom  of  nailing  horse-shoes  to  the  doors 
to  keep  out  witches  is  not  yet  entirely  obsolete. 

The  Virginians  at  this  time  were  deterred  from  sending  their 
children  across  the  Atlantic  to  be  educated,  through  fear  of  the 
smallpox.  J 

From  the  statistics  of  the  year  1715,  it  appears  that  Virginia, 


*  Bancroft,  iii.  27,  28,  citing  Spotswood  MS.,  an  account  of  Virginia  during 
his  administration,  composed  by  the  governor;  Hawks,  p.  88. 

f  Tho  Present  State  of  Virginia  J  Bishop  Meade's  "Old  Churches." 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  383 

was,  in  population  second  only  to  Massachusetts,*  which  exceeded 
her  in  total  number  by  one  thousand,  and  in  the  number  of  whites 
by  twenty-two  thousand.  All  the  colonies  were  at  this  time  slave- 
holding;  the  seven  Northern  ones  comprising  an  aggregate  of 
12,150  slaves,  and  the  four  Southern  ones  46,700.  The  propor 
tion  of  whites  to  negroes  in  Virginia  was  upwards  of  four  to  one. 
Their  condition  was  one  of  rather  rigorous  servitude.  The  num 
ber  of  Africans  imported  into  Virginia  during  the  reign  of  George 
the  First  was  upwards  of  ten  thousand.  In  addition  to  the  slaves, 
the  Virginians  had  three  kinds  of  white  servants, — some  hired 
in  the  ordinary  wTay;  others,  called  kids,  bound  by  indenture  for 
four  or  five  years;  the  third  class  consisted  of  convicts.  The 
two  colonies,  Virginia  and  Maryland,  supplied  the  mother  country, 
in  exchange  for  her  manufactures,  with,  upwards  of  twenty-five 
millions  of  pounds  of  tobacco,  of  which  there  were  afterwards 
exported  more  than  seventeen  millions,  leaving  for  internal  con 
sumption  more  than  eight  millions.  Besides  the  revenue  which 
Great  Britain  derived  from  this  source,  in  a  commercial  point  of 
view,  Virginia  and  Maryland  were  at  this  period  of  more  conse 
quence  to  the  fatherland  than  all  the  other  nine  colonies  com 
bined.  Virginia  exchanged  her  corn,  lumber,  and  salted  provi 
sions,  for  the  sugar,  rum,  and  wine  of  the  West  Indies  and  the 
Azores. 


*  The  comparative  population  of  the  eleven  Anglo-American  colonies  in  1715 
\vas  as  follows: — 


White  Men. 
9  500 

Negroes. 
150 

Total. 
9  650 

94,000 

2  000 

96  000 

8  500 

500 

9  000 

46,000 

1,500 

47,500 

27,000 

4,000 

31,000 

21,000 

1,500 

22,500 

Pennsylvania     

43,300 

2,500 

45,800 

40  700 

9  500 

50  200 

79  000 

23  000 

95,000 

7,500 

3,700 

11,200 

South  Carolina.  

6,250 

10,500 

16,750 

375,750 
(  Chalmers' 

58,850 
Amer.  Colon 

434,600 
ies,  ii.  7.) 

CHAPTER    L. 

17'14-17'lG. 

Indian  School  at  Fort  Christanna — The  Rev.  Mr.  Griffin,  Teacher — Governor 
Spots-wood  visits  Christanna — Description  of  the  School  and  of  the  Saponey 
Indians. 

GOVERNOR  SPOTSWOOD,  who  was  a  proficient  in  the  mathema 
tics,  built  the  Octagon  Magazine,  rebuilt  the  College,  and  made 
improvements  in  the  governor's  house  and  gardens.  He  was  an 
excellent  judge  on  the  bench.  At  his  instance  a  grant  of  <£1000 
was  made  by  the  governors  and  visitors  of  William  and  Mary 
College  in  1718,  and  a  fund  was  established  for  instructing  In 
dian  children  in  Christianity,*  and  he  erected  a  school  for  that 
purpose  on  the  southern  frontier,  at  fort  Christanna,  established 
on  the  south  side  of  the  Meherrin  River,  in  wrhat  is  now  South 
ampton  County. f  This  fort,  built  on  a  rising  ground,  was  a  pen 
tagon  enclosure  of  palisades,  and  instead  of  bastions,  there  were 
five  houses,  wThich  defended  each  other;  each  side  of  the  fort 
being  about  one  hundred  yards  long.  It  was  mounted  wTith  five 
cannon,  and  had  a  garrison  of  twelve  men.  The  Rev.  Charles 
Griffin  had  charge  of  the  school  here,  being  employed,  in  1715,  by 
Governor  Spotswood  to  teach  the  Indian  children,  and  to  bring 
them  to  Christianity.  The  Rev.  Hugh  JonesJ  says  that  he  had 
seen  there  "seventy-seven  Indian  children  at  school  at  a  time,  at 
the  governor's  sole  expense,  I  think."  This  appears  to  be  a  mis 
take.  The  school-house  was  built  at  the  expense  of  the  Indian  Com 
pany^  They  were  taught  the  English  tongue,  and  to  repeat  the 
catechism,  and  to  read  the  Bible  and  Common  Prayers,  and  to 
write.  These  some  of  them  learned  tolerably  well.  The  ma- 

*  Keith's  Hist  of  Va.,  173. 

y  Huguenot  Family,  271,  and  map  opposite  page  357.  The  names  on  this  lit 
tle  map,  taken  from  a  letter  by  Peter  Fontaine,  are  reversed,  by  mistake  of  the 
engraver. 

J  State  and  Condition  of  Virginia. 

\  llev.  C.  Griffin's  Letter,  in  Bishop  Meade's  Old  Churches,  etc.,  i.  287. 

(384) 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  385 

jority  of  them  could  repeat  the  Creed,  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and 
Ten  Commandments,  behaved  reverently  at  prayers,  and  made 
the  responses.  The  Indians  became  so  fond  of  this  worthy  mis 
sionary,  that  they  would  sometimes  lift  him  up  in  their  arms ; 
and  they  would  have  chosen  him  chief  of  their  tribe,  the  Sapo- 
neys.  They  alone  remained  steadfastly  at  peace  with  the  whites. 
They  numbered  about  two  hundred  persons,  and  lived  within 
musket-shot  of  Fort  Christanna.  They  had  recently  been  go 
verned  by  a  queen,  but  she  dying  they  were  now  governed  by 
twelve  old  men.  When  Governor  Spotswood  visited  them  in 
April,  1716,  these  old  men  waited  on  him  at  the  Fort,  and  laid 
several  skins  at  his  feet,  all  bowing  to  him  simultaneously.  They 
complained  through  their  interpreter  of  fifteeen  of  their  young 
men  having  been  surprised,  and  murdered,  by  the  Genitoes,  and 
desired  the  governor's  assistance  in  warring  against  them  until 
they  killed  as  many  of  them.  They  governor  agreed  that  they 
might  revenge  themselves,  and  that  he  would  furnish  them  with 
ammunition.  He  also  made  restitution  to  them  for  losses  which 
they  complained  they  had  suffered  by  being  cheated  by  the  Eng 
lish.  Sixty  young  men  next  made  their  appearance  with  feathers 
in  their  hair  and  run  through  their  ears,  their  faces  painted  with 
blue  and  vermilion,  their  hair  cut  in  fantastic  forms,  some  looking 
like  a  cock's-comb ;  and  they  had  blue  and  red  blankets  wrapped 
around  them.  This  was  their  war-dress,  and  it  made  them  look 
like  furies.  They  made  no  speech.  Next  came  the  young 
women  with  long,  straight,  black  hair  reaching  down  to  the  waist, 
with  a  blanket  tied  round  them,  and  hanging  down  like  a  petti 
coat.  Most  of  them  had  nothing  to  cover  them  from  the  waist 
upwards ;  but  some  wore  a  mantle  over  the  shoulders,  made  of  two 
deer- skins  sewed  together.  These  Indians  greased  their  bodies 
and  heads  with  bear's  oil,  which,  with  the  smoke  of  their  cabins, 
gave  them  a  disagreeable  odor.  They  were  very  modest  and 
faithful  to  their  husbands.  "They  are  straight  and  wrell-limbed, 
of  good  shape  and  extraordinary  good  features,  as  well  the  men 
as  the  women.  They  look  wild,  and  are  mighty  shy  of  an  Eng 
lishman,  and  will  not  let  you  touch  them."* 

*  Huguenot  Family,  272. 

25 


386  ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA. 

The  Saponey  town  was  situated  on  the  bank  of  the  Meherrin, 
the  houses  all  joining  one  another  and  making  a  circle.  This 
circle  could  be  entered  by  three  passages,  each  about  six  feet 
wide.  All  the  doors  are  on  the  inside  of  the  circle,  and  the  level 
area  within  was  common  for  the  diversion  of  the  people.  In  the 
centre  was  a  large  stump  of  a  tree,  on  which  the  head  men  stood 
when  making  a  speech.  The  women  bound  their  infants  to  a 
board  cut  in  the  shape  of  the  child;  the  top  of  the  board  was 
round,  and  there  was  a  hole  for  a  string,  by  which  it  is  hung  to 
the  limb  of  a  tree,  or  to  a  pin  in  a  post,  and  there  swings  and 
diverts  himself  out  of  harm's  way.  The  Saponeys  lived  as  lazily 
and  as  miserably  as  any  people  in  the  world.  The  boys  with 
their  bows  shot  at  the  eye  of  an  axe,  set  up  at  twenty  yards 
distance,  and  the  governor  rewarded  their  skill  with  knives 
and  looking-glasses.  They  also  danced  the  war-dance;  after 
which  the  governor  treated  them  to  a  luncheon,  which  they  de 
voured  with  animal  avidity. 


CHAPTER    LI. 
me. 

Spotswood's  Tramontane  Expedition — His  Companions — Details  of  the  Explora 
tion —  They  cross  the  Blue  Ridge  —  The  Tramontane  Order  —  The  Golden 
Horseshoe. 

IT  was  in  the  year  1716  that  Spotswood  made  the  first  com 
plete  discovery  of  a  passage  over  the  Blue  Ridge  of  mountains. 
Robert  Beverley,  in  the  preface  to  the  second  edition  of  his 
"History  of  Virginia,"  published  at  London  in  1722,  says: 
"I  was  with  the  present  governor*  at  the  head-spring  of  both 
those  rivers, f  and  their  fountains  are  in  the  highest  ridge  of 
mountains."  The  governor,  accompanied  by  John  Fontaine,  who 
had  been  an  ensign  in  the  British  army,  and  who  had  recently 
come  over  to  Virginia,  started  from  Williamsburg,  on  his  expedi 
tion  over  the  Appalachian  Mountains,  as  they  were  then  called. 
Having  crossed  the  York  River  at  the  Brick-house,  they  lodged 
that  night  at  the  seat  of  Austin  Moore,  now  Chelsea,  on  the  Ma- 
tapony  River,  a  few  miles  above  its  junction  with  the  Pamunkey. 
On  the  following  night  they  were  hospitably  entertained  by  Ro- 
"bert  Beverley,  the  historian,  at  his  residence  in  Middlesex.  The 
governor  left  his  chaise  there,  and  mounted  his  horse  for  the  rest 
of  the  journey;  and  Beverley  accompanied  him  in  the  explora 
tion.  Proceeding  along  the  Rappahannock  they  came  to  the 
Gerinantown,  ten  miles  below  the  falls,  where  they  halted  for  some 
days.  On  the  twenty-sixth  of  August  Spotswood  was  joined  here 
by  several  gentlemen,  two  small  companies  of  rangers,  and  four 
Meherrin  Indians.  The  gentlemen  of  the  party  appear  to  have 
been  Spotswood,  Fontaine,  Beverley,  Colonel  Robertson,  Austin 
Smith,  who  returned  home  owing  to  a  fever,  Todd,  Dr.  Robinson, 
Taylor,  Mason,  Brooke,  and  Captains  Clouder  and  Smith.  The 
whole  number  of  the  party,  including  gentlemen,  rangers, 

*  Spotswood.  f  York  and  Rappahannock. 

(387) 


388  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

pioneers,  Indians,  and  servants,  was  probably  about  fifty.  They 
had  with  them  a  large  number  of  riding  and  pack-horses,  an 
abundant  supply  of  provisions,  and  an  extraordinary  variety  of 
liquors.  Having  had  their  horses  shod,  they  left  Germantown  on 
the  twenty-ninth  of  August,  and  encamped  that  night  three  miles 
from  Germanna.  The  camps  were  named  respectively  after  the 
gentlemen  of  the  expedition,  the  first  one  being  called  "  Camp 
Beverley,"  where  "they  made  great  fires,  supped,  and  drank 
good  punch." 

Aroused  in  the  morning  by  the  trumpet,  they  proceeded  west 
ward,  each  day  being  diversified  by  the  incidents  and  adventures 
of  exploration.  Some  of  the  party  encountered  hornets ;  others 
were  thrown  from  their  horses;  others  killed  rattlesnakes.  Deer 
and  bears  were  shot,  and  the  venison  and  bear-meat  were  roasted 
before  the  fire  upon  wooden  forks.  At  night  they  lay  on  the 
boughs  of  trees  under  tents.  At  the  head  of  the  Rappahannock 
they  admired  the  rich  virgin  soil,  the  luxuriant  grass,  and  the 
heavy  timber  of  primitive  forests.  Thirty-six  days  after  Spots- 
wood  had  set  out  from  Williamsburg,  and  on  the  fifth  day  of 
September,  1716,  a  clear  day,  at  about  one  o'clock,  he  and  his 
party,  after  a  toilsome  ascent,  reached  the  top  of  the  mountain. 
It  is  difficult  to  ascertain  at  what  point  they  ascended,  but  proba 
bly  it  was  Swift  Run  Gap. 

As  the  company  wound  along,  in  perspective  caravan  line, 
through  the  shadowy  defiles,  the  trumpet  for  the  first  time  awoke 
the  echoes  of  the  mountains,  and  from  the  summit  Spotswood 
and  his  companions  beheld  with  rapture  the  boundless  panorama 
that  lay  spread  out  before  them,  far  as  the  eye  could  reach, 
robed  in  misty  splendor.  Here  they  drank  the  health  of  King 
George  the  First,  and  all  the  royal  family.  The  highest  summit 
was  named  by  Spotswood  Mount  George,  in  honor  of  his  majesty, 
and  the  gentlemen  of  the  expedition,  in  honor  of  the  governor, 
named  the  next  in  height,  Mount  Spotswood,  according  to  Fon 
taine,  and  Mount  Alexander,  according  to  the  Rev.  Hugh 
Jones.*  The  explorers  were  on  the  water-shed,  two  streams 

*  He  says  that  Spotswood  graved  the  king's  name  on  a  rock  on  Mount  George; 
but,  according  to  Fontaine,  "  the  governor  had  graving-irons,  but  could  not  grave 
anything,  the  stones  were  so  hard." 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  389 

rising  there,  the  one  flowing  eastward  and  the  other  westward. 
Several  of  the  company  were  desirous  of  returning,  but  the  go 
vernor  persuaded  them  to  continue  on.  Descending  the  western 
side  of  the  mountain,  and  proceeding  about  seven  miles  farther, 
they  reached  the  Shenandoah,  which  they  called  the  Euphrates, 
and  encamped  by  the  side  of  it.  They  observed  trees  blazed  by 
the  Indians,  and  the  tracks  of  elks  and  buffaloes,  and  their  lairs. 
They  noticed  a  vine  bearing  a  sort  of  wild  cucumber,  and  a  shrub 
with  a  fruit  like  the  currant,  and  ate  very  good  wild  grapes. 
This  place  was  called  Spotswood  Camp.  The  river  was  found 
fordable  at  one  place,  eighty  yards  wide  in  the  narrowest  part, 
and  running  north.  It  was  here  that  the  governor  undertook  to 
engrave  the  king's  name  on  a  rock,  and  not  on  Mount  George. 

Finding  a  ford  they  crossed  the  river,  and  this  was  the  ex 
treme  point  which  the  governor  reached  westward.  Recrossing 
the  river,  some  of  the  party  using  grasshoppers  for  bait,  caught 
perch  and  chub  fish ;  others  went  a  hunting  and  killed  deer  and 
turkeys.  Fontaine  carved  his  name  on  a  tree  by  the  river-side; 
and  the  governor  buried  a  bottle  with  a  paper  inclosed,  on  which 
he  wrote  that  he  took  possession  for  King  George  the  First  of 
England.  Dining  here  they  fired  volleys,  and  drank  healths, 
they  having  on  this  occasion  a  variety  of  liquors — Virginia  red 
wine  and  white  wine,  Irish  usquebaugh,  brandy,  shrub,  two  kinds 
of  rum,  champagne,  canary,  cherry  punch,  cider,  etc.  On  the 
seventh  the  rangers  proceeded  on  a  farther  exploration,  and  the 
rest  of  the  company  set  out  on  their  return  homeward.  Gover 
nor  Spotswood  arrived  at  Williamsburg  on  the  seventeenth  of 
September,  after  an  absence  of  about  six  weeks.  The  distance 
which  they  had  gone  was  reckoned  two  hundred  and  nineteen 
miles,  and  the  whole,  going  and  returning,  four  hundred  and 
thirty-eight.  "For  this  expedition,"  says  the  Rev.  Hugh  Jones, 
they  were  obliged  to  provide  a  great  quantity  of  horseshoes, 
things  seldom  used  in  the  eastern  parts  of  Virginia,  where  there 
are  no  stones.  Upon  which  account  the  governor  upon  his  re 
turn  presented  each  of  his  companions  with  a  golden  horseshoe, 
some  of  which  I  have  seen  covered  with  valuable  stones  resem 
bling  heads  of  nails,  with  the  inscription  on  one  side,  '  Sic  juvat 
transcendere  montes.'  This  he  instituted  to  encourage  gentle- 


390  ANCIENT    DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA. 

men  to  venture  backward  and  make  discoveries  and  settlements, 
any  gentleman  being  entitled  to  wear  this  golden  horseshoe  on 
the  breast  who  could  prove  that  he  had  drank  his  majesty's 
health  on  Mount  George."  Spotswood  instituted  the  Tramon 
tane  Order  for  this  purpose ;  but  it  appears  to  have  soon  fallen 
through.  According  to  Chalmers,  the  British  government  pe- 
nuriously  refused  to  pay  the  cost  of  the  golden  horseshoes.  A 
novel  called  the  "Knight  of  the  Horseshoe,"  by  Dr.  William 
A.  Caruthers,  derives  its  name  and  subject  from  Spots-wood's 
exploit.* 


*  Memoirs  of  a  Huguenot  Family,  281,  292;  Introduction  to  Randolph's  edi 
tion  of  Beverley's  Hist,  of  Va.,  5;  Rev.  Hugh  Jones'  Present  State  of  Virginia. 
The  miniature  horseshoe  that  had  belonged  to  Spotswood,  according  to  a  de 
scendant  of  his,  the  late  Mrs.  Susan  Bott,  of  Petersburg,  who  had  seen  it,  was 
small  enough  to  be  worn  on  a  watch-chain.  Some  of  them  were  set  with  jewels. 
One  of  these  horseshoes  is  said  to  be  still  preserved  in  the  family  of  Brooke.  A 
bit  of  colored  glass,  apparently  the  stopper  of  a  small  bottle,  with  a  horseshoe 
stamped  on  it,  was  dug  up  some  years  ago  in  the  yard  at  Chelsea,  in  King  Wil 
liam  County,  the  residence  of  Governor  Spotswood's  eldest  daughter. 


CHAPTER    LII. 


Condition  of  the  Colonies  —  South  Carolina  appeals  to  Virginia  for  Succor  against 
the  Indians  —  Proceedings  of  the  Council  and  the  Assembly  —  Disputes  between 
them  —  Dissensions  of  Governor  and  Burgesses  —  He  dissolves  them  —  Black- 
beard,  the  Pirate  —  Maynard's  Engagement  with  him  —  His  Death. 

THE  twenty-five  counties  of  the  Ancient  Dominion  were  under 
a  government  consisting  of  a  governor  and  twelve  councillors 
appointed  by  the  king,  and  fifty  burgesses  elected  by  the  free 
holders.  The  permanent  revenue,  established  at  the  restoration, 
now  amounted  to  four  thousand  pounds  sterling,  and  this  sum 
proving  inadequate  to  the  public  expenditure,  the  deficit  was  eked 
out  by  three  hundred  pounds  drawn  from  the  quit-rents  —  private 
property  of  the  king.  Relieved  from  the  dangers  of  Indian 
border  warfare,  and  blessed  with  the  able  administration  of 
Governor  Spotswood,  Virginia,  under  the  tranquil  reign  of  the 
first  George,  advanced  in  commerce,  population,  wealth,  and 
power,  more  rapidly  than  any  of  her  sister  colonies. 

A  few  of  the  principal  families  affected  to  establish  an  aristo 
cracy  or  oligarchy,  and  Spotswood,  at  his  first  arrival,  discovered 
that  it  was  necessary  "to  have  a  balance  on  the  Bench  and  the 
Board."  He  subsequently  warned  the  ministers,  "that  a  party 
was  so  encouraged  by  their  success  in  removing  former  governors,- 
that  they  are  resolved  no  one  shall  sit  easy  who  doth  not  entirely 
submit  to  their  dictates  ;  this  is  the  case  at  present,  and  will  con 
tinue,  unless  a  stop  is  put  to  their  growing  power,  to  whom  not 
any  one  particular  governor,  but  government  itself,  is  equally 
disagreeable." 

At  a  council  held  at  Williamsburg  on  the  26tn  day  of  May, 
1715,  the  governor  presented  a  letter,  received  by  express,  from 
Governor  Craven,  of  South  Carolina,  representing  the  deplorable 
condition  of  that  colony  from  the  murderous  inroads  of  the 
Indians,  the  several  tribes  having  confederated  together  and 

(391) 


392  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

threatened  the  total  destruction  of  the  inhabitants,  and  request 
ing  a  supply  of  arms  and  ammunition.  The  council  unanimously 
agreed  to  the  request,  and,  conceiving  that  Virginia  was  also  in 
imminent  danger  of  invasion,  desired  the  Indian  Company  to  take 
from  the  magazine  so  much  ammunition  as  was  necessary  for 
South  Carolina,  and  to  return  the  same  "  by  the  first  conveniency, 
that  so  this  colony  may  not  be  unprovided  for  its  necessary  de 
fence."  It  was  further  ordered,  that  the  governors  of  Maryland, 
New  York,  and  New  England,  be  exhorted  to  send  ships  of  war 
to  Charleston,  and  that  the  governor  of  South  Carolina  be  in 
vited  to  send  hither  their  women  and  children,  and  such  other 
persons  as  are  useless  in  the  war.  Three  pieces  of  cannon  were 
sent  to  Christanna,  and  ammunition  to  Germanna,  these  being 
the  two  frontier  settlements.  Colonel  Nathaniel  Harrison  was 
empowered  to  disarm  the  Nottoway  Indians. 

In  June,  upon  the  application  of  the  governor  of  North  Caro 
lina  for  preventing  the  inhabitants  of  that  province  from  deserting 
it  in  that  time  of  danger,  a  proclamation  was  issued  by  Governor 
Spotswood  ordering  all  persons  coming  thence,  without  a  pass 
port,  to  be  arrested  and  sent  back. 

A  letter  from  the  governor  of  South  Carolina,  brought  by 
Arthur  Middleton,  Esq.,  requested  assistance  of  men  from  Vir 
ginia.  South  Carolina  proposed,  in  order  to  pay  the  men,  to  send 
to  Virginia  slaves  to  the  number  of  the  volunteers,  to  work  on  the 
plantations  for  their  benefit.  The  council  unanimously  resolved 
to  comply  with  the  request,  and  to  defray  the  charges  incurred 
until  the  men  should  arrive  in  South  Carolina,  and  for  this  pur 
pose  the  governor  and  council  agreed  to  postpone  the  payment  of 
their  own  salaries.  It  was  ordered  that  a  party  of  Nottoway  and 
Meherrin  Indians  should  be  sent  to  the  assistance  of  the  South 
Carolinians.  An  assembly  was  summoned  to  meet  on  the  third 
of  August.  The  duty  of  five  pounds  on  slaves  imported  wras  sus 
pended  for  the  benefit  of  planters  sending  their  slaves  from  South 
Carolina  to  Virginia  as  a  place  of  safety.  The  contract  entered 
into  on  this  occasion  between  the  two  provinces,  for  the  raising 
of  forces,  was  styled  "A  treaty  made  between  this  government 
and  the  Province  of  South  Carolina."  Early  in  July,  Spotswood 
dispatched  a  number  of  men  and  arms. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  393 

The  king  of  the  Saran  Indians  visited  Williamsburg,  and  agreed 
to  bring  chiefs  of  the  Catawbas  and  Cherokees  to  treat  of  peace, 
and  to  aid  in  cutting  off  the  Yamasees  and  other  enemies  of  South 
Carolina. 

The  assembly  met  on  the  3d  of  August,  1715,  being  the  first 
year  of  the  reign  of  George  the  First.  The  members  of  the 
council  were  Robert  Carter,  James  Blair,  Philip  Ludwell,  John 
Smith,  John  Lewis,  William  Cocke,  Nathaniel  Harrison,  Mann 
Page,  and  Robert  Porteus,  Esquires.  Daniel  McCarty,  Esq., 
of  Westmoreland,  was  elected  speaker  of  the  house  of  burgesses. 
The  governor  announced  in  his  speech  that  the  object  of  the  ses 
sion  was  to  secure  Virginia  against  the  murders,  massacres,  and 
tortures  of  Indian  invasion,  and  to  succor  South  Carolina  in  her 
distress,  and  he  made  known  his  desire  to  treat  with  the  Indian 
chiefs  who  were  expected,  at  the  head  of  a  body  of  men,  on  the 
frontiers.  The  burgesses  expressed  their  hope  that  as  the  people 
of  Virginia  were  so  unable  to  afford  supplies,  the  king  would  sup 
ply  the  deficiency  out  of  his  quit-rents,  and  requested  further  in 
formation  as  to  the  treaty  made  with  South  Carolina,  and  the 
aid  required.  A  bill  was  introduced  in  the  house  for  amending 
an  act  for  preventing  frauds  in  tobacco  payments,  and  improving 
the  staple.  The  burgesses  requested  the  governor's  assistance 
in  arresting  Richard  Littlepage  and  Thomas  Butts,  who  defied 
their  authority.  It  appears  that  these  gentlemen,  being  justices 
of  the  peace,  sitting  in  the  court  of  claims,  in  which  the  people 
presented  their  grievances,  had  refused  to  certify  some  such  as 
being  false  and  seditious.  The  governor  refused  to  aid  in  en 
forcing  the  warrant.  The  house  sent  up  a  bill  making  a  small 
appropriation  for  the  succor  of  South  Carolina,  but  clogged  with 
the  repeal  of  parts  of  the  tobacco  act,  and  the  council  rejected  it, 
"the  tacking  things  of  a  different  nature  to  a  money  bill"  being 
"an  encroachment  on  the  privileges  of  the  council." 

A  controversy  next  ensued  between  the  council  and  the  house 
as  to  the  power  of  redressing  the  grievances  of  the  people.  A 
dispute  also  occurred  between  the  governor  and  the  burgesses 
relative  to  the  removal  of  the  court  of  James  City  County  from 
Jamestown  to  Williamsburg.  The  governor  said:  "After  five 
years'  residence  upon  the  borders  of  James  City  County,  I  think 


394  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLONY  AND 

it  hard  I  may  not  be  allowed  to  be  as  good  a  judge  as  Mr. 
Marable's  rabble,  of  a  proper  place  for  the  court-house." 

The  burgesses  declared  their  sympathy  with  the  suffering 
Carolinians,  but  insisted  upon  the  extreme  poverty  of  the  people 
of  Virginia,  and  so  excused  themselves  for  clogging  the  appro 
priation  bill  with  the  repeal  of  parts  of  the  tobacco  act,  their 
object  being  by  one  act  to  relieve  Virginia  and  succor  Carolina. 
Governor  Spotswood,  in  his  reply,  remarked:  "When  you  speak 
of  poverty  and  engagements,  you  argue  as  if  you  knew  the  state 
of  your  own  country  no  better  than  you  do  that  of  others,  for  as 
I,  that  have  had  the  honor  to  preside  for  some  years  past  over 
this  government,  do  positively  deny  that  any  public  engagements 
have  drawn  any  more  wealth  out  of  this  colony  than  what  many 
a  single  person  in  it  has  on  his  own  account  expended  in  the 
time,  so  I  do  assert  that  there  is  scarce  a  country  of  its  figure  in 
the  Christian  world  less  burdened  with  public  taxes.  If  your 
selves  sincerely  believe  that  it  is  reduced  to  the  last  degree  of 
poverty,  I  wonder  the  more  that  you  should  reject  propositions 
for  lessening  the  charges  of  assemblies;  that  you  should  expel 
gentlemen  out  of  your  house  for  only  offering  to  serve  their 
counties  upon  their  own  expense,  and  that  while  each  day  of  your 
sitting  is  so  costly  to  your  country,  you  should  spend  time  so 
fruitlessly,  for  now,  after  a  session  of  twenty-five  days,  three 
bills  only  have  come  from  your  house,  and  even  some  of  these 
framed  as  if  you  did  not  expect  they  should  pass  into  acts." 

On  the  seventh  day  of  September  the  council  sent  to  the  bur 
gesses  a  review  of  some  of  their  resolutions  reflecting  upon  them, 
and  the  governor,  and  the  preceding  assembly.  This  review  is 
able  and  severe.  On  this  day  the  governor  dissolved  the  assem 
bly,  after  a  speech  no  less  able,  and  still  more  severe.  After 
animadverting  upon  the  proceedings  of  the  house  at  length,  and 
paying  a  high  tribute  to  the  merit  of  the  council,  the  governor 
concludes  thus: — * 

"But  to  be  plain  with  you,  the  true  interest  of  your  country  is 


*  Extracts  from  Journal  of  the  Council  of  Virginia,  sitting  as  the  upper 
house  of  assembly,  preserved  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth, 
in  S.  Lit.  Messr.,  xvii.  585. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  395 

not  what  you  have  troubled  your  heads  about.  All  your  pro 
ceedings  have  been  calculated  to  answer  the  notions  of  the  igno 
rant  populace,  and  if  you  can  excuse  yourselves  to  them,  .you 
matter  not  how  you  stand  before  God,  your  prince,  and  all  judi 
cious  men,  or  before  any  others  to  whom  you  think  you  owe  not 
your  elections.  The  new  short  method  you  have  fallen  upon  to 
clear  your  conduct  by  your  own  resolves,  will  prove  the  censure 
to  be  just,  for  I  appeal  to  all  rational  men  who  shall  read  the 
assembly  journals,  as  well  of  the  last  session  as  of  this,  whether 
some  of  your  resolves  of  your  house  of  the  second  instant  are  not 
as  wide  from  truth  and  fair  reasoning  as  others  are  from  good 
manners.  In  fine,  I  cannot  but  attribute  these  miscarriages  to 
the  people's  mistaken  choice  of  a  set  of  representatives,  whom 
Heaven  has  not  generally  endowed  with  the  ordinary  qualifications 
requisite  to  legislators,  for  I  observe  that  the  grand  ruling  party 
in  your  house  has  not  furnished  chairmen  for  two  of  your  stand 
ing  committees*  who  can  spell  English  or  write  common  sense, 
as  the  grievances  under  their  own  handwriting  will  manifest. 
And  to  keep  such  an  assembly  on  foot  would  be  the  discrediting 
a  country  that  has  many  able  and  worthy  gentlemen  in  it.  And 
therefore  I  now  dissolve  you." 

These  proceedings  throw  light  on  the  practical  working  of  the 
colonial  government,  of  the  vigorous  and  haughty  spirit  of  Spots- 
wood,  who  was  not  surpassed  in  ability  or  in  character  by  any  of 
the  colonial  governors,  and  of  the  liberty-loving  but  factious  house 
of  burgesses.  They  also  exhibit  the  critical  condition  of  South 
Carolina,  and  the  imminent  danger  of  Virginia  at  that  period. 
On  this  last  point  Chalmers  fell  into  an  error,  in  stating  that  the 
Indians  then  had  ceased  to  be  objects  of  dread  in  Virginia. 

The  assembly,  as  has  been  seen,  expelled  two  burgesses  for 
serving  without  compensation,  which  they  stigmatized  as  tanta 
mount  to  bribery — thus  seeming  indirectly  to  charge  bribery  upon 
the  members  of  the  British  house  of  commons,  who  receive  no 
per  diem  compensation.  After  five  weeks  spent  in  fruitless  alter 
cations,  Spotswood,  conceiving  the  assembly  to  be  actuated  by 
factious  motives,  dissolved  them  with  harsh  and  contemptuous 

*  Privileges  and  Claims. 


396  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLOXY  AND 

expressions,  offending  the  spirit  of  the  burgesses.  He  had  pre 
viously  wounded  the  pride  of  the  council,  long  the  oligarchy  of 
the  Old  Dominion,  when  "colonel,  and  member  of  his  majesty's 
council  of  Virginia,"  was  a  sort  of  provincial  title  of  nobility. 
Frequent  anonymous  letters  were  now  transmitted  to  England., 
inveighing  against  Spotswood.  While  the  board  of  trade  com 
mended  his  general  conduct,  they  reproved  him  for  the  offensive 
language  which  he  had  used  in  his  speech  to  the  burgesses,  "who, 
though  mean,  ignorant  people,  and  did  not  comply  with  his  de 
sires,  ought  not  to  have  been  irritated  by  sharp  expressions,  which 
may  not  only  incense  them,  but  even  their  electors."  In  other 
points,  Spotswood  vindicated  himself  with  vigor  and  success,  and 
he  insisted  "that  some  men  are  always  dissatisfied,  like  the  tories, 
if  they  are  not  allowed  to  govern;  men  who  look  upon  every  one 
not  born  in  the  country  as  a  foreigner." 

When,  in  1717,  the  ancient  laws  of  the  colony  were  revised,  the 
acts  of  1663,  for  preventing  the  recovery  of  foreign  debts,  and 
prohibiting  the  assemblage  of  Quakers,  and  that  of  1676,  (one  of 
Bacon's  laws,)  excluding  from  office  all  persons  who  had  not  re 
sided  for  three  years  in  Virginia,  were  repealed  by  the  king. 

John  Teach,  a  pirate,  commonly  called  Blackboard,  in  the 
year  1718  established  his  rendezvous  at  the  mouth  of  Pamlico 
River,  in  North  Carolina.  He  surrendered  himself  to  Governor 
Eden,  (who  was  suspected  of  being  in  collusion  with  him,)  and 
took  the  oath  of  allegiance,  in  order  to  avail  himself  of  a  procla 
mation  of  pardon  offered  by  the  king.  Wasting  the  fruits  of  sea- 
robbery  in  gambling  and  debauchery,  Blackboard  again  embarked 
in  piracy ;  and  having  captured  and  brought  in  a  valuable  cargo, 
the  Carolinians  gave  notice  of  it  to  the  government  of  Virginia. 
Spotswood  and  the  assembly  immediately  proclaimed  a  large  re 
ward  for  his  apprehension,  and  Lieutenant  Maynard,  attached 
to  a  ship-of-war  stationed  in  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  was  sent  with 
two  small  vessels  and  a  chosen  crew  in  quest  of  him.  An  action 
ensued  in  Pamlico  Bay  on  the  21st  of  November,  1718.  Black- 
beard,  it  is  said,  had  posted  one  of  his  men  with  a  lighted  match 
over  the  powder-magazine,  to  prevent  a  capture  by  blowing  up 
his  vessel,  but  if  so,  this  order  failed  to  be  executed.  Black- 
beard,  surrounded  by  the  slain,  and  bleeding  from  his  wounds, 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  397 

in  the  act  of  cocking  a  pistol,  fell  on  the  bloody  deck  and  expired. 
His  surviving  comrades  surrendered,  and  Maynard  returned  with 
his  prisoners  to  James  River,  with  Blackboard's  head  hanging 
from  the  bowsprit.  The  captured  pirates  were  tried  in  the  ad 
miralty  court  at  Williamsburg,  March,  1718,  and  thirteen  of  them 
were  hung.  Benjamin  Franklin,  then  an  apprentice  in  a  printing- 
office,  composed  a  ballad  on  the  death  of  Teach,  which  was  sung 
through  the  streets  of  Boston.* 

*  Grahame's  Col.  Hist.  U.  S.,  ii.  56,  citing  Williamson's  Hist,  of  N.  C.  See, 
also,  A  General  History  of  the  Pyrates,  published  at  London,  (1726,)  and  "Lives 
and  Exploits  of  Banditti  and  Robbers,"  by  C.  Macfarlane. 


CHAPTER    LIII. 


Complaints  against  Spotswood  —  The  Governor  and  the  Council  —  Dissension  be 
tween  Spotswood  and  the  Assembly  —  Convocation  of  the  Clergy  —  Controversy 
between  Blair  and  Spotswood  —  Clergy  address  the  Bishop  of  London  —  The 
Clergy  side  with  Spotswood  —  Miscellaneous  Matters  —  Governor  Spotswood 
displaced  —  Succeeded  by  Drysdale  —  Spotswood's  Administration  reviewed  — 
Germanna  —  Spotswood  Deputy  Postmaster  General  —  Engaged  in  Iron  Manu 
facture  —  His  Account  of  it  —  Advertisement  —  Knighted  —  Appointed  Com 
mander-in-chief  of  the  Carthagena  Expedition  —  His  Death  —  Indian  Boys  at 
William  and  Mary  College  —  Change  in  Spotswood's  Political  Views  —  His  Mar 
riage  —  His  Children  —  His  Widow  —  Spottiswoode,  the  Family  Seat  in  Scotland 
—  Portraits  of  Sir  Alexander  Spotswood  and  his  Lady. 

AT  length  eight  members  of  the  council,  headed  by  Commis 
sary  Blair,  complained  to  the  government  in  London,  that  Go 
vernor  Spotswood  had  infringed  the  charter  of  the  colony  by 
associating  inferior  men  with  them  in  criminal  trials.  It  was 
unfortunate  that  the  Commissary's  position  involved  him  in  these 
political  squabbles:  he  would  have  been,  doubtless,  more  usefully 
employed  in  those  spiritual  functions  which  were  his  proper 
sphere,  and  which  he  adorned.  The  governor  lamented  to  the 
board  of  trade  "how  much  anonymous  obloquy  had  been  cast 
upon  his  character,  in  order  to  accomplish  the  designs  of  a  party, 
which,  by  their  success  in  removing  other  governors,  are  so  far 
encouraged,  that  they  are  resolved  no  one  shall  sit  easy  who  doth 
not  resign  his  duty,  his  reason,  and  his  honor  to  the  government 
of  their  maxims  and  interests."  The  domineering  ambition  of 
the  council  was  long  the  fruitful  source  of  mischiefs  to  Virginia  ; 
and  it  is  on  this  account  that  many  of  the  complaints  and  accusa 
tions  against  the  governors  are  to  be  received  with  many  grains 
of  allowance.  The  twelve  members  of  the  council  had  a  negative 
upon  the  governor's  acts;  they  were  members  of  the  assembly, 
judges  of  the  highest  court,  and  held  command  of  the  militia  as 
county  lieutenants.  Stith,  in  his  "History  of  Virginia,"  com- 
(398) 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  399 

plains  of  their  overweening  power,  and  expresses  his  apprehen 
sions  of  its  evil  consequences. 

As  early  as  the  year  1692,  William  the  Third  had  appointed 
Neal  postmaster  for  the  Northern  Colonies,  with  authority  to 
establish  posts.  The  rates  being  afterwards  fixed  by  act  of  par 
liament,  the  system  was  introduced  into  Virginia  in  the  year 
1718,  and  Spotswood  wrote  to  the  board  of  trade,  that  "the 
people  were  made  to  believe  that  the  parliament  could  not  lay 
any  tax  (for  so  they  call  the  rates  of  postage)  on  them  without 
the  consent  of  the  general  assembly.  This  gave  a  handle  for 
framing  some  grievance  against  the  new  office ;  and  thereupon  a 
bill  wTas  passed  by  both  council  and  burgesses,  which,  though  it 
acknowledged  the  act  of  parliament  to  be  in  force  in  Virginia, 
doth  effectually  prevent  its  ever  being  put  in  execution ;  wiience 
your  lordships  may  judge  how  well  affected  the  major  part  of  the 
assemblymen  are  toward  the  collection  of  this  branch  of  the  re 
venue."  The  act,  nevertheless,  was  enforced. 

The  assembly  refused  to  pass  measures  recommended  by  the 
governor;  invaded  his  powers  by  investing  the  county  courts  with 
the  appointment  of  their  own  clerks;  endeavored,  as  has  been 
seen,  to  render  inoperative  the  new  post-office  system,  and  trans 
mitted  an  address  to  the  king,  praying  that  the  instruction  which 
required  that  no  acts  should  be  passed  affecting  the  British  com 
merce  or  navigation  without  a  clause  of  suspension,  might  be  re 
called,  and  that  the  governor's  power  of  appointing  judges  of 
oyer  and  terminer  should  be  limited;  and  they  complained  that 
the  governor's  attempts  went  to  the  subversion  of  the  constitu 
tion,  since  he  made  daily  encroachments  on  their  ancient  rights. 
The  governor,  perceiving  that  it  was  the  design  of  his  opponents 
to  provoke  him,  and  then  make  a  handle  of  the  ebullitions  of  his 
resentment,  displayed  moderation  as  wTell  as  ability  in  these  dis 
putes,  and  when  the  assembly  had  completed  their  charges,  pro 
rogued  them.  This  effervescence  of  ill  humor  excited  a  reaction 
in  favor  of  Spotswood,  and  in  a  short  time  addresses  poured  in 
from  the  clergy,  the  college,  and  most  of  the  counties,  reprobat 
ing  the  factious  conduct  of  the  legislature,  and  expressing  the 
public  happiness  under  an  administration  which  had  raised  the 
colony  from  penury  to  prosperity.  Meantime  Colonel  Byrd, 


400  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

who  had  been  sent  out  to  London  as  colonial  acent,  havin^  rather 

o          ~  o 

failed  in  his  efforts  against  Spotswood,  begged  the  board  of  trade 
"to  recommend  forgiveness  and  moderation  to  both  parties." 
The  recommendation,  enforced  by  the  advice  of  Lord  Orkney,  the 
governor-in-chief,  the  Duke  of  Argyle,  and  other  great  men  who 
patronized  Spotswood,  quieted  these  discords ;  and  the  governor, 
the  council,  and  the  burgesses  now  united  harmoniously  in  pro 
moting  the  public  welfare. 

The  chief  apple  of  discord  between  the  governor  and  the  Vir 
ginians  was  the  old  question  relating  to  the  powers  of  the  vestry. 
About  this  time  Governor  Spotswood  was  engaged  in  a  warm  dis 
pute  w^ith  the  vestry  of  St.  Anne's  Parish,  Essex,  in  which  he 
took  very  high  ground.  The  Rev.  Hugh  Jones  subsequently, 
while  on  a  visit  in  England,  reported  to  the  Bishop  of  London 
some  things  against  the  rubrical  exactness  of  Commissary  Blair. 
Evil  reports  had  also  reached  the  mother  country  as  to  the  moral 
character  of  some  of  the  clergy.  A  convention  of  the  Virginia 
clergy  was,  therefore,  held  in  compliance  with  the  direction  of 
the  Bishop  of  London,  at  the  College  of  William  and  Mary,  in 
April,  1719.  The  governor,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  this  body, 
assails  the  commissary  as  denying  "that  the  king's  government 
has  the  right  to  collate  ministers  to  ecclesiastical  benefices  within 
this  colony,"  "deserting  the  cause  of  the  church,"  and  counte 
nancing  disorders  in  divine  worship  "  destructive  to  the  establish 
ment  of  the  church."  To  all  this,  Commissary  Blair  made  a 
reply,  vindicating  himself  triumphantly.*  He  appears  to  have 
sympathized  on  these  matters  with  the  vestries  and  the  people. 
Governor  Spotswood,  on  the  contrary,  was  an  extreme  high 
churchman  and  supporter  of  royal  prerogative,  as  might  have 
been  expected  from  the  descendant  of  a  long  line  of  ancestors 
always  found  arrayed  on  the  side  of  the  crown,  and  the  church  as 
established,  and  never  with  the  people.  The  journal  of  this  con 
vocation  throws  much  light  on  the  condition  of  the  church  and 
the  clergy  of  Virginia  at  that  time.  The  powers  exercised  by 
the  vestries,  indeed,  often  made  the  position  of  the  clergy  preca 
rious  ;  but  it  would,  perhaps,  have  engendered  far  greater  evils 

*  Bishop  Meade's  Old  Churches,  etc.,  i.  160,  ii.  Appendix,  393. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  401 

if  the  governor  had  been  allowed  to  be  the  patron  of  all  the 
livings.  Governor  Spotswood's  letter  to  the  vestry  of  St.  Anne's 
presents  an  elaborate  argument  against  the  right  of  the  vestry 
to  appoint  or  remove  the  minister;  but,  notwithstanding  the  op 
position  of  the  governor,  bishop,  clergy,  and  crown,  the  vestries 
and  the  people  still  steadfastly  maintained  this  right.  This  ques 
tion  was  the  embryo  of  the  revolution;  political  freedom  is  the 
offspring  of  religious  freedom;  it  takes  its  rise  in  the  church. 

In  answer  to  an  inquiry  made  by  the  Bishop  of  London,  the 
convention  voted  "that  no  member  had  any  personal  knowledge 
of  the  irregularity  of  any  clergyman's  life  in  this  colony,"  a 
manifest  equivocation.*  In  their  address  to  the  Bishop  of  Lon 
don,  the  convention  state  that  all  the  ministers  in  Virginia  are 
episcopally  ordained,  except  Mr.  Commissary,  of  whose  ordina 
tion  a  major  part  doubt  ;f  that  the  circumstances  of  the  country 
will  not  permit  them  to  conform  to  the  established  liturgy  as  they 
would  desire;  that  owing  to  the  extent  of  the  parishes  they  have 
service  but  once  on  Sunday,  and  but  one  sermon;  that  for  the 
same  reason  the  dead  are  not  buried  in  churchyards,  and  the 
burial-service  is  usually  performed  by  a  layman ;  that  the  people 
observe  no  holidays  except  Christmas-day  and  Good  Friday, 
being  unwilling  to  leave  their  daily  labor;  and  that  of  necessity 
the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  is  administered  to  persons 
who  are  not  confirmed;  that  the  ministers  are  obliged  to  baptize, 
and  church  women,  marry,  and  bury  at  private  houses,  adminis 
ter  the  Lord's  Supper  to  a  single  sick  person,  perform  in  church 
the  office  of  both  sacraments  without  the  habits,  ornaments,  and 
vessels  required  by  the  liturgy.  The  convention  press  upon  his 
lordship's  attention  the  precarious  tenure  of  their  livings,  to 
which  many  of  these  deviations  from  the  liturgy  were  attributa 
ble;  they  declare  that  the  people  are  adverse  to  the  induction  of 
the  clergy,  which  exposes  them  to  the  great  oppression  of  the 
vestries.  The  clergy  refer  to  Governor  Spotswood  as,  under 
God,  their  chief  support,  whose  efforts  in  their  behalf  were,  as 
alleged  by  the  governor,  opposed  by  some  of  the  council  and 
Commissary  Blair,  who  was  himself  accused  of  some  irregulari- 


Bishop  Meade's  Old  Churches,  etc.,  i.  162.          j-  A  majority  of  one  only. 

26 


402  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

ties.  The  convention  also  stated  that  the  commissary  found 
great  difficulty  in  making  visitations,  owing  to  the  refusal  of 
church  wardens  to  take  the  official  oath,  or  to  make  presentments, 
and  from  "the  general  aversion  of  the  people  to  everything  that 
looks  like  a  spiritual  court."  The  commissary  refused  to  sub 
scribe  to  it.  The  contending  parties  in  these  disputes  were  the 
governor  and  the  clergy  on  the  one  side,  and  the  commissary 
with  the  people  on  the  other.  According  to  the  opinion  of  the 
attorney-general,  Sir  Edward  Northey,  given  in  1703,  "the  right 
of  presentation  by  the  laws  of  Virginia  was  in  the  parishioners, 
and  the  right  of  lapse  in  the  governor;"  that  is,  if  the  vestry 
failed  to  choose  a  minister  within  six  months,  the  governor  had 
the  right  of  appointing  him;  but  it  was  a  right  which  the  gover 
nors,  although  reinforced  by  royal  authority,  could  not  enforce. 
Of  the  twenty-five  members  of  this  clerical  convention  only  eight 
appear  to  have  sided  with  the  commissary.  He  held  that  the  dif 
ference  between  him  and  the  governor  as  to  the  right  of  collation 
was  this:  the  governor  claimed  the  right  in  the  first  instance, 
like  that  of  the  king  of  England,  to  bestow  livings  of  which  he 
himself  is  patron;  the  commissary  was  of  opinion  that  the  go 
vernor's  power  corresponded  to  that  of  the  bishop,  not  being  ori 
ginal,  but  only  consequent  upon  a  lapse ;  that  is,  a  failure  of  the 
vestry  to  present  within  the  time  limited  by  law.  Commissary 
Blair,  throughout  these  angry  controversies,  in  the  course  of 
which  he  was  very  badly  treated  by  the  governor  and  the  clergy, 
bore  himself  with  singular  ability  and  excellent  temper,  arid 
proved  himself  more  than  a  match  for  his  opponents.* 

Predatory  parties  of  the  Five  Nations  were  repelled  by  force, 
and  conciliated  by  presents.  The  frontier  of  Virginia  was  ex 
tended  to  the  foot  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  two  new  Piedmont 
counties,  Spotsylvania  and  Brunswick,  were  established  in  1720 
— the  seventh  year  of  George  the  First. f  Spotsylvrania  included 
the  northern  pass  through  the  mountains.  At  the  special  solici 
tation  of  the  governor,  the  two  counties  were  exempted  from 

*  Bishop  Meade's  Old  Churches,  etc.,  i.  160,  ii.  Appendix,  1. 

•j-  Spotsylvania,  named  from  the  first  syllable  of  the  governor's  name,  com 
pounded  -with  a  Latinized  termination  answering  to  the  other  syllable — a  sort  of 
conceit. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  403 

taxation  for  ten  years.  An  act  was  passed  imposing  penalties  on 
"whosoever  shall  weed,  top,  hill,  succor,  house,  cure,  strip  or 
pack  any  seconds,  suckers,  or  slips  of  tobacco."  Two  hundred 
pounds  of  tobacco  were  offered  in  reward  for  every  wolf  killed. 
Warehouses  for  storing  tobacco  and  other  merchandize,  when  first 
established  in  1712,  were  denominated  rolling-houses,  from  the 
mode  of  rolling  the  tobacco  to  market,  before  wagons  came  into 
general  use  or  the  navigation  of  the  rivers  improved.  This 
mode  of  transporting  tobacco  prevailed  generally  in  1820,  and 
later.*  Tobacco  warehouses  in  Virginia  are  now  devoted  exclu 
sively  to  that  commodity.  In  1720,  King  George  County  was 
carved  off  from  Richmond  County,  and  Hanover  from  New  Kent. 
A  house  for  the  governor  was  completed  about  this  time.  An 
act  was  passed  to  encourage  the  making  of  tar  and  hemp,  and 
another  to  oblige  ships  coining  from  places  infected  with  the 
plague  to  perform  quarantine.  The  Indians  of  the  Five  Nations, 
warring  with  the  Southern  Indians  for  many  years,  had  been  in 
the  habit  of  marching  along  the  frontier  of  Virginia  and  com 
mitting  depredations.  To  prevent  this,  a  treaty  was  effected  with 
them,  whereby  they  bound  themselves  not  to  cross  Potomac 
River,  nor  to  pass  to  the  eastward  of  the  great  ridge  of  moun 
tains,  without  a  passport  from  the  Governor  of  New  York ;  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  Indians  tributary  to  this  government  en 
gaged  not  to  pass  over  the  Potomac,  or  go  westward  of  the  moun 
tains,  without  a  passport  from  the  Governor  of  Virginia.  This 
treaty  was  ratified  at  Albany,  September,  1722.  An  act  con 
cerning  servants  and  slaves  was  repealed  by  proclamation. 

Spotswood  urged  upon  the  British  government  the  policy  of 
establishing  a  chain  of  posts  beyond  the  Alleghanies,  from  the 
lakes  to  the  Mississippi,  to  restrain  the  encroachments  of  the 
French.  The  ministry  did  not  enter  into  his  views  on  this  sub 
ject,  and  it  was  not  till  after  the  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  that 
his  wise,  prophetic  admonitions  were  heeded,  and  his  plans 
adopted.  He  also  failed  in  an  effort  to  obtain  from  the  govern 
ment  compensation  for  his  companions  in  the  Tramontane  ex 
ploration.  At  length,  owing,  as  his  friends  allege,  to  the  in- 

*  Heniug,  iv.  32,  91. 


404  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

trigues  and  envious  whispers  of  men  far  inferior  to  him  in 
capacity  and  honesty,  but  according  to  others,  on  account  of  his 
high-handed  encroachments  on  the  rights  of  the  colony,  Spots- 
wood  was  displaced  in  1722,  and  succeeded  by  Hugh  Drysdale. 
Chalmers,*  also  a  native  of  Scotland,  and  as  extreme  a  sup 
porter  of  prerogative,  thus  eulogizes  Spotswood:  "Having  re 
viewed  the  uninteresting  conduct  of  the  frivolous  men  who  had 
ruled  before  him,  the  historian  will  dwell  with  pleasure  on  the 
merits  of  Spotswood.  There  was  an  utility  in  his  designs,  a 
vigor  in  his  conduct,  and  an  attachment  to  the  true  interest  of  the 
kingdom  and  the  colony,  which  merit  the  greatest  praise.  Had 
he  attended  more  to  the-  courtly  maxim  of  Charles  the  Second, 
'to  quarrel  with  no  man,  however  great  might  be  the  provoca 
tion,  since  he  knew  not  how  soon  he  should  be  obliged  to  act 
with  him,'  that  able  officer  might  be  recommended  as  the  model 
of  a  provincial  governor.  The  fabled  heroes  who  had  discovered 
the  uses  of  the  anvil  and  the  axe,  who  introduced  the  labors  of 
the  plough,  with  the  arts  of  the  fisher,  have  been  immortalized 
as  the  greatest  benefactors  of  mankind;  had  Spotswood  even 
invaded  the  privileges,  while  he  only  mortified  the  pride  of  the 
Virginians,  they  ought  to  have  erected  a  statue  to  the  memory 
of  a  ruler  who  gave  them  the  manufacture  of  iron,  and  showed 
them  by  his  active  example  that  it  is  diligence  and  attention 
which  can  alone  make  a  people  great." 

Governor  Spotswood  was  the  author  of  an  act  for  improving 
the  staple  of  tobacco,  and  making  tobacco-notes  the  medium  of 
ordinary  circulation.  Being  a  master  of  the  military  art,  he 
kept  the  militia  of  Virginia  under  admirable  discipline.  In 
Spotsylvania,  Spotswood,  previous  to  the  year  1724,  had  founded, 
on  a  horseshoe  peninsula  of  four  hundred  acres,  on  the  Rapidan, 
the  little  town  of  Germanna,  so  called  after  the  Germans  sent 
over  by  Queen  Anne,  and  settled  in  that  quarter,  and  at  this 
place  he  resided.  A  church  was  built  there  mainly  at  his  ex 
pense.  In  the  year  1730  he  was  made  deputy  postmaster-general 
for  the  colonies,  and  held  that  office  till  1739;  and  it  was  he  who 
promoted  Benjamin  Franklin  to  the  office  of  postmaster  for  the 

*  Introduction,  ii.  78. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  405 

Province  of  Pennsylvania.  Owning  an  extensive  tract  of  forty- 
five  thousand  acres  of  land,  and  finding  it  to  abound  in  iron  ore, 
he  engaged  largely  in  partnership  with  Mr.  Robert  Gary,  of  Eng 
land,  and  others  in  Virginia,  in  the  manufacture  of  it.  He  is 
styled  by  Colonel  Byrd  the  "  Tubal  Cain  of  Virginia;"  he  was, 
indeed,  the  first  person  that  ever  established  a  regular  furnace  in 
North  America,  leading  the  way  and  setting  the  example  to  New 
England  and  Pennsylvania.  Pennsylvania,  at  this  period,  was 
unable  to  export  iron,  owing  to  the  scarcity  of  ships,  and  made  it 
only  for  domestic  use.  Spotswood  expressed  the  hope  that  "he 
had  done  the  country  very  great  service  by  setting  so  good  an 
example;"  and  stated  "that  the  four  furnaces  now  at  work  in 
Virginia  circulated  a  great  sum  of  money  for  provisions  and  all 
other  necessaries  in  the  adjacent  counties;  that  they  took  off  a 
great  number  of  hands  from  planting  tobacco,  and  employed 
them  in  works  that  produced  a  large  sum  of  money  in  England 
to  the  persons  concerned,  whereby  the  country  is  so  much  the 
richer;  that  they  are  besides  a  considerable  advantage  to  Great 
Britain,  because  it  lessens  the  quantity  of  bar  iron  imported  from 
Spain,  Holland,  Sweden,  Denmark,  and  Muscovy,  which  used  to 
be  no  less  than  twenty  thousand  tons  yearly,  though,  at  the  same 
time,  no  sow  iron  is  imported  thither  from  any  country,  but  only 
from  the  plantations.  For  most  of  this  bar  iron  they  do  not  only 
pay  silver,  but  our  friends  in  the  Baltic  are  so  nice  they  even  ex 
pect  to  be  paid  all  in  crown  pieces.  On  the  contrary,  all  the  iron 
they  receive  from  the  plantations,  they  pay  for  it  in  their  own 
manufactures  and  send  for  it  in  their  own  shipping."* 

There  was  as  yet  no  forge  set  up  in  Virginia  for  the  manufac 
ture  of  bar  iron.  The  duty  in  England  upon  it  was  twenty-four 
shillings  a  ton,  and  it  sold  there  for  from  ten  to  sixteen  pounds 
per  ton,  which  paid  the  cost  of  forging  it  abundantly ;  but  Spots- 
wood  "doubted;  the  parliament  of  England  would  soon  forbid  us 
that  improvement,  lest  after  that  we  should  go  farther,  and  manu 
facture  oui'  bars  into  all  sorts  of  ironware,  as  they  already  do  in 
New  England  and  Pennsylvania.  Nay,  he  questioned  whether 

*  Westover  MSS.,  132. 


406  HISTORY  OF  THE  COLONY  AND 

•we  should  be  suffered  to  cast  any  iron  which  they  can  do  them 
selves  at  their  furnaces." 

The  whole  expense  was  computed  at  two  pounds  per  ton  of 
sow,  (or  pig  iron,)  and  it  sold  for  five  or  six  pounds  in  Eng 
land,  leaving  a  nett  profit  of  three  pounds  or  more  on  a  ton.  It 
was  estimated  that  a  furnace  would  cost  seven  hundred  pounds. 
One  hundred  negroes  were  requisite,  but  on  good  land  these,  be 
sides  the  furnace-work,  wTould  raise  corn  and  provisions  sufficient 
for  themselves  and  the  cattle.  The  people  to  be  hired  were  a 
founder,  a  mine-raiser,  a  collier,  a  stock-taker,  a  clerk,  a  smith, 
a  carpenter,  a  wheelwright,  and  some  carters,  these  altogether 
involving  an  annual  charge  of  five  hundred  pounds. 

At  Massaponux,  a  plantation  on  the  Rappahannock,  belonging 
to  Governor  Spotswood,  he  had  in  operation  an  air-furnace  for 
casting  chimney-backs,  andirons,  fenders,  plates  for  hearths,  pots, 
mortars,  rollers  for  gardeners,  skillets,  boxes  for  cart-wheels. 
These  were  sold  at  twenty  shillings  a  ton  and  delivered  at  the 
purchaser's  home,  and  being  cast  from  the  sow  iron  were  much 
better  than  the  English,  which  were  made,  for  the  most  part, 
immediately  from  the  ore. 

In  1732,  besides  Colonel  Willis,  the  principal  person  of  the 
place,  there  were  at  Fredericksburg  only  one  merchant,  a  tailor, 
a  blacksmith,  and  an  ordinary  keeper. 

The  following  advertisement  is  found  in  the  "Virginia  Gazette" 
for  1739:  "Colonel  Spotswood,  intending  next  year  to  leave  Vir 
ginia  with  his  family,  hereby  gives  notice  that  he  shall,  in  April 
next,  dispose  of  a  quantity  of  choice  household  furniture,  to 
gether  with  a  coach,  chariot,  chaise,  coach-horses,  house-slaves, 
etc.  And  that  the  rich  lands  in  Orange  County,  which  he  has 
hitherto  reserved  for  his  own  seating,  he  now  leases  out  for  lives 
renewable  till  Christmas,  1775,  admitting  every  tenant  to  the 
choice  of  his  tenement,  according  to  the  priority  of  entry.  He 
further  gives  notice  that  he  is  ready  to  treat  with  any  person 
of  good  credit  for  farming  out,  for  twenty-one  years,  Germanna 
and  its  contiguous  lands,  with  the  stock  thereon,  and  some  slaves. 
As  also  for  farming  out,  for  the  like  term  of  years,  an  extraordi 
nary  grist-mill  and  bolting-mill,  lately  built  by  one  of  the  best 
millwrights  in  America,  and  both  going  by  water  taken  by  a  long 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  407 

race  out  of  the  Rapidan,  together  with  six  hundred  acres  of  seated 
land  adjoining  the  said  mill. 

"N.  B. — The  chariot  (which  has  been  looked  upon  as  one  of 
the  best  made,  handsomest,  and  easiest  chariots  in  London,)  is  to 
be  disposed  of  at  any  time,  together  with  some  other  goods.  No 
one  will  be  received  as  a  tenant  who  has  not  the  character  of  an 
industrious  man." 

Major- General  Sir  Alexander  Spotswood,  when  on  the  eve  of 
embarking  with  the  troops  destined  for  Carthagena,  died  at  Anna 
polis,  on  the  7th  day  of  June,  1740.  There  is  reason  to  believe 
that  he  lies  buried  at  Temple  Farm,  his  country  residence  near 
Yorktown,  and  so  called  from  a  sepulchral  building  erected  by 
him  in  the  garden  there.  It  was  in  the  dwelling-house  at  Temple 
Farm  (called  the  Moore  House)  that  Lord  Cornwallis  signed  the 
capitulation.  This  spot,  so  associated  with  historical  recollec 
tions,  is  also  highly  picturesque  in  its  situation.* 

Governor  Spotswood  left  a  historical  account  of  Virginia  during 
the  period  of  his  administration,  and  Mr.  Bancroft  had  access  to 
this  valuable  document,  and  refers  to  it  in  his  history. f 

During  the  sanguinary  war  with  the  Indians  in  which  North 
Carolina  had  been  engaged,  Governor  Spotswood  demanded  of 
the  tribes  tributary  to  Virginia  a  number  of  the  sons  of  their 
chiefs,  to  be  sent  to  the  College  of  William  and  Mary,  where  they 
served  as  hostages  to  preserve  peace,  and  enjoyed  the  advantage 
of  learning  to  read  and  write  English,  and  were  instructed  in  the 
Christian  religion.  But  on  returning  to  their  own  people  they 
relapsed  into  idolatry  and  barbarism.  J 

Governor  Spotswood's  long  residence  in  Virginia,  and  the 
identity  of  his  interests  with  those  of  the  people  of  the  colony, 
appear  to  have  greatly  changed  his  views  of  governmental  prero 
gative  and  popular  rights,  for  during  this  year  he.  gave  it  as  his 
opinion  that  "if  the  assembly  in  New  England  would  stand  bluff, 

*  Bishop  Meadc's  Old  Churches,  etc.,  227. 

j  This  MS.,  alter  remaining  long  in  the  Spotswood  family  of  Virginia,  was  at 
length  communicated  to  an  English  gentleman  then  in  this  country,  and  it  is 
supposed  to  be  still  in  his  possession  in  Europe.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that 
there  is  no  copy  of  it  in  Virginia. 

j  Wcstover  MSS.,  36. 


408  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

he  did  not  see  how  they  could  be  forced  to  raise  money  against 
their  will,  for  if  they  should  direct  it  to  be  done  by  act  of  parlia 
ment,  which  they  have  threatened  to  do,  (though  it  be  against  the 
right  of  Englishmen  to  be  taxed  but  by  their  representatives,)  yet 
they  would  find  it  no  easy  matter  to  put  such  an  act  in  execu 
tion."* 

Governor  Spotswood  married,  in  1724,  Miss  Butler  Bryan, 
(pronounced  Brain,)  daughter  of  Richard  Bryan,  Esq.,  of  West 
minster,  an  English  lady,  whose  Christian  name  was  taken  from 
James  Butler,  Duke  of  Ormond,  her  godfather.  Their  chil 
dren  were  John  and  Robert,  Anne  Catherine  and  Dorothea. 
John  Spotswood  married,  in  1745,  Mary  Dandridgc,  daughter  of 
William  Dandridge,  of  the  British  navy,  Commander  of  the  Lud- 
low  Castle  ship-of-war,  and  their  children  were  two  sons,  General 
Alexander  Spotswood  and  Captain  John  Spotswood  of  the  army 
of  the  Revolution,  and  two  daughters,  Mary  and  Anne.  Robert, 
the  younger  son  of  the  governor,  an  officer  under  Washington  in 
the  French  and  Indian  war,  being  detached  with  a  scouting  party 
from  Fort  Cumberland,  (1756,)  was  supposed  to  have  been  killed 
by  the  Indians.  lie  died  without  issue. f  His  remains  were  found 
near  Fort  Du  Quesne;  and  in  an  elegiac  poem  published  in 
"Martin's  Miscellany,"  in  London,  the  writer  assumes  that  young 
Spotswood  was  slain  by  the  savages. 

"  Courageous  youth  !  were  now  thine  honored  sire 
To  breathe  again,  and  rouse  his  wonted  ire, 
Nor  French  nor  Sliawnee  dare  his  rage  provoke, 
From  great  Potomac's  spring  to  Roanoke. 

*'  May  Forbes  yet  live  the  cruel  debt  to  pay, 
And  wash  the  blood  of  Braddock's  field  away; 
The  fair  Ohio's  blushing  waves  may  tell 
How  Britons  fought,  and  how  each  hero  fell.";}; 

Anne  Catherine,  the  elder  daughter  of  Governor  Spotswood, 
married  Bernard  Moore,  Esq.,  of  Chelsea,  in  the  County  of 


*  West  over  MSS.,  135. 
f  Washington's  Writings,  ii.  239,  252. 

J  Lossing's  Field-Book  of  the  Revolution,  ii.  471.     This  work  is  a  reservoir 
of  valuable  information. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  409 

King  William.  Dorothea,  the  other  daughter,  married  Captain 
Nathaniel  West  Dandridge,  of  the  British  navy,  son  of  Captain 
William  Dandridge,  of  Elson  Green.* 

The  governor's  lady  surviving  him,  and  continuing  to  live  at 
Germamia,  November  the  9th,  1742,  married  second  the  Rev. 
John  Thompson,  of  Culpepper  County,  a  minister  of  exemplary 
character.  From  this  union  was  descended  the  late  Commodore 
Thompson  of  the  United  States  navy.  Lady  Spotswood's  chil 
dren  objected  to  the  match  on  the  ground  of  his  inferior  rank,  so 
that  after  an  engagement  she  requested  to  be  released;  but  he 
appears  to  have  overcome  her  scruples  by  a  curious  letter  ad 
dressed  to  her  on  the  subject.")" 

The  present  representative  of  the  familyj  is  John  Spottiswoode, 
Esq.,  M.P.,  Laird  of  Spottiswoode. §  His  brothers  are  George 
Spottiswoode,  of  Gladswood,  County  Berwick,  lieutenant-colonel 
in  the  army,  and  Andrew  Spottiswoode,  of  Broom  Hall,  County 
Surrey.  The  representative  of  the  family  resides  during  the 
greater  portion  of  the  year  at  Spottiswoode,  on  his  extensive 
hereditary  estate,  the  modern  mansion  being  one  of  the  finest  in 
Southern  Scotland.  The  old  mansion  still  remains.  Thirty 
miles  of  underground  drains  have  been  made  on  this  estate,  re 
claiming  hundreds  of  acres  of  land  lying  between  the  Blackadder 
and  the  Leader. || 

Governor  Spotswood^f  was  half-brother  to  a  General  Elliott. 
The  governor  had  a  country-seat  near  Williamsburg,  called 
Porto-Bello.  Besides  the  portrait  of  him  preserved  at  Chelsea, 


*  Douglas's  Peerage  of  Scotland;  Burke's  Landed  Gentry,  ii.,  art.  SPOTTIS- 
WOOD. 

f  See  Hist,  of  St.  George's  Parish,  by  Rev.  Philip  Slaughter,  55,  and  Bishop 
Meade's  Old  Churches,  etc.,  ii.  77. 

J  1852. 

\  Letter  of  Andrew  Spottiswoode,  Esq.,  written  in  1852,  to  Rev.  John  B. 
Spotswood.  of  New  Castle,  Delaware. 

||  Beattie's  Scotland  Illustrated,  i.  31. 

^[  Arms  of  Governor  Spotswood. — Argent,  a  cheveron  gules,  between  three  oak- 
trees  eradicate,  vert.  Supporters,  two  satyrs  proper.  Crest:  an  eagle  displayed 
gules,  looking  to  the  sun  in  his  splendor,  proper.  Motto:  "Patior  ut  potiar." 
Chief  seat:  at  the  old  Castle  of  Spotswood,  in  Berwickshire. — (Burke1  s  Landed 
Gentry.} 


410  ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA. 

in  the  County  of  King  William,  there  is  another  at  the  residence 
of  William  Spotswood,  Esq.,  in  Orange  County,  where  there  is 
also  a  portrait  of  Lady  Spotswood,  and  one  of  General  Elliott, 
half-brother  of  the  governor,  in  complete  armor.  The  descendants 
of  Governor  Spotswood  in  Virginia  are  numerous,  and  his  memory 
is  held  in  great  respect. 


CHAPTER    LIV. 


Drysdale,  Governor  —  Intemperance  among  the  Clergy  —  The  Rev.  Mr.  Lang's 
Testimony  —  Acts  of  Assembly  —  Death  of  Governor  Drysdale  —  Colonel  Robert 
Carter,  President  —  Called  King  Carter  —  Notice  of  his  Family. 

IN  the  month  of  September,  1722,  Hugh  Drysdale  assumed 
the  administration  of  Virginia,  amid  the  prosperity  bequeathed 
him  by  his  predecessor,  and  being  a  man  of  mediocre  calibre, 
yielded  to  the  current  of  the  day,  solicitous  only  to  retain  his 
place.  Commissary  Blair  wished  the  governor,  when  a  vacancy 
of  more  than  six  months  occurred,  to  send  and  induct  a  minister 
as  by  law  directed;  but  what  Spotswood  had  not  been  bold 
enough  to  do,  Drysdale  feared  to  undertake  without  the  authority 
of  a  royal  order.  Opinion  is  queen  of  the  world. 

There  were  frequent  complaints  of  the  scandalous  lives  of  some 
of  the  clergy  ;  but  it  was  difficult  to  obtain  positive  proof,  there 
being  many  who  would  cry  out  against  such,  and  yet  would  not 
appear  as  witnesses  to  convict  them.  Intemperance  appears  to 
have  been  the  predominant  evil  among  the  clergy,  as  it  was  also 
among  the  laity. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Lang,  who  was  highly  recommended  by  the  gover 
nor  and  commissary,  wrote,  in  1726,  to  the  Bishop  of  London: 
"I  observe  the  people  here  are  very  zealous  for  our  holy  church,  as 
it  is  established  in  England,  so  that  (except  some  few  inconsidera 
ble  Quakers)  there  are  scarce  any  dissenters  from  our  commu 
nion;  and  yet,  at  the  same  time,  the  people  are  supinely  ignorant 
in  the  very  principles  of  religion,  and  very  debauched  in  morals. 
This,  I  apprehend,  is  owing  to  the  general  neglect  of  the  clergy 
in  not  taking  pains  to  instruct  youth  in  the  fundamentals  of  reli 
gion,  or  to  examine  people  come  to  years  of  discretion,  before 
they  are  permitted  to  come  to  church  privileges."  Referring  to 
the  prevailing  evils  he  says:  "The  great  cause  of  all  which  I 
humbly  conceive  to  be  in  the  clergy,  the  sober  part  being  slothful 

(411) 


412  HISTORY    OE    THE    COLONY   AND 

and  negligent,  and  others  so  debauched  that  they  are  the  fore 
most  and  most  bent  on  all  manner  of  vices.  Drunkenness  is  the 
common  vice."  Mr.  Lang  was  minister  of  the  parish  of  St. 
Peters,  in  New  Kent  County.*  The  religious  instruction  of  the 
negroes  was  for  the  most  part  neglected.  There  were  no  schools 
for  the  education  of  the  children  of  the  common  people;  no  par 
ish  libraries. 

The  assembly  was  held  from  time  to  time,  according  to  long 
established  custom,  by  writ  of  prorogation ;  the  people  being  thus 
deprived  of  the  right  of  frequent  elections.  An  act  regulating 
the  importation  of  convicts  was  rejected  by  the  board  of  trade. 
To  relieve  the  people  from  a  poll-tax  a  duty  was  laid  on  the  im 
portation  of  liquors  and  slaves,  but  owing  to  the  opposition  of 
the  African  Company  and  interested  traders,  the  measure  was 
repealed  as  an  encroachment  on  the  trade  of  England. 

Acts  prohibiting  the  importation  of  negro  slaves  were  repeat 
edly  passed  by  New  York,  Maryland,  and  South  Carolina,  and 
were  invariably  rejected  in  England.  Governor  Drysdale  con 
gratulated  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  "that  the  benign  influence  of 
his  auspicious  sovereign  was  conspicuous  here  in  a  general  har 
mony  and  contentment  among  all  ranks  of  persons."  Hugh 
Drysdale  dying  in  July,  1726,  and  Colonel  Edmund  Jennings, 
next  in  order  of  .succession,  being  suspended,  (for  what  cause  does 
not  appear,)  Colonel  Robert  Carter  succeeded  as  president  of  the 
council.  This  gentleman,  owing  to  the  extent  of  his  landed  pos 
sessions,  and  to  his  being  agent  of  Lord  Fairfax,  proprietary  of 
a  vast  territory  in  the  Northern  Neck,  between  the  Potomac  and 
the  Rappahannock,  acquired  the  sobriquet  of  "King  Carter." 
He  was  speaker  of  the  house  of  burgesses  for  six  years,  treasurer 
of  the  colony,  and  for  many  years  member  of  the  council,  and 
as  president  of  that  body  he  was  at  the  head  of  the  government 
upwards  of  a  year.  He  lived  at  Corotoman,  on  the  llappahan- 
nock,  in  Lancaster  County.  Here  a  church  was  completed  in  the 
year  1670,  under  the  direction  of  John  Carter,  first  of  the  family 
in  Virginia,  who  came  over  from  England,  1649.  A  fine  old 
church  was  built  about  1732  by  Robert  Carter,  on  the  site  of  the 

*  Old  Churches,  i.  385. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  413 

former  one,  and  is  still  in  good  preservation.  He  married  first 
Judith  Armistcad,  second  a  widow,  whose  maiden  name  was  Betty 
Landoii,  of  the  ancient  family  of  that  name,  of  Grednal,  in  Here 
ford  County,  England,  by  whom  he  left  many  children.  His 
portrait  and  that  x)f  one  of  his  wives,  are  preserved  at  Shirley, 
on  James  River,  seat  of  Hill  Carter,  Esq.*  The  first  John  Car 
ter  was  a  member  of  the  house  of  burgesses  for  Upper  Norfolk 
County,  now  Nansemond,  in  1649  and  in  1654,  and  subsequently 
for  Lancaster  County.  Colonel  Edward  Carter  was,  in  1658, 
burgess  for  Upper  Norfolk,  and  in  1660  member  of  the  council. 

*  The  Carter  arms  bear  cart-wheels,  vert. 


CHAPTER    LV. 


"William  Gooch,  Governor  —  The  Dividing  Line  —  Miscellaneous  —  Colonel  Byrd's 
Opinion  of  New  England  —  John  Holloway  —  William  Hopkins  —  Earl  of  Orkney 
—  Expedition  against  Carthagena  —  Gooch  commands  the  Virginia  Regiment  — 
Lawrence  Washington  —  Failure  of  attack  on  Carthagena  —  Georgia  recruits 
Soldiers  in  Virginia  to  resist  the  Spaniards  —  Acts  of  Assembly  —  Printing 
in  Virginia  —  In  other  Colonies  —  The  Williamsburg  Gazetto  —  Miscellaneous 
Items  —  Proceedings  at  opening  of  General  Assembly  —  Sir  John  Randolph, 
Speaker  —  Governor  Gooch's  Speech  —  Richmond  laid  off  —  Captain  William 
Byrd  —  Bacon  Quarter  —  Colonel  Byrd  and  others  plan  Richmond  and  Peters 
burg  in  1733  —  Virginia  Gazette  —  The  Mails. 

IN  June,  1727,  George  the  Second  succeeded  his  father  in  the 
throne  of  England.  About  the  middle  of  October,  William 
Gooch,  a  native  of  Scotland,  who  had  been  an  officer  in  the  Brit 
ish  army,  became  Governor  of  Virginia.  The  council,  without 
authority,  allowed  him  three  hundred  pounds  out  of  the  royal 
quit-rents,  and  he  in  return  resigned,  in  a  great  measure,  the 
helm  of  government  to  them.  Owing  partly  to  this  coalition, 
partly  to  a  well-established  revenue  and  a  rigid  economy,  Virginia- 
enjoyed  prosperous  repose  during  his  long  administration.  There 
was  at  this  time  one  Presbyterian  congregation  in  Virginia,  and 
preachers  from  the  Philadelphia  Synod  visited  the  colony. 

During  the  year  1728  the  boundary  line  between  Virginia 
and  North  Carolina  was  run  by  Colonel  Byrd  and  Messrs.  Fitz- 
william  and  Dandridge,  commissioners  in  behalf  of  Virginia,  and 
others  in  behalf  of  North  Carolina.  "A  History  of  the  Divid 
ing  Line,"  by  Colonel  Byrd,  has  been  published  in  a  work  enti 
tled  the  "Westover  MSS.;"*  it  contains  graphic  descriptions  of 
the  country  passed  through,  its  productions,  and  natural  history. 
The  author  was  a  learned  man  and  accurate  observer. 

There  remained  in  their  native  seat  two  hundred  Nottoway 
Indians,  the  only  tribe  of  any  consequence  surviving  in  Virginia. 

*  By  Edmund  and  Julian  C.  Ruffin,  at  Petersburg,  1841. 

(414) 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  415 

There  were  also  still  remains  of  the  Pamunkey  tribe,  but  reduced 
to  a  small  number,  and  intermixed  in  blood.  The  rest  of  the 
native  tribes  had  either  removed  beyond  the  limits  of  the  colony, 
or  dwindled  to  a  mere  handful  by  war,  disease,  and  intemperance. 
An  act  of  parliament  prohibiting  the  exportation  of  stripped  or 
stemmed  tobacco  was  complained  of  by  the  planters  as  causing  a 
decline  of  the  trade.  They  undertook  to  enhance  the  value  by 
improving  its  quality,  and  in  July,  1732,  sent  John  Randolph  to 
lay  their  complaint  before  the  crown. 

"With  this  accomplished  and  able  man,  afterwards  knighted, 
and  made  attorney-general,  Governor  Spotswood  was  engaged  in 
an  angry  personal  controversy  in  the  Williamsburg  Crazette. 
The  merits  of  the  dispute  cannot  now  be  ascertained.  Spots- 
wood  claims  to  have  been  Randolph's  benefactor,  and  to  have 
been  the  first  to  promote  him  in  the  world. 

Virginia,  notwithstanding  some  obstacles  in  the  way  of  her 
trade,  continued  to  prosper,  and  from  the  year  1700  her  popula 
tion  doubled  in  twenty-five  years.  The  New  England  Colonies 
improved  still  more.  Colonel  Byrd  said  of  them:  "Though 
these  people  may  be  ridiculed  for  some  Pharisaical  particularities 
in  their  worship  and  behavior,  yet  they  were  very  useful  subjects, 
as  being  frugal  and  industrious,  giving  no  scandal  or  bad  exam 
ple,  at  least  by  any  open  and  public  vices.  By  which  excellent 
qualities  they  had  much  the  advantage  of  the  Southern  Colony, 
who  thought  their  being  members  of  the  established  church  suffi 
cient  to  sanctify  very  loose  and  profligate  morals.  For  this 
reason  New  England  improved  much  faster  than  Virginia,  and  in 
seven  or  eight  years  New  Plymouth,  like  Switzerland,  seemed 
too  narrow  a  territory  for  its  inhabitants."* 

Boston,  the  principal  town  in  the  Anglo-American  Colonies, 
founded  in  1630,  contained,  in  1733,  eight  thousand  houses  and 
forty  thousand  inhabitants;  and  its  shipping  and  trade  were 
already  extensive. 

In  1734  died  John  Holloway,  Esq.,  who  for  thirty  years  had 
practised  the  law  with  great  reputation  and  success.  He  was  for 
fourteen  years  speaker  of  the  house  of  burgesses,  and  eleven 

*  Westover  MSS.,  4. 


416  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLONY   AXD 

years  treasurer.  A  native  of  England,  lie  had  first  served  as  a 
clerk,  then  went  into  the  army  in  Ireland  early  in  the  reign  of 
King  William  the  Third;  next  came  to  be  one  of  the  attorneys 
of  the  Marshalsea  Court;  afterwards  turned  projector,  and  being 
unfortunate,  came  over  to  Maryland,  and  thence  removed  to  Vir 
ginia.  He  is  described  by  Sir  John  Randolph  as  more  distin 
guished  for  industry  than  for  learning,  and  as  relying  more  upon 
the  subtle  artifice  of  an  attorney,  than  the  solid  reasoning  of  a  law 
yer.  His  opinions,  however,  were  looked  upon  as  authoritative; 
and  clients  thought  themselves  fortunate  if  they  could  engage  his 
services  upon  any  terms,  and  his  fees  were  often  exorbitant.  He  is 
portrayed  by  Sir  John  as  haughty,  passionate,  and  inhospitable ; 
yet  it  seems  difficult  to  reconcile  this  with  his  acknowledged 
popularity  and  predominant  influence.  In  friendship  he  was 
sincere  but  inconstant.  His  management  of  the  treasury  con 
tributed  to  the  ruin  of  his  fortune,  and  involved  him  in  disgrace. 
But  this  account  of  him  must  be  taken  with  allowance. 

About  the  same  time  died,  in  London,  William  Hopkins,  Esq., 
another  lawyer,  who  had  practised  in  Virginia  about  twelve 
years.  He  was  wrell  educated,  understanding  Latin  and  French 
well,  and  gifted  with  a  retentive  memory,  quick  penetration, 
sound  judgment,  and  a  handsome  person.  In  spite  of  some  de 
fects  of  manner,  he  acquired  a  large  practice, wrhich  he  neglected, 
owing  to  the  versatility  of  a  mind  fond  of  various  knowledge. 
In  fees  he  was  moderate,  in  argument  candid  and  fair,  never  dis 
puting  plain  points.  He  is  taxed  by  Sir  John  Randolph  with  an 
overweening  vanity,  which  made  him  jealous  of  any  other  stand 
ing  on  a  level  with  him ;  but  as  there  had  been  a  personal  falling 
out  between  them,  his  testimony  in  regard  to  this  particular  is 
entitled  to  the  less  weight.  Mr.  Hopkins  appears  to  have  been  a 
man  of  high  order ;  and  his  premature  death,  in  the  flower  of  his 
age,  was  a  loss  to  be  deplored  by  Virginia.* 

The  Earl  of  Orkney  died  at  his  house  in  Albemarle  Street, 
London,  January,  1737,  in  the  seventy-first  year  of  his  age.  His 
titles  were  Earl  of  Orkney,  one  of  the  Sixteen  Scottish  Peers, 
Governor  of  Virginia,  Constable,  Governor  and  Captain  of 

*  Va.  Hist.  Reg.,  i.  119. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  417 

Edinburgh  Castle,  Knight  of  the  most  ancient  and  most  honora 
ble  order  of  the  Thistle,  one  of  his  Majesty's  Field  Marshals, 
and  Colonel  of  a  regiment  of  foot.  By  his  death  his  title  be 
came  extinct.  He  left  a  very  large  fortune. 

During  the  administration  of  Governor  Gooch,  troops  for 
the  first  time  were  transported  from  the  colonies  to  co-operate 
with  the  forces  of  the  mother  country  in  offensive  war.  An 
attack  upon  Carthagena  being  determined  on,  Gooch  raised 
four  hundred  men  as  Virginia's  quota,  and  the  assembly  appro 
priated  five  thousand  pounds  for  their  support.  Major-General 
Sir  Alexander  Spotswood,  who  had  been  appointed  to  the  com 
mand  of  the  troops  raised  in  the  colonies,  consisting  of  a  regi 
ment  of  four  battalions,  dying  at  Annapolis,  when  on  the  eve  of 
embarcation,  Governor  Gooch  assumed  command  of  the  expedi 
tion.  The  colonial  troops  joined  those  sent  out  from  England,  at 
Jamaica.  The  amount  of  A^irginia's  appropriation  on  this  occa 
sion  exceeding  the  sum  in  the  treasury,  the  remainder  was  bor 
rowed  from  wealthy  men,  with  a  view  to  avoid  the  frauds  of 
depreciation,  and  to  secure  the  benefits  of  circulation.  Lawrence 
Washington,  half-brother  of  George,  and  fourteen  years  older, 
obtained  a  captain's  commission  in  the  newly-raised  regiment, 
and,  being  now  twenty  years  of  age,  embarked  with  it  for  the 
West  Indies  in  1740.*  An  accomplished  gentleman,  educated 
in  England,  he  acquired  the  esteem  of  General  Wentworth 
and  Admiral  Vernon,  the  commanders  of  the  British  forces,  and 
after  the  latter  named  his  seat  on  the  Potomac.  The  attack  upon 
Carthagena  was  unsuccessful ;  the  ships  not  getting  near  enough 
to  throw  their  shells  into  the  town,  and  the  scaling-ladders  of  the 
soldiers  proving  to  be  too  short.  That  part  of  the  attack  in 
which  Lawrence  Washington  was  present,  sustained,  unflinching,  a 
destructive  fire  for  several  hours.  The  small  land  force  engaged 
on  this  occasion  lost  no  less  than  six  hundred  killed  and  wounded. 

Shortly  after  the  failure  at  Carthagena,  an  express  from  South 

*  He  took  with  him  a  number  of  his  neighbors,  who  had  thus  an  opportunity 
of  seeing  something  of  "war.  Some  of  these  men,  on  their  return,  soon  emi 
grated  to  the  Valley  of  Virginia,  and  afterwards  were  engaged  in  the  Revolu 
tion.  Among  them  was  John  Grigsby,  of  Stafford,  progenitor  of  the  family  of 
that  name  in  Western  Virginia. 

27 


418  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLOXY   AND 

Carolina  brought  tidings  that  the  Spaniards  had  made  a  descent 
upon  Georgia;  and  Captain  Dandridge,  commander  of  the  South 
Sea  Castle,  together  with  the  "snows"  Hawk  and  Swift,  was  dis 
patched  to  the  assistance  of  General  Oglethorpe.  The  Spaniards 
were  repulsed.  Georgia  being  still  threatened  by  a  Spanish  force 
concentrated  at  St.  Augustine,  in  Florida,  Oglethorpe  sent  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  Heron  to  recruit  a  regiment  in  Virginia.  Cap 
tain  Lawrence  Washington,  with  a  number  of  officers  and  soldiers 
of  Gooch's  Carthagena  Regiment,  recently  discharged,  just  now 
arriving  at  Hampton,  and  meeting  with  Heron,  many  of  them 
enlisted  again  under  him. 

About  this  time  apprehensions  were  felt  of  foreign  invasion  by 
sea,  of  Indian  incursions,  and  of  servile  insurrections.  An  act 
was  passed  to  prevent  excessive  and  deceitful  gaming,  making  all 
gaming  obligations  void,  imposing  heavy  penalties  upon  persons 
cheating  at  games,  and  declaring  them  infamous,  authorizing  jus 
tices  of  the  peace  to  bind  common  gamblers  over  to  their  good 
behavior.  Means  were  adopted  for  encouraging  adventurers  in 
iron  works.  The  towns  of  Fredericksburg  and  Falmouth  were 
established  at  the  head  of  tide-water,  on  the  Rappahannock. 
Caroline  County  was  formed,  and  Goochland  carved  out  from 
Henrico.  Long  and  elaborate  acts  were  passed  for  amend 
ing  the  staple  of  tobacco.  The  tending  of  seconds  was  pro 
hibited;  all  tobacco  exported  to  be  inspected;  to  be  exported 
from  warehouses  only;  the  planter  to  receive  from  the  inspectors 
a  promissory  note  specifying  the  quantity  of  tobacco  deposited, 
and  the  quality,  whether  sweet-scented  or  Oronoko,  stemmed  or 
leaf;  these  tobacco-notes  were  made  current  within  the  county 
or  other  adjacent  county.  This  salutary  measure  of  making 
tobacco  the  basis  of  a  currency  was  devised  by  Governor  Spots- 
wood.*  Tobacco-notes  were  still  in  use  in  Virginia  at  the  be 
ginning  of  the  present  century.  In  the  year  1730  Prince  Wil 
liam  County  was  established. 

Sir  William  Berkley  (1671)  "thanked  God  that  there  were  no 
free  schools  nor  printing  in  Virginia."  In  1682  John  Buckner 
was  called  before  the  Lord  Culpepper  and  his  council  for  printing 

*  Keith,  173. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  419 

the  laws  of  1880  without  his  excellency's  license,  and  he  and  the 
printer  ordered  to  enter  into  bond  in  one  hundred  pounds,  not  to 
print  anything  thereafter,  until  his  majesty's  pleasure  should  be 
known.*  The  earliest  surviving  evidence  of  printing  done  in 
Virginia  is  the  edition  of  "  The  Revised  Laws,"  published  in  1733. 
In  1719  two  newspapers  were  issued  at  Boston;  in  1725  one  at 
New  York,  and  in  the  following  year  a  printing-press  was  intro 
duced  into  Maryland.  One  had  been  established  at  Cambridge, 
in  Massachusetts,  before  1647.  A  printing-press  was  first  esta 
blished  in  South  Carolina,  and  a  newspaper  published  in  1734. 
The  first  Virginia  newspaper,  "The  Virginia  Gazette,"  appeared 
at  Williamsburg,  in  August,  1736,  published  by  William  Parks, 
weekly,  at  fifteen  shillings  per  annum.  It  was  a  small  sheet,  on 
dingy  paper,  but  well  printed.  It  was  in  the  interest  of  the 
government,  and  for  a  long  time  the  only  journal  of  the  colony. 
Parks  printed  "Stith's  History  of  Virginia"  and  "The  Laws  of 
Virginia." 

In  1732,  in  accordance  with  royal  instructions,  a  duty  was  laid 
of  five  per  centum  on  the  purchase-money  of  slaves,  to  be  paid 
by  the  purchaser.  The  difference  between  sterling  money  and 
the  ordinary  currency  was  twenty  per  centum.  Stealing  of  slaves 
was  made  felony,  without  benefit  of  clergy. 

The  Nottoway  Indians  (1734)  still  possessed  a  large  tract  of 
land  on  the  river  of  that  name,  in  Isle  of  Wight  County.  They 
were  much  reduced  by  wars  and  disease,  and  were  allowed  to  sell 
part  of  their  lands  for  their  better  support.  The  tributary  In 
dians  now  speaking  the  English  language,  the  use  of  interpreters 
was  dispensed  with. 

An  act  for  regulating  the  fees  of  "the  practisers  in  physic," 
recites  that  the  practice  is  commonly  in  the  hands  of  surgeons, 
apothecaries,  or  such  as  have  only  served  apprenticeships  to  those 
trades,  who  often  prove  very  unskilful,  and  yet  demand  excessive 
fees  and  prices  for  their  medicines. 

The  general  assembly  met  at  Williamsburg,  in  August,  1736, 
and  sixty  burgesses  appearing,  and  it  being  the  first  session  of 
this  assembly,  they  were  qualified  by  taking  the  oaths  and  sub- 

*  Hening,  ii.  518. 


420  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AXD 

scribing  the  test.  The  burgesses  having  attended  the  governor 
in  the  council-chamber,  and  having  returned,  in  compliance  with 
the  governor's  commands,  a  speaker  was  elected,  and  the  choice 
fell  upon  Sir  John  Randolph.  He  being  conducted  to  the  chair 
by  two  members,  made  a  speech  to  the  house.  On  the  next  day 
the  burgesses  waited  on  the  governor  in  the  council-chamber 
again,  and  presented  their  new  speaker  to  his  honor,  and  the 
speaker  made  an  address  to  the  governor,  giving  a  concise  his 
tory  of  the  constitution  of  Virginia,  from  the  first  period  of  arbi 
trary  government  and  martial  law  to  the  charter  granted  by 
the  Virginia  Company,  establishing  an  assembly,  consisting  of 
a  council  of  state  and  a  house  of  burgesses,  which  legislative  con 
stitution  was  confirmed  by  James  the  First,  Charles  the  First, 
and  their  successors.  Under  it  the  house  of  burgesses  claimed,  as 
undoubted  rights,  freedom  of  speech,  exemption  from  arrests,  pro 
tection  of  their  estates,  jurisdiction  over  their  own  body,  and  the 
sole  right  of  determining  all  questions  concerning  elections.  The 
speaker  next  eulogized  the  administration  of  Governor  Gooch. 

The  governor  then  addressed  the  gentlemen  of  the  council,  Mr. 
Speaker,  and  the  gentlemen  of  the  house  of  burgesses.  He  re 
commended  the  better  regulation  of  the  militia  for  the  preventing 
of  servile  insurrections,  the  danger  of  which  was  increased  by  the 
large  importation  of  negroes;  mentions  that  his  majesty  had  been 
graciously  pleased  to  confirm  an  act  for  the  better  support  and 
encouragement  of  the  College  of  William  and  Mary,  and  another 
facilitating  the  barring  of  entails  of  small  value,  to  perpetuate 
which,  in  a  new  country  like  Virginia,  could  serve  only  to  im 
poverish  the  present  possessor.  Governor  Gooch's  reply  closed 
this  long  series  of  addresses.* 

The  borough  of  Norfolk  was  incorporated  in  1736.  Sir  John 
Randolph,  Knight,  was  made  recorder,  although  not  a  resident,  f 

In  the  year  1737  the  town  of  Richmond  was  laid  off  near  the 
falls  of  James  River,  by  Colonel  William  Byrd,  of  Westover,  who 


*  Va.  Hist.  Register,  iv.  121,  where  a  list  of  the  members  may  be  seen. 

f  In  the  colony,  residence  was  not  necessary  to  render  a  candidate  eligible  to 
a  seat  in  the  house  of  burgesses  The  same  practice  continues  to  this  day  in 
England. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OE    VIRGINIA.  421 

was  proprietor  of  an  extensive  tract  of  land  there.  Shoccoe 
Warehouse  had  been  already  established  there  for  a  good  many 
years.  Fort  Charles,  called  after  the  prince  royal,  afterwards 
Charles  the  Second,  was  erected  (1645)  at  the  falls  of  James 
River.  A  tract  of  land  there,  extending  five  miles  in  length  and 
three  in  breadth,  and  lying  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  was  claimed 
(1679)  by  Captain  William  Byrd,  father  of  the  first  Colonel  Wil 
liam  Byrd,  of  Westover.*  This  Captain  Byrd  was  born  in  Lon 
don  about  the  year  1653,  and  came  over  to  Virginia  probably 
about  1674.  He  was  a  merchant  and  planter.  His  residence, 
appropriately  named  Belvidere,  was  on  the  north  side  of  the 
river,  opposite  the  falls.  A  large  part  of  this  land  had,  a  few 
years  before,  belonged  to  Nathaniel  Bacon,  Jr.  The  names 
"Bacon  Quarter"  and  "Bacon  Quarter  Branch,"  are  still  pre 
served  there.  The  word  Quarter  thus  used,  means  land  owned 
and  cultivated,  but  not  resided  on — a  place  where  servants  are 
quartered,  and  is  still  in  common  use  in  the  tobacco-growing 
counties.  Captain  Byrd  had  been  active  in  bringing  some  of  the 
rebels  to  punishment.  Bacon's 'confiscated  land  at  the  falls,  per 
haps,  may  have  been  given  to  him  in  reward  for  his  loyal  services 
on  that  occasion.  lie  was  a  burgess  from  Henrico.f  His  letter- 
book,  containing  letters  from  1683  to  1691,  is  preserved  in  the 
library  of  the  Virginia  Historical  Society. 

Colonel  Byrd,  second  of  the  name,  made  a  visit  to  his  planta 
tions  on  the  Roanoke  River,  (1733,)  accompanied  by  Major 
Mayo,  Major  Munford,  Mr.  Banister,  and  Mr.  Peter  Jones. 
While  here,  he  says:  "We  laid  the  foundation  of  two  large  cities, 
one  at  Shoccoe's,  to  be  called  Richmond,  and  the  other  at  the 
Point  of  Appomattox,  to  be  called  Petersburg.  These  Major 
Mayo  offered  to  lay  out  in  lots  without  fee  or  reward.  The  truth 
of  it  is  these  two  places,  being  the  uppermost  landing  of  James 
and  Appomattox  Rivers,  are  naturally  intended  for  marts  where 
the  traffic  of  the  outer  inhabitants  must  centre.  Thus  we  did  not 
build  castles  only,  but  cities  in  the  air."J  The  following  adver 
tisement  appeared  in  April,  1737,  in  "The  Virginia  Gazette:" 

*  Hening,  ii.  453.  f  Va.  Hist.  Register,  i.  61. 

t  Westover  MSS.,  107. 


422  ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA. 

"  This  is  to  give  notice  that  on  the  north  side  of  James  River, 
near  the  uppermost  landing,  and  a  little  below  the  falls,  is  lately 
laid  off  by  Major  Mayo,  a  town  called  Richmond,  with  streets 
sixty-five  feet  wide,  in  a  pleasant  and  healthy  situation,  and  well 
supplied  with  springs  and  good  water.  It  lies  near  the  public 
warehouse  at  Shoccoe's,  and  in  the  midst  of  great  quantities  of 
grain  and  all  kinds  of  provisions.  The  lots  will  be  granted  in  fee 
simple  on  condition  only  of  building  a  house  in  three  years'  time, 
of  twenty-four  by  sixteen  feet,  fronting  within  five  feet  of  the 
street.  The  lots  to  be  rated  according  to  the  convenience  of 
their  situation,  and  to  be  sold  after  this  April  general  court  by 
me,  William  Byrd."  Richmond  is  said  to  be  named  from  Rich 
mond,  near  London,  or,  as  others  think,  from  the  Duke  of  Rich 
mond,  whom  Byrd  may  have  known  in  England;  but  this  is  less 
probable. 

Among  the  arrivals  about  this  time  is  mentioned  the  ship 
Carter,  with  forty- four  pipes  of  wine,  "for  gentlemen  in  this 
country;"  and  a  ship  arrived  in  the  Potomac  with  a  load  of  con 
victs.  The  Hector  man-of-war,  Sir  Yelverton  Peyton  commander, 
arrived  in  the  James  River  from  England,  by  way  of  Georgia, 
•whither  he  had  accompanied  the  Blandford  man-of-war,  and  the 
transport-ships  which  conveyed  General  Oglethorpe  and  his  regi 
ment.  Captain  Dandridge  is  mentioned  as  commanding  his 
majesty's  ship  Wolf.  "Warner's  Almanac"  was  advertised  for 
sale.  According  to  a  new  regulation  adopted  by  the  deputy 
postmaster-general,  Spotswood,  the  mail  from  the  north  arrived 
at  Williamsburg  weekly,  and  William  Parks,  printer  of  "The 
Virginia  Gazette,"  was  commissioned  to  convey  the  mail  monthly 
from  Williamsburg,  by  way  of  Nansemond  Court-house  and  Nor- 
folktown,  to  Edenton,  in  North  Carolina.  The  general  post-office 
was  then  at  New  Post,  a  few  miles  below  Fredericksburg. 


CHAPTER    LIV. 

lT'33-17'49. 

Scotch-Irish  Settlers — Death  of  Sir  John  Randolph — Settlement  of  the  Valley  of 
Shenandoah — Physical  Geography  of  Virginia — John  Lewis,  a  Pioneer  in  Au 
gusta —  Burden's  Grant  —  First  Settlers  of  Rockbridge —  Character  of  the 
Scotch-Irish — German  Settlers  of  Valley  of  Shenandoah. 

DURING  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  the  disaffected  and  tur 
bulent  Province  of  Ulster,  in  Ireland,  suffered  pre  eminently  the 
ravages  of  civil  war.  Quieted  for  a  time  by  the  sword,  insurrec 
tion  again  burst  forth  in  the  second  year  of  James  the  First,  and 
repeated  rebellions  crushed  in  1605,  left  a  large  tract  of  country 
desolate,  and  fast  declining  into  barbarism.  Almost  the  whole 
of  six  counties  of  Ulster  thus,  by  forfeiture,  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  king.  A  London  company,  under  his  auspices,  colonized 
this  unhappy  district  with  settlers,  partly  English,  principally 
Scotch — one  of  the  few  wise  and  salutary  measures  of  his  feeble 
reign.  The  descendants  of  these  colonists  of  the  plantation  of 
Ulster,  as  it  was  now  called,  came  to  be  distinguished  by  the 
name  of  Scotch-Irish.  Archbishop  Usher,  who  was  disposed  to 
reconcile  the  differences  between  the  Presbyterians  and  Episco 
palians,  consented  to  a  compromise  of  them,  in  consequence  of 
which  there  was  no  formal  separation  from  the  established 
church.  But  it  was  not  long  before  the  persecutions  of  the 
house  of  Stuart,  inflicted  by  the  hands  of  Strafford  and  Laud, 
augmented  the  numbers  of  the  non-conformists,  riveted  them 
more  closely  to  their  own  political  and  religious  principles,  and 
compelled  them  to  turn  their  eyes  to  America  as  a  place  of  re 
fuge  for  the  oppressed.  The  civil  war  of  England  ensuing,  they 
were  for  a  time  relieved  from  this  necessity.  Their  unbending 
opposition  to  the  proceedings  of  Cromwell  drew  down  upon  them 
(1649)  the  sarcastic  denunciation  of  Milton.* 

*  Milton's  Prose  Works,  i.  422,  430,  437. 

(423) 


424  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

The  persecutions  that  followed  the  restoration  (1679)  and 
afterwards,  at  length  compelled  the  Scotch-Irish  to  seek  refuge 
in  the  New  World,  and  many  of  them  came  over  from  the  north 
of  Ireland,  and  settled  in  several  of  the  colonies,  especially  in 
Pennsylvania.  From  thence  a  portion  of  them  gradually  mi 
grated  to  the  western  parts  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina, 
inhabiting  the  frontier  of  civilization,  and  forming  a  barrier 
between  the  red  men  and  the  whites  of  the  older  settlements. 
The  Scotch-Irish  enjoyed  entire  freedom  of  religion,  for  which 
they  were  indebted  to  their  remote  situation.*  The  people  of 
eastern,  or  old  Virginia,  were  distinguished  by  the  name  of 
Tuckahoes,  said  to  be  derived  from  the  name  of  a  small  stream; 
while  the  hardy  mountaineers,  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  were 
styled  Cohees,  according  to  tradition,  from  their  frequent  use  of 
the  term  "Quoth  he,"  or  "Quo-he." 

In  the  month  of  March,  1737,  died  the  Honorable  Sir  John 
Randolph,  Knight,  speaker  of  the  house  of  burgesses,  treasurer 
of  the  colony,  and  representative  for  William  and  Mary  College. 
He  was  interred  in  the  chapel  of  the  college,  his  body  being 
borne  there  at  his  own  request,  by  six  honest,  industrious,  poor 
housekeepers,  of  Bruton  Parish,  who  had  twenty  pounds  divided 
among  them.  His  funeral  oration  in  Latin  was  pronounced  by 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Dawson,  a  professor  in  the  college.  Sir  John  was, 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  in  his  forty-fourth  year.  His  father, 
William  Randolph,  a  native  of  Warwickshire,  England,  came  over 
to  seek  his  fortunes  in  Virginia  some  time  subsequent  to  the  year 
1760.  He  was  poor,  and  it  is  said,  for  a  time  "made  his  living 
by  building  barns."  By  industry,  integrity,  and  good  fortune, 
he  acquired  a  large  landed  estate,  and  became  a  burgess  for  the 
County  of  Henrico.f  On  the  maternal  side,  Sir  John  Randolph 
was  descended  from  the  Ishams,  an  ancient  family  of  Northamp 
tonshire,  in  England,  which  had  emigrated  to  the  colony.  A 


*  Foote's  Sketches  of  North  Carolina;  Grahame,  ii.  57;  Davidson's  Hist,  of 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Kentucky,  16. 

f  Va.  Convention  of  '76,  by  Hugh  Blair  Grigsby,  77,  citing  Carrington  Me 
moranda.  Mr.  Grigsby  has  given  an  interesting  account  of  several  of  the  dis 
tinguished  Randolphs  in  a  newspaper  article,  entitled  "The  Dead  of  the  Chapel 
of  William  and  Mary." 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  425 

love  of  learning  winch  he  early  evinced  was  improved  by  the 
tuition  of  a  Protestant  clergyman,  a  French  refugee.  His  edu 
cation  was  completed  at  William  and  Mary  College,  for  which  he 
retained  a  grateful  attachment.  He  studied  the  law  at  Gray's 
Inn  and  the  Temple;  and,  after  assuming  the  barrister's  gown, 
returned  to  Virginia,  where  he  soon  became  distinguished  at  the 
bar.  lie  was  gifted  with  a  handsome  person,  and  a  senatorial 
dignity.  "With  extraordinary  talents  he  united  extensive  learn 
ing;  in  his  writings  he  indulged  rather  too  much  the  native  luxu 
riance  of  his  genius.  In  his  domestic  relations  he  is  described 
as  exemplary;  his  income  was  ample,  and  his  hospitality  propor 
tionate.  Blessed  with  an  excellent  judgment,  he  filled  his  public 
stations  with  signal  ability.  He  was  buried  in  the  chapel  of 
William  and  Mary;  and  his  elegant  marble  tablet,  graced  with  a 
Latin  inscription,  after  having  endured  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
three  years,  was  recently  destroyed  by  the  fire  which  consumed 
the  college.  Sir  John  Randolph  was  succeeded  in  the  office  of 
treasurer  by  John  Robinson,  Jr. 

From  the  preamble  to  the  act  for  the  better  preservation  of 
deer,  it  appears  that  in  the  upper  country  they  were  so  numerous 
that  they  were  killed  (as  buffalo  often  are  in  the  far  West)  for  their 
skins.  They  were  shot  while  feeding  on  the  moss  growing  on  the 
rocks  in  the  rivers;  and  their  carcases  attracted  wolves  and 
other  wild  beasts  to  the  destruction  of  cattle,  hogs,  and  sheep. 
Many  deer  were  also  killed  by  hounds  running  at  large,  and  by 
fire-hunting,  that  is,  by  setting  on  fire,  in  large  circles,  the  coverts 
where  the  deer  lodged,  which  likewise  destroyed  the  young  tim 
ber,  and  the  food  for  cattle. 

From  the  settlement  of  Jamestown  a  century  elapsed  before 
Virginia  began  to  extend  her  settlements  to  the  foot  of  the  Blue 

O  o 

Ridge.  Governor  Spotswood  (1716)  explored  those  mountains 
beyond  the  head-springs  of  the  confluents  of  the  Rappahannock. 
After  a  good  many  years,  Joist  Hite,  of  Pennsylvania,  obtained 
from  the  original  patentees  a  warrant  for  forty  thousand  acres  of 
land  lying  among  the  beautiful  prairies  at  the  northern  or  lower 
end  of  the  valley  of  the  Shenandoah.  Hite,  with  his  own  and  a 
number  of  other  families,  removed  (1632)  from  Pennsylvania,  and 
seated  themselves  on  the  banks  of  the  Opeckon,  a  few  miles  south 


426  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

of  the  site  of  Winchester.  This  handful  of  settlers  could  ven 
ture  more  securely  into  this  remote  country,  as  coming  from 
Pennsylvania,  a  province  endeared  to  the  Indians  by  the  gentle 
and  humane  policy  of  its  first  founder,  William  Penn.  Toward 
the  Virginians — the  "Long  Knives" — the  Indians  bore  an 
implacable  hostility,  and  warmly  opposed  their  settling  in  the 
valley.* 

In  her  physical  geography  Virginia  is  divided  into  four  sec 
tions:  the  first,  the  alluvial  section,  from  the  sea-coast  to  the 
head  of  tide-water;  the  second,  the  hilly,  or  undulating  section, 
from  the  head  of  tide-water  to  the  Blue  Ridge;  the  third,  the 
valley  section,  lying  between  the  Blue  Ridge  and  the  Alleghanies; 
and  the  fourth,  the  Trans-Alleghany  or  western  section,  the 
waters  of  which  empty  into  the  Ohio.  The  mountains  of  Virgi 
nia  are  arranged  in  ridges,  one  behind  another,  nearly  parallel 
to  the  sea-coast,  rather  bending  toward  it  to  the  northeast. 
The  name  Apalachian,  borrowed  from  the  country  bordering  on 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  southwest,  was  applied  to  the  moun 
tains  of  Virginia  in  different  ways,  by  the  European  maps;  but 
none  of  these  ridges  was  in  fact  ever  known  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Virginia  by  that  name.  These  mountains  extend  from  northeast 
to  southwest,  as  also  do  the  limestone,  coal,  and  other  geological 
strata.  So  also  range  the  falls  of  the  principal  rivers,  the 
courses  of  which  are  at  right  angles  with  the  line  of  the  rnoun 
tains,  the  James  and  the  Potomac  making  their  way  through  all 
the  ridges  of  mountains  eastward  of  the  Alleghany  range.  The 
Alleghanies  are  broken  by  no  water-course,  being  the  spine  of 
the  country  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Mississippi  River.  The 
spectacle  presented  at  Harper's  Ferry — so  called  after  the  first 
settler — impresses  the  beholder  with  the  opinion  that  the  moun 
tains  were  first  upraised,  the  very  signification  of  the  word  in  the 
Greek,  and  the  rivers  began  to  flow  afterwards;  that  here  they 
were  dammed  up  by  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  thus  formed  a  sea,  or 
lake,  filling  the  whole  valley  lying  between  that  ridge  and  the 
Alleghanies.  The  waters  continuing  to  rise,  they  at  length  burst 
their  way  through  the  mountain,  the  shattered  fragments  of  this 

*  De  Hass's  Hist,  of  Western  Va.,  37;  Kercheval,  70. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  427 

disruption  still  remaining  to  attest  the  fact.  As  the  observer 
lifts  his  eye  from  this  scene  of  grandeur,  he  catches  through  the 
fissure  of  the  mountain  a  glimpse  of  the  placid  blue  horizon  in 
the  distant  perspective,  inviting  him,  as  it  were,  from  the  riot  and 
tumult  roaring  around  to  pass  through  the  breach  and  participate 
in  the  calm  below.* 

A  settlement  was  effected  (1734)  on  the  north  branch  of  the 
Shenandoah,  about  twelve  miles  south  of  the  present  town  of 
Woodstock.  Other  adventurers  gradually  extended  the  settle 
ments,  until  they  reached  the  tributaries  of  the  Monongahela. 
Two  cabins  erected  (1738)  near  the  Shawnee  Springs,  formed  the 
embryo  of  the  town  of  Winchester,  long  the  frontier  out-post  of 
the  colony  in  that  quarter.  The  glowing  reports  of  the  charms 
of  the  tramontane  country  induced  other  pioneers  to  plant  them 
selves  in  that  wild,  picturesque  region.  For  the  want  of  towns 
and  roads  the  first  settlers  were  supplied  by  pedlars  who  went 
from  house  to  house.  Shortly  after  the  first  settlement  of  Win 
chester,  John  Marlin,  a  pedlar,  who  traded  from  Williamsburg  to 
this  new  country,  and  John  Sailing,  a  weaver,  two  adventurous 
spirits,  set  out  from  that  place  to  explore  the  "upper  country," 
then  almost  unknown.  Proceeding  up  the  valley  of  the  Shenan 
doah  they  crossed  the  James  River,  and  had  reached  the  Roan- 
oke  River,  when  a  party  of  Cherokees  surprised  them,  and  took 
Sailing  prisoner,  while  Marlin  escaped.  Carried  captive  into 
Tennessee,  Sailing  remained  with  those  Indians  for  several  years, 
and  became  domesticated  among  them.  While  on  a  buffalo-hunt 
ing  excursion  to  the  Salt  Licks  of  Kentucky,  a  middle  or  debate- 
able  ground  of  hunting  and  war,  the  Flanders  of  the  Northern 
and  Southern  Indians,  with  a  party  of  them,  he  was  at  length 
captured  by  a  band  of  Illinois  Indians.  They  carried  him  to 
Kaskaskia,  where  an  old  squaw  adopted  him  for  a  son.  Hence 
he  accompanied  the  tribe  on  many  distant  expeditions,  once  as 
far  as  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  But  after  two  years  the  squaw  sold 
him  to  some  Spaniards  from  the  Lower  Mississippi,  who  wanted 
him  as  an  interpreter.  He  was  taken  by  them  northward,  and 
finally,  after  six  years  of  captivity  and  wanderings  through 

*  Jefferson's  Notes,  16. 


428  HISTORY  OF  THE  COLONY  AND 

strange  tribes  and  distant  countries,  he  was  ransomed  by  the  Go 
vernor  of  Canada,  and  transferred  to  New  York.  Thence  he 
made  his  way  to  Williamsburg,  in  Virginia.  About  the  same 
time  a  considerable  number  of  immigrants  had  arrived  there — 
among  them  John  Lewis  and  John  Mackey.  LewTis  was  a  native 
of  Ireland.  In  an  affray  that  occurred  in  the  County  of  Dublin, 
with  an  oppressive  landlord  and  his  retainers,  seeing  a  brother, 
an  officer  in  the  king's  army,  who  lay  sick  at  his  house,  slain  be 
fore  his  eyes,  he  slew  one  or  two  of  the  assailants.  Escaping,  he 
found  refuge  in  Portugal,  and  after  some  years  came  over  to  Vir 
ginia  with  his  family,  consisting  of  Margaret  Lynn,  daughter  of 
the  Laird  of  Loch  Lynn,  in  Scotland,  his  wife,  four  sons,  Thomas, 
William,  Andrew,  and  Charles,  and  one  daughter.  Pleased  with 
Sailing's  glowing  picture  of  the  country  beyond  the  mountains, 
Lewis  and  Mackey  visited  it  under  his  guidance.  Crossing  the 
Blue  Ridge  and  descending  into  the  lovely  valley  beyond,  where 
virgin  nature  reposes  in  all  her  native  charms,  the  three  deter 
mined  to  fix  their  abode  in  that  delightful  region.  Lewis  selected 
a  residence  near  the  Middle  River,  on  the  border  of  a  creek 
which  yet  bears  his  name,  in  what  was  denominated  Beverley 
Manor;  Mackey  chose  a  spot  farther  up  that  river,  near  the 
Buffalo  Gap;  and  Sailing  built  his  log  cabin  fifty  miles  beyond, 
on  a  beautiful  tract  overshadowed  by  mountains  in  the  forks  of 
the  James  River.*  John  Lewis  erected  on  the  spot  selected  for 
his  home  a  stone-house,  still  standing,  ami  it  came  to  be  known 
as  Lewis's  Fort.  It  is  a  few  miles  from  Staunton,  of  which  town 
he  was  the  founder.  It  is  the  oldest  town  in  the  valley.  He 
obtained  patents  for  a  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land  in  different 
parts  of  the  circumjacent  country,  and  left  an  ample  inheritance 
to  his  children. 

In  the  spring  of  1736  John  Lewis,  the  pioneer  of  Augusta, 
visiting  Williamsburg,  met  there  with  Burden,  who  had  recently 
come  to  Virginia  as  agent  for  Lord  Fairfax,  proprietor  of  the 
Northern  Neck.  Burden,  in  compliance  with  Lewis's  invitation, 
visited  him  at  his  sequestered  home  in  the  backwoods ;  and  the 
visit  of  several  months  was  occupied  in  exploring  the  teeming 

*  Ruffner,  in  Howe's  Hist.  Coll.  of  Va.,  451. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  429 

beauties  of  the  Eden-like  valley,  and  in  hunting,  in  company 
with  Lewis  and  his  sons,  Samuel  and  Andrew.  A  captured  buf 
falo  calf  was  given  to  Burden,  and  he,  on  returning  to  Lower 
Virginia,  where  that  animal  was  not  found,  presented  it  to  Go 
vernor  Gooch,  who,  thus  propitiated,  authorized  him  to  locate  five 
hundred  thousand  acres  of  land  in  the  vast  Counties  of  Frederick 
and  Augusta,  (formed  two  years  thereafter,)  on  condition  that  within 
ten  years  he  should  settle  one  hundred  families  there,  in  which 
case  he  should  be  entitled  to  one  thousand  acres  adjacent  to 
every  house,  with  the  privilege  of  entering  as  much  more  at  one 
shilling  per  acre.  This  grant  covered  one-half  of  what  is  now 
Rockbridge  County,  from  the  North  Mountain  to  the  Blue  Ridge. 
The  grantee  was  required  to  import  and  place  on  the  land  one 
settler  for  every  thousand  acres.  For  this  purpose  he  brought 
over  from  England  (1737)  upwards  of  one  hundred  families  from 
the  north  of  Ireland,  Scotland,  and  the  border  counties  of  Eng 
land,  arid  it  is  said  that  he  resorted  to  stratagem  to  comply  ap 
parently  with  the  conditions.*  The  first  settlers  of  this  Rock- 
bridge  tract  were  Ephraim  McDowell  (ancestor  of  Governor 
James  McDowell)  and  James  Greenlee,  in  1737.  Mary  Green- 
lee,  his  sister,  attained  the  age  of  one  hundred  years  and  upwards, 
and  was  known  to  two  or  three  generations.  The  Scotch-Irish 
retained  much  of  the  superstitious  nature  of  the  Highlanders  of 
Scotland,  and  Mary  Greenlee  was  by  many  believed  to  be  a 
witch.  At  a  very  advanced  age  she  rode  erect  on  horseback. 
Robert  and  Archibald  Alexander  also  settled  in  the  Rockbridge 
region.  Robert,  a  graduate  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  taught 
the  first  classical  school  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  Archibald, 
who  was  agent  of  Burden  and  drew  up  all  his  complex  convey 
ances,  was  grandfather  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander. 
Besides  these,  among  the  early  settlers  of  this  part  of  Virginia, 
were  the  families  of  Moore,  Paxton,  Telford,  Lyle,  Stuart,  Craw 
ford,  Matthews,  Brown,  Wilson,  Cummins,  Caruthers,  Campbell, 
McCampbell,  McClung,  McKee,  McCue,  Grigsby,  and  others. f 

*  Ruffner,  ubi  supra. 

j  The  Grigsbys,  from  whom  is  descended  Hugh  Blair  Grigsby,  removed  into 
the  valley  from  Eastern  Virginia,  having  originally  come  into  the  colony  at 
the  time  of  the  restoration. 


430  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

An  austere,  thoughtful  race,  they  constituted  a  manly,  virtuous 
population.  Their  remote  situation  secured  to  them  religious 
freedom,  but  little  interrupted  by  the  ruling  powers.  Of  the 
stern  school  of  Calvin  and  Knox,  so  much  derided  for  their 
Puritanical  tenets,  they  were  more  distinguished  for  their  simpli 
city  and  integrity,  their  religious  education,  and  their  uniform 
attendance  on  the  exercises  and  ordinances  of  religion,  than  for 
the  graceful  and  courteous  manners  which  lend  a  charm  to  the 
intercourse  of  a  more  aristocratic  society.  Trained  in  a  severe 
discipline,  they  expressed  less  th?n  they  felt;  and  keeping  their 
feelings  under  habitual  restraint,  they  could  call  forth  exertions 
equal  to  whatever  exigencies  might  arise.  In  the  wilderness  they 
devoted  themselves  to  agriculture,  domestic  pursuits,  and  the  arts 
of  peace ;  they  were  content  to  live  at  home.  Pascal  says  that 
the  cause  of  most  of  the  trouble  in  the  world  is  that  people  are 
not  content  to  live  at  home.  As  soon  as  practicable  they  erected 
churches ;  and  all  within  ten  or  twelve  miles,  young  and  old,  re 
paired  on  horseback  to  the  place  of  worship.  Their  social  inter 
course  was  chiefly  at  religious  meetings.  The  gay  and  fashiona 
ble  amusements  of  Eastern  Virginia  were  unknown  among  them.* 
Other  colonies,  emanating  from  the  same  quarters,  followed  the 
first,  and  settled  that  portion  of  the  valley  intervening  between 
the  German  settlements  and  the  borders  of  the  James  River. 
The  first  Presbyterian  minister  settled  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge 
was  the  Rev.  John  Craig,  a  native  of  the  north  of  Ireland.  His 
congregation  was  that  of  the  church  then  known  as  the  Stone 
Meeting  House,  since  Augusta  Church,  near  Staunton,  in  the 
County  of  Augusta.  He  became  pastor  there  in  the  year  1740. 
Augusta  was  then  a  wilderness  with  a  handful  of  Christian  set 
tlers  in  it;  the  Indians  travelling  through  the  country  among 
them  in  small  parties,  unless  supplied  with  whatever  victuals 
they  called  for,  became  their  own  purveyors  and  cooks,  and 
spared  nothing  that  they  chose  to  eat  or  drink.  In  general 
they  were  harmless;  sometimes  they  committed  murders.  Such 
was  the  school  in  which  the  tramontane  population  were  to  be 
moulded  and  trained,  civilizing  the  wilderness,  and  defending 

*  Ruffner. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  431 

themselves  against  the  savages.  In  the  month  of  December, 
1743,  Captain  John  McDowell,  surveyor  of  the  lands  in  Burden's 
grant,  falling  into  an  ambush,  was  slain,  together  with  eight  com 
rades,  in  a  skirmish  with  a  party  of  Shawnee  Indians.  This 
occurred  at  the  junction  of  the  North  River  with  the  James. 
The  alarmed  inhabitants  of  Timber-ridge*  hastened  to  the  spot, 
arid,  removing  the  dead  bodies,  sorrowfully  performed  the  rites  of 
burial,  while  the  savages,  frightened  at  their  own  success,  escaped 
beyond  the  mountains. 

So  rapid  was  the  settlement  of  the  valley  about  this  time,  that 
in  this  year  it  was  found  necessary  to  lay  off  the  whole  country 
west  of  the  Blue  Ridge  into  the  two  new  counties,  Frederick  and 
Augusta.  The  picturesque  and  verdant  valleys  embosomed 
among  the  mountains  were  gradually  dotted  with  farms.  The 
fertile  County  of  Frederick  was  first  settled  by  Germans, 
Quakers,  and  Irish  Presbyterians,  from  the  adjoining  province  of 
Pennsylvania.  A  great  part  of  the  country  lying  between  the 
North  Mountain  and  the  Shenandoah  River,  for  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles,  and  embracing  ten  counties,  now  adorned  with  fine 
forest  trees,  was  then  an  extensive  open  prairie — a  sea  of  herb 
age — the  pasture  ground  of  buffalo,  elk,  and  deer.  It  was  a 
favorite  hunting-ground,  or  middle  ground  of  the  Indians. f  The 
rich  lands  bordering  the  Shenandoah,  and  its  north  and  south 
branches,  were  settled  by  a  German  population  which  long 
retained  its  language,  its  simplicity  of  manners  and  dress. 
Augusta  County  was  settled  by  Scotch-Irish  from  Pennsylvania, 
(descendants  of  the  Covenanters,)  a  race  respectable  for  intelli 
gence,  energy,  morality,  and  piety. 

In  compliance  with  the  petition  of  John  Caldwell  and  others, 
the  synod  of  Philadelphia  (1738)  addressed  a  letter  to  Governor 
Gooch,  soliciting  his  favor  in  behalf  of  such  persons  as  should 
remove  to  Western  Virginia,  in  allowing  them  "the  free  enjoyment 
of  their  civil  and  religious  liberties;"  and  the  governor  gave  a 
favorable  answer.  This  John  Caldwell,  who  was  grandfather  of 

*  So  called,  being  a  high  strip  of  timber  in  an  open  prairie,  at  the  first  settle 
ment. 

f  Kercheval's  Hist,  of  the  Valley  of  Virginia,  69;  Foote's  Sketches,  second 
series,  14. 


432  ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA. 

John  Caldwell  Calhoun,  of  South  Carolina,  led  the  way  in  colo 
nizing  Prince  Edward,  Charlotte,  arid  Campbell  Counties. 

Colonel  James  Patton,  of  Donegal,  a  man  of  property,  com 
mander  and  owner  of  a  ship,  emigrating  to  Virginia  about  this 
time,  obtained  from  the  governor,  for  himself  and  his  associates, 
a  grant  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  acres  of  land  in  the 
valley.  He  settled  on  the  south  fork  of  the  Shenandoah.  John 
Preston,  a  shipmaster  in  Dublin,  a  brother-in-law  of  Patton,  came 
over  with  him,  and  subsequently  established  himself  near  Staun- 
ton — the  progenitor  of  a  distinguished  race  of  his  own  name,  and 
of  the  Browns  and  Breckenridges.*  While  the  first  settlement 
of  the  valley  took  place  in  Hite's  patent,  nearer  to  Pennsylvania, 
the  filling  up  of  that  region  was  somewhat  retarded  by  a  claim 
which  Lord  Fairfax  set  up  for  a  region  westward  of  the  Blue 
Ridge,  comprehending  ten  counties.  This  claim  was  grounded 
upon  the  terms  of  the  conveyance  which  included  all  the  country 
between  the  head  of  the  Rappahannock  and  the  head  of  the  Po 
tomac;  and  this  river  was  found  to  have  its  source  in  the  Alle- 
ghanies.  Although  the  claim  was  not  admitted  by  the  Governor 
of  Virginia,  yet,  as  it  involved  settlers  in  the  danger  of  a  law 
suit,  they  preferred  moving  farther  on  to  the  tract  of  country 
in  Augusta  County,  included  in  the  grants  to  Beverley  and  to 
Burden. 

*  Foote's  Sketches,  ii.  36. 


CHAPTER    LVII. 


Treaty  with  the  Six  Nations  —  Death  and  Character  of  Rev.  James  Blair  —  Colonel 
William  Byrd  —  The  Pretender's  Rebellion  —  Governor  Gooch  —  Dissent  in  Vir 
ginia  —  Whitefield  —  Origin  of  Presbyterianism  in  Hanover  —  Morris  —  Mission 
aries  —  Rev.  Samuel  Davies  —  Gooch's  Measures  against  Moravians,  New  Lights, 
and  Methodists. 

IN  1742  an  act  was  passed  to  prevent  lawyers  from  exacting 
or  receiving  exorbitant  fees.  In  this  year  the  town  of  Richmond 
was  established  by  law,  and  the  County  of  Louisa  formed  from  a 
part  of  Hanover. 

Governor  Spotswood  had  effected  a  treaty  (1722)  with  the  Six 
Nations,  by  which  they  stipulated  never  to  appear  to  the  east  of 
the  Blue  Ridge,  nor  south  of  the  Potomac.  As  the  Anglo-Saxon 
race  gradually  extended  itself,  like  a  vapor,  beyond  the  western 
base  of  that  range,  collisions  with  the  native  tribes  began  to 
ensue.  A  treaty  was  concluded  (July,  1744,)  at  Lancaster,  in 
Pennsylvania,  by  which  the  Six  Nations  unwillingly  relinquished, 
for  four  hundred  pounds  paid,  and  a  further  sum  promised, 
the  country  lying  westward  of  the  frontier  of  Virginia  to  the 
River  Ohio.  The  tomahawk  was  again  buried,  and  the  wampum 
belts  of  peace  again  delivered,  to  brighten  the  silver  chain  of 
friendship.  The  Virginia  commissioners  were  men  of  high  cha 
racter,  but  they  negotiated  with  the  red  men  according  to  the 
custom  of  that  day,  and  regaled  them  with  punch,  wine,  and 
bumbo  —  that  is,  rum  and  water.  The  consideration  apparently 
so  inadequate,  was  yet  perhaps  equivalent  to  the  value  of  their 
title  and  the  fidelity  of  their  pledge.  The  expense  of  this  treaty 
was  paid  out  of  the  royal  quit-rents. 

The  Rev.  Anthony  Gavin,  a  zealous  minister  of  St.  James's 
Parish,  Goochland,  (1738,)  complains  to  the  Bishop  of  London 
of  difficulties  with  Quakers,  who  were  countenanced  by  men  in 
high  station,  and  of  the  disregard  of  Episcopal  control  in  Vir 
ginia,  the  cognizance  of  spiritual  affairs,  by  the  laws  of  the  colony, 

28  (433) 


434  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   ANE 

being  in  the  hands  of  the  governor  and  council,  and  that  the 
greatest  part  of  the  ministers  "are  taken  up  in  farming,  and  buy 
ing  slaves."  The  ministers  were  compelled  either  to  hire  or  buy 
slaves  to  cultivate  their  glebes,  on  which  they  depended  for  a 
livelihood.*  The  Rev.  Mr.  Gavin,  besides  his  regular  duties, 
appears  to  have  performed  a  sort  of  missionary  service,  making 
distant  journeys  as  far  as  to  the  country  near  the  Blue  Ridge. 

Robert  Dinwiddie  having  been  appointed  (1741)  surveyor- 
general  of  the  customs,  was  named,  as  his  predecessors  had  been, 
a  member  of  the  several  councils  of  the  colonies.  Gooch  readily 
complied  with  the  royal  order,  but  the  council,  prompted  both  by 
jealousy  of  Dinwiddie's  functions  and  by  an  aristocratic  cxclu- 
siveness,  refused  to  allow  him  to  act  with  them,  and  sent  the  king 
a  remonstrance  against  it.  The  board  of  trade  decided  the  case 
in  Dinwiddie's  favor.  We  may  see  in  this  affair  the  germ  of  that 
mutual  jealousy  which  afterwards  grew  up  between  him  and  some 
of  the  leading  characters  in  Virginia. 

In  the  year  1743  died  Edward  Barradall,  Esq.,  an  eminent 
lawyer;  he  held  the  office  of  attorney-general,  judge  of  the  ad 
miralty  court,  and  other  high  posts.  He  married  Sarah,  daughter 
of  the  Honorable  William  Fitzhugh.  He  was  buried  in  the 
churchyard  in  Williamsburg,  where  a  Latin  epitaph  records  his 
worth. 

In  the  same  year  died  the  Rev.  James  Blair,  Commissary  to 
the  Bishop  of  London.  Finding  his  ministry  in  Scotland  ob 
structed  by  popular  prejudice,  he  retired  to  London,  whence  he 
was  sent  over  to  Virginia  as  a  missionary,  (1685.)  He  was  minis 
ter  for  Henrico  Parish  nine  years;  in  1689  was  appointed  com 
missary.  From  Henrico  he  removed  to  Jamestown,  in  order  to 
be  near  the  college,  which  he  was  raising  up.  He  became  (1710) 
the  minister  of  Bruton  Parish,  and  resided  at  Williamsburg. 
He  was  a  minister  in  Virginia  for  about  fifty-eight  years,  commis 
sary  for  fifty-four  years,  and  president  of  the  college  fifty  years. 
His  sermons,  one  hundred  and  seventeen  in  number,  expository 
of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  were  published  in  England,  (1722,) 
and  passed  through  two  editions.  They  are  highly  commended 

*  Bishop  Meade's  Old  Churches,  etc.,  i.  456. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  435 

by  Dr.  Waterland  and  Dr.  Doddridge.  Dr.  Blair  appears  to 
liave  been  a  plain-spoken  preacher,  who  had  the  courage  to  speak 
the  truth  to  an  aristocratic  congregation.  Alluding  in  one  of 
these  sermons  to  the  custom  of  swearing,  he  says:  "I  know  of 
no  vice  that  brings  more  scandal  to  our  Church  of  England.  The 
church  may  be  in  danger  from  many  enemies,  but  perhaps  she  is 
not  so  much  in  danger  from  any  as  from  the  great  number  of 
profane  persons  that  pretend  to  be  of  her,  enough  to  make  all 
serious  people  afraid  of  our  society,  and  to  bring  doWn  the  judg 
ments  of  God  upon  us :  'by  reason  of  swearing  the  land  mourneth.' 
But  be  not  deceived:  our  church  has  no  principles  that  lead  to 
swearing  more  than  the  Dissenters ;  but  whatever  church  is  upper 
most,  there  are  always  a  great  many  who,  having  no  religion  at 
all,  crowd  into  it,  and  bring  it  into  disgrace  and  disreputation." 
Commissary  Blair  left  his  library  and  five  hundred  pounds  to  the 
college  of  which  he  was  the  founder,  and  ten  thousand  pounds  to 
his  nephew,  John  Blair,  and  his  children.*  Commissary  Blair 
was  alike  eminent  for  energy,  learning,  talents,  piety,  and  a 
catholic  spirit ;  he  was  a  sincere  lover  of  Virginia  and  her  bene 
factor  ;  his  name  is  identified  with  her  history,  and  his  memory 
deserves  to  be  held  in  enduring  respect  and  veneration. 

In  November,  1743,  William  Fairfax,  son  of  Lord  Fairfax, 
proprietor  of  the  Northern  Neck,  was  appointed  one  of  the  coun 
cil  in  the  place  of  Dr.  Blair.  The  Rev.  William  Dawson  suc 
ceeded  him  as  president  of  the  College  of  William  and  Mary,  and 
as  commissaiy. 

About  this  time  also  died  Colonel  William  Byrd,  of  Westover, 
second  of  the  name,  one  of  the  council.  A  vast  fortune  enabled 
him  to  live  in  a  style  of  hospitable  splendor  before  unknown  in 
Virginia.  His  extensive  learning  was  improved  by  a  keen  obser 
vation,  and  refined  by  an  acquaintance  and  correspondence  with 
the  wits  and  noblemen  of  his  day  in  England.  His  writings  dis 
play  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  natural  and  civil  history  of  the 
colony,  and  abound  in  photographic  sketches  of  the  manners  of 
his  age.  His  diffuse  style  is  relieved  by  frequent  ebullitions  of 
humor,  which,  according  to  the  spirit  of  his  times,  is  often  coarse 

*  Old  Churches,  i.  154,  165;  Evang.  and  Lit.  Mag.,  ii.  341. 


436  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

and  indelicate.  His  sarcasm  is  sometimes  unjust,  and  his  ridicule 
frequently  misplaced,  jet  his  writings  are  among  the  most  valu 
able  that  have  descended  from  his  era,  and  to  him  is  due  the 
honor  of  having  contributed  more  perhaps  to  the  preservation  of 
the  historical  materials  of  Virginia  than  any  other  of  her  sons, 
by  the  purchase  of  the  Records  of  the  Virginia  Company.  He 
lies  buried  in  the  garden  at  Westover,  where  a  marble  monument 
bears  the  following  inscription :  "  Here  lieth  the  Honorable  Wil 
liam  Byrd,  Esq.  Being  born  to  one  of  the  amplest  fortunes  in 
this  country,  he  was  sent  early  to  England  for  his  education, 
where,  under  the  care  and  direction  of  Sir  Robert  Southwell,  and 
ever  favored  with  his  particular  instructions,  he  made  a  happy 
proficiency  in  polite  and  various  learning.  By  the  means  of  the 
same  noble  friend  he  was  introduced  to  the  acquaintance  of  many 
of  the  first  persons  of  that  age  for  knowledge,  wit,  virtue,  birth, 
or  high  station,  and  particularly  contracted  a  most  intimate  and 
bosom  friendship  with  the  learned  and  illustrious  Charles  Boyle, 
Earl  of  Orrery.  He  was  called  to  the  bar  in  the  Middle  Temple; 
studied  for  some  time  in  the  Low  Countries;  visited  the  court  of 
France,  and  was  chosen  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society.  Thus 
eminently  fitted  for  the  service  and  ornament  of  his  country,  he 
was  made  receiver-general  of  his  majesty's  revenues  here;  was 
thrice  appointed  public  agent  to  the  court  and  ministry  of  Eng 
land;  and  being  thirty-seven  years  a  member,  at  last  became 
president  of  the  council  of  this  colony.  To  all  this  were  added 
a  great  elegancy  of  taste  and  life,  the  well-bred  gentleman  and 
polite  companion,  the  splendid  economist,  and  prudent  father  of 
a  family,  withal  the  constant  enemy  of  all  exorbitant  power,  and 
hearty  friend  to  the  liberties  of  his  country.  Nat.  Mar.  28,  1674. 
Mort.  Aug.  26,  1744.  An.  ^Btat.  70."  His  portrait,  a  fine 
face,  is  preserved.  Colonel  Byrd  amassed  the  finest  private 
library  which  had  then  been  seen  in  the  New  World,  a  catalogue 
of  which,  in  quarto,  is  preserved  in  the  Franklin  Library,  Phila 
delphia.  Sir  Robert  Southwell  was  envoy  extraordinary  to  Por 
tugal  in  1665,  and  to  Brussels  in  1671 ;  was  subsequently  clerk 
of  the  privy  council,  and  was  repeatedly  chosen  president  of  the 
Royal  Society.  He  died  in  1702. 

France,  endeavoring  to  impose  a  popish  pretender  of  the  house 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  437 

of  Stuart  upon  the  people  of  England,  the  colonies  were  advised 
to  put  themselves  in  readiness  against  the  threatened  blow.  Ac 
cordingly  in  the  following  year  the  assembly  met,  but  still  ad 
hering  to  a  rigid  economy,  the  burgesses  refused  to  make  any 
appropriation  of  money  for  that  purpose.  About  this  time  Ed 
ward  Trelawney,  governor  of  Jamaica,  was  authorized  to  recruit 
a  regiment  in  Virginia.  In  1745  a  rebellion  burst  forth  in  Scot 
land  in  favor  of  the  Pretender,  Charles  Edward  Stuart,  grandson 
of  James  the  Second.  When  intelligence  of  this  event  reached 
Virginia,  the  assembly  was  again  called  together,  and  the  college, 
the  clergy,  and  the  assembly,  unanimously  pledged  their  private 
resources  and  those  of  the  colony  to  support  the  house  of  Han 
over.  A  proclamation  was  also  issued  against  Romish  priests, 
sent,  it  was  alleged,  as  emissaries  from  Maryland,  to  seduce  the 
people  of  Virginia  from  their  allegiance.  The  tidings  of  the 
overthrow  of  the  Pretender  by  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  at 
Culloden,  on  the  16th  of  April,  1746,  were  joyfully  received 
in  the  Ancient  Dominion,  and  celebrated  by  burning  the  effigies 
of  the  unfortunate  prince,  and  by  bonfires,  processions,  and 
illuminations. 

About  this  time  the  Rev.  William  Stith  was  engaged  in  com 
posing  his  "History  of  Virginia,"  at  Varina,  on  the  James  River. 
It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  this  accurate,  judicious,  and  faith 
ful  writer  did  not  receive  encouragement  to  complete  the  work 
down  to  his  own  times. 

In  May,  1746,  the  assembly  appropriated  four  thousand  pounds 
to  the  raising  of  Virginia's  quota  of  troops  for  the  invasion  of 
Canada.  They  sailed  from  Hampton  in  June,  under  convoy  of 
the  Fowey  man-of-war;  the  expedition  proved  abortive.  Gover 
nor  Grooch,  who  had  been  appointed  commander,  but  had  declined 
the  appointment,  was  knighted  during  this  year.  Not  long  after 
wards  the  capitol  at  Williamsburg  was  burnt,  and  the  burgesses 
availed  themselves  of  this  conjuncture  to  propose  the  establish 
ment  of  the  metropolis  at  a  point  more  favorable  to  commerce; 
but  this  scheme  was  rejected  by  the  council.  Governor  Gooch, 
on  this  occasion,  appears  to  have  exhibited  some  duplicity:  in  his 
communications  to  the  board  of  trade  he  extolled  the  enlarged 
views  of  the  burgesses,  while  he  censured  the  selfishness  of  the 


438  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

council;  jet  in  public  lie  blamed  the  burgesses,  "as  he  thought 
this  the  best  method  to  stifle  the  flame  of  contention."  In  this 
case  he  would  seem  not  to  have  reckoned  "honesty  the  best 
policy;"  and  it  often  is  not,  else  there  would  perhaps  be  more  of 
it  in  the  world;  but  it  is  certainly  always  better  than  policy. 

In  the  year  1748  Petersburg  and  Blandford  were  incorporated. 
In  the  same  year  the  town  of  Staunton,  in  Augusta  County,  was 
laid  off,  and  it  was  incorporated  in  the  following  year.  This  hap 
pened  to  be  one  of  the  acts  repealed  by  the  crown  under  subse 
quent  protest  of  the  house  of  burgesses ;  and  another  act  of  in 
corporation  was  not  applied  for  until  about  1762-63.  Hence 
originated  a  mistake  in  all  the  histories  as  to  the  date  of  the 
charter.*  Staunton  thus  appears  to  be  the  oldest  town  in  the 
valley. 

The  assembly  appointed  a  committee  to  revise  the  laws  of  Vir 
ginia;  it  consisted  of  Peyton  Randolph,  Philip  Ludwell,  Beverley 
Whiting,  Carter  Burwell,  and  Benjamin  Waller.  During  this 
year  the  vestries  were  authorized  to  make  presentation  to  bene 
fices,  an  act  which  Bishop  Sherlock  complained  of  as  a  serious 
encroachment  on  the  rights  of  the  crown. 

Dissent  from  the  established  church  began  to  develope  itself  in 
Virginia.  In  1740  the  celebrated  Whitefield,  then  about  twenty- 
six  years  of  age,  preached  at  Williamsburg,  by  the  invitation  of 
Commissary  Blair.  The  extraordinary  religious  excitement  which 
took  place  at  this  time  in  America,  and  which  was  increased  by  the 
impassioned  eloquence  of  Whitefield,  was  styled  "the  New  Light 
Stir."  It  produced  a  temporary  schism  in  the  American  Presby 
terian  Church,  and  the  two  parties  were  known  as  Old  Side  and 
New  Side.  The  Synod  of  Philadelphia  was  Old  Side;  the  Pres 
byteries  of  New  Castle,  New  Brunswick,  and  New  York,  New 
Side.  The  preachers  of  the  New  Side  were  often  styled  "New 
Lights."  A  hundred  years  before,  the  Presbyterians  of  Ireland 
denounced  the  sectarian  (or  Cromwell)  party  of  England,  as  those 
who  "vilify  public  ordinances,  speak  evil  of  church  government, 


*  Letter  from  Bolivar  Christian,  Esq.,  of  Staunton,  referring  to  the  records  of 
Augusta. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  439 

and  invent  damnable  errors,  under  the  specious  pretence  of  a 
gospel-way  and  new  light. "^ 

Between  the  years  1740  and  1743  a  few  families  of  Hanover 
County,  in  Lower  Virginia,  withdrawing  themselves  from  attend 
ance  at  the  services  of  the  established  church,  were  accustomed 
to  meet  for  worship  at  the  house  of  Samuel  Morris,  the  zealous 
leader  of  this  little  company  of  dissenters.  One  of  these,  a 
planter,  had  been  first  aroused  by  a  few  leaves  of  "Boston's 
Fourfold  State,"  that  fell  into  his  hands.  Morris,  an  obscure 
man,  a  bricklayer,  of  singular  simplicity  of  character,  sincere, 
devout,  earnest,  was  in  the  habit  of  reading  to  his  neighbors  from 
a  few  favorite  religious  works,  particularly  "Luther  on  the  Gala- 
tians,"  and  his  "Table-Talk,"  with  the  view  of  communicating  to 
others  impressions  that  had  been  made  on  himself.  Having 
(1743)  come  into  possession  of  a  volume  of  Whitefield's  Sermons, 
preached  at  Glasgow,  he  commenced  reading  them  to  his  audi 
ence,  who  met  to  hear  them  on  Sunday  and  on  other  days.  The 
concern  of  some  of  the  hearers  on  these  occasions  was  such  that 
they  cried  out  and  wept  bitterly.  Morris's  dwelling-house  being 
too  small  to  contain  his  increasing  congregation,  it  was  deter 
mined  to  build  a  meeting-house  merely  for  reading,  and  it  came 
to  be  called  "Morris's  Reading-Room."  None  of  them  being  in 
the  habit  of  extemporaneous  prayer  no  one  dared  to  undertake  it. 
Morris  was  soon  invited  to  read  these  sermons  in  other  parts  of 
the  country,  and  thus  other  reading-houses  were  established. 
Those  who  frequented  them  were  fined  for  absenting  themselves 
from  church,  and  Morris  himself  often  incurred  this  penalty. 
"When  called  on  by  the  general  court  to  declare  to  what  denomi 
nation  they  belonged,  these  unsophisticated  dissenters,  knowing 
little  of  any  such  except  the  Quakers,  and  not  knowing  what  else 
to  call  themselves,  assumed  for  the  present  the  name  of  Lutherans, 
(unaware  that  this  appellation  had  been  appropriated  by  any 
others,)  but  shortly  afterwards  they  relinquished  that  name.")" 

*  Milton's  Prose  Works,  i.  423. 

f  Memoir  of  Samuel  Davies,  in  Evang.  and  Lit.  Mag.,  (edited  by  Rev.  Dr. 
John  II.  Rice,)  ii.  113,  186,  201,  330,  353,  474.  » Origin  of  Presbyterianism," 
ib.,  846.  "  Sketch  of  Hist,  of  the  Church  in  Va,"  (by  Rev.  Moses  Hoge,  Presi 
dent  of  Hampden  Sidney  College,)  appended  to  J.  W.  Campbell's  Hist,  of  Va., 


440  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

Partaking  in  the  religious  excitement  which  then  pervaded  the 
colonies,  limited  in  information  and  in  the  means  of  obtaining  it, 
these  unorganized  dissenters  became  bewildered  by  discordant 
opinions.  Some  of  them  seemed  to  be  verging  toward  antino- 
mianism ;  and  it  came  to  be  a  question  among  them  whether  it 
was  right  to  pray,  since  prayer  could  not  alter  the  Divine  pur 
poses,  and  it  might  be  impious  to  desire  that  it  should.  At 
length,  Morris  and  some  of  his  associates  were  summoned  to 
appear  before  the  governor  and  council  at  Willianisburg.  Having 
discarded  the  name  of  Lutherans,  and  not  knowing  what  to  call 
themselves,  they  were  filled  with  apprehensions  in  the  prospect 
of  the  interview.  One  of  them  making  the  journey  to  Williams- 
burg  alone,  met  with,  at  a  house  on  the  way,  an  old  Scotch  Pres 
byterian  "Confession  of  Faith,"  which  he  recognized  as  embody 
ing  his  own  creed.  The  book  being  given  to  him,  upon  rejoining 
his  friends  at  Williamsburg  they  examined  it  together,  and  they 
determined  to  adopt  it  as  their  confession  of  faith.  When  called 
before  the  governor  and  council  and  interrogated,  they  exhibited 
the  book  as  containing  their  creed.  Gooch,  being  a  Scotchman, 
and,  as  is  said,  having  been  educated  a  Presbyterian,  immediately 
remarked,  on  seeing  the  book,  "These  men  are  Presbyterians," 
and  recognized  their  right  to  the  privileges  of  the  toleration  act. 
The  interview  between  the  governor  and  council  and  Morris  and 
his  friends,  was  interrupted  by  a  thunder-storm  of  extraordinary 
fury;  the  council  was  softened;  and  this  was  one  of  a  scries  of 
incidents  which  Morris  and  his  companions  looked  upon  as  provi 
dentially  instrumental  in  bringing  about  the  favorable  issue  of 
this  affair. 

The  Rev.  William  Robinson,  a  Presbyterian,  was  the  first 
minister,  not  of  the  Church  of  England,  that  preached  in  Han 
over.  The  son  of  a  Quaker  physician  near  Carlyle,  in  England, 
lie  emigrated  to  America,  and  (1743)  sent  out  by  the  Presbytery 
of  New  Brunswick,  visited  the  frontier  settlements  of  Virginia 
and  North  Carolina.  Near  Winchester  he  was  apprehended  by 


290;  Hawks,  chap.  6;  Burk,  iii.  119:  Hodge's  Hist,  of  Presbyterian  Church, 
part  ii.  42,  284;  Foote's  Sketches  of  Va.,  119. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  411 

the  sheriff,  to  be  sent  to  the  governor  to  answer  for  preaching 
without  license,  but  the  sheriff  soon  released  him.  He  preached 
among  the  Scotch-Irish  settlers  of  Charlotte,  Prince  Edward, 
Campbell,  and  Albemarle,  and  in  Charlotte  established  a  congre 
gation.  Overtaken  at  Rockfish  Gap  by  a  deputation  from  Han 
over,  he  was  induced  to  return  and  visit  that  county,  and  he 
preached  for  some  days  to  large  congregations,  some  of  his 
hearers  publicly  giving  utterance  to  their  emotions,  and  many 
being  converted.  Before  his  departure  he  corrected  some  of  the 
errors  into  which  the  dissenters  had  fallen,  and  taught  them  to 
conduct  public  worship  with  better  order,  prayer  and  singing 
being  now  introduced,  so  that  "he  brought  them  into  some  kind 
of  church  order  on  the  Presbyterian  model."*  He  was  followed 
shortly  afterwards  by  the  Rev.  John  Blair,  whose  preaching  was 
equally  impressive.  Another  missionary,  the  Rev.  John  Roan, 
from  the  New  Castle  Presbytery,  preached  to  crowded  congrega 
tions  there  and  in  the  neighboring  counties.  The  consequent 
excitement,  and  his  speaking  freely  in  public  and  in  private  of 
the  delinquency  of  the  parish  ministers,  and  his  denouncing  them 
with  unsparing  invective,  in  spite  of  reproaches,  ridicule,  and 
threats,  gave  alarm  to  them  and  their  supporters,  and  measures 
were  concerted  to  arrest  the  inroads  of  these  offensive  innovations. 
To  aggravate  the  indignation  of  the  government  a  witness  swore 
"that  he  heard  Mr.  Roan  utter  blasphemous  expressions  in  his 
sermons,"  preached  at  the  house  of  Joshua  Morris,  in  James  City 
County. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  general  court  in  April,  Governor  Gooch, 
in  his  charge  to  the  grand  jury,  denounced,  in  strong  terms, 
"certain  false  teachers  lately  crept  into  this  government,  who, 
without  order  or  license,  or  producing  any  testimonial  of  their 
education  or  sect,  professing  themselves  ministers  under  the  pre 
tended  influence  of  new  light,  extraordinary  impulse,  and  such 
like  satirical  [sic]  and  enthusiastic  knowledge,  lead  the  innocent 
and  ignorant  people  into  all  kinds  of  delusion."  He  even  sus 
pected  them  to  be  Romish  emissaries,  saying,  "their  religious 
professions  are  very  justly  suspected  to  be  the  result  of  jesuiti- 

*  Evang.  and  Lit.  Mag.,  ii.  351. 


442  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLOXY   AXD 

cal  policy,  which  also  is  an  iniquity  to  be  punished  by  the 
judges."  He  calls  upon  the  jury  to  present  and  indict  these 
offenders.  On  the  next  day  the  jury  presented  John  Roan  for 
"reflecting  upon  and  vilifying  the  established  religion,"  and 
Thomas  Watkins,  of  Henrico  County,  for  saying  "your  churches 
and  chapels  are  no  better  than  the  synagogues  of  Satan,"  and 
Joshua  Morris,  "for  permitting  John  Roan,  the  aforementioned 
preacher,  and  very  many  people,  to  assemble  in  an  unlawful 
manner  at  his  house  on  the  seventh,  eighth,  and  ninth  of  January 
last  past." 

The  intolerant  spirit  of  the  government  continuing  unabated, 
the  Conjunct  Presbyteries  of  New  Castle  and  New  Brunswick,  at 
the  instance  of  Morris  and  some  of  his  friends,  who  were  appre 
hensive  of  severe  measures  being  adopted  against  them,  sent  an 
address  in  their  behalf  to  Governor  Gooch,  by  two  clergymen, 
Gilbert  Tennent  and  Samuel  Finley.  They  were  respectfully  re 
ceived,  and  allowed  to  preach  in  Hanover,  where  they  remained 
for  a  week. 

The  Synod  of  Philadelphia  being  now  apprehensive  that  their 
congregations  in  the  valley  of  Virginia  might  also  be  involved  in 
the  penalties  threatened  by  the  governor,  in  May,  1745,  in  an 
address  to  him,  disclaimed  all  connection  with  the  Presbytery  of 
New  Castle,  which  had  commissioned  Mr.  Roan,  and  expressed 
their  deep  regret  that  any  who  assume  the  name  of  Presbyterians 
should  be  guilty  of  conduct  so  uncharitable  and  so  unchristian  as 
that  mentioned  in  his  honor's  charge  to  the  grand  jury;  and 
they  assure  him  that  these  persons  never  belonged  to  their  body, 
but  were  missionaries  sent  out  by  some  who,  in  May,  1741,  had 
been  excluded  from  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia  by  reason  of 
their  divisive  and  uncharitable  doctrines  and  practices,  and 
whose  object  was,  in  a  spirit  of  rivalry,  "to  divide  and  trouble 
the  churches."  To  this  address  Gooch  made  a  very  kind  and 
respectful  reply. 

In  the  summer  of  the  ensuing  year  he  issued  a  proclamation 
against  the  Moravians,  New  Lights,  and  Methodists,  prohibiting 
their  meetings  under  severe  penalties.  There  would  seem  to  be 
some  inconsistency  in  bringing  such  harsh  and  sweeping  charges 
against  those  ministers  whom  he  had  recently  received  so  cour- 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  443 

teously,  and  had  permitted  to  preach.  Perhaps  when  he  at  first 
reckoned  the  visits  of  these  missionaries  transient,  and  their  in 
fluence  inconsiderable,  he  was  willing  to  indulge  his  courtesy  and 
obliging  disposition  toward  them;  but  when  dissent  was  found 
spreading  with  such  unexpected  rapidity,  Gooch,  together  with 
the  clergy  and  other  friends  of  the  establishment,  became  alarmed, 
and  had  recourse  to  measures  of  intolerance,  which  they  would 
rather  have  avoided.  Besides  this,  the  address  of  the  Synod  of 
Philadelphia  could  not  but  confirm  the  unfavorable  opinion  at 
first  formed  of  the  missionaries. 


CHAPTER    LVIII. 


Statistics  of  Virginia*  —  Whitefield  —  Davies  —  Conduct  of  the  Government  toward 
Dissenters  —  Resignation  of  Governor  Gooch  —  His  Character  —  The  People  of 
the  Valley  and  of  Eastern  Virginia  —  John  Robinson,  Sr.,  President  —  Richard 
Lee,  President  —  Earl  of  Albemarle,  Governor-in-Chief  —  Lewis  Burwell,  Presi 
dent  —  Population  of  the  Colonies. 

FROM  Bowen's  Geography,  published  at  London  in  1747,  the 
following  particulars  are  gathered:  in  1710  the  total  population 
of  Virginia  was  estimated  to  be  70,000,  and  in  1747  at  between 
100,000  and  140,000.  The  number  of  burgesses  was  52.  Of 
the  fifty-four  parishes,  thirty  or  forty  were  supplied.  The  twelve 
vestrymen  having  the  presentation  of  ministers  were  styled  "the 
patrons  of  the  church."  The  governor's  salary,  together  with 
perquisites,  amounted  to  three  thousand  pounds  per  annum.  The 
president  of  the  council  acting  as  governor  received  a  salary  of 
five  hundred  pounds,  and  also  a  small  amount  paid  him  as  a  coun 
cillor.  The  professors  of  William  and  Mary  College,  when  they 
began  with  experiments  on  plants  and  minerals,  were  assisted  by 
the  French  refugees  at  Manakintown.  Dr.  Bray  procured  con 
tributions  of  books  for  the  library.* 

Sweet-scented  tobacco,  the  most  valuable  in  the  world,  was 
found  in  the  strip  of  country  between  the  York  and  the  James. 
The  number  of  hogsheads  of  tobacco  shipped  from  Virginia 
and  Maryland  together  annually  was  70,000,  of  which  half 
was  consumed  in  England,  and  half  exported  to  other  countries. 


The  value  of  coins  in  Virginia  was :  — 

£     s.      d.    I  £       a.      d. 


Spanish  double  doubloons..  3     10     00 
Doubloons 1     15     00 


Pistole 0     17     06 

Arabian  Chequin 0     10     00 

All  English  coins  at  the  same  value  as  in  England. 

(444) 


Pieces  of  eight 0       5     00 

French  crowns 0       5     00 

Dutch  dollars...  ..0       5     00 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  445 

This  trade  employed  two  hundred  ships,  and  yielded  his  majesty's 
treasury  a  revenue  of  upwards  of  £300,000,  in  time  of  peace. 
Jamestown  at  this  time  contained  several  brick  houses,  with  sun 
dry  taverns  and  eating-houses, — sixty  or  seventy  houses  in  all. 
Williamsburg  or  Williamstadt  contained  twenty  or  thirty  houses. 
There  was  a  fort  or  battery  erected  there  mounting  ten  or  twelve 
guns.  Governor  Nicholson  caused  several  streets  to  be  laid  out  in 
the  form  of  a  W,  in  honor  of  King  William  the  Third,  but  a  Y  or 
one  angle  of  it  was  not  as  yet  completed,  and  the  plan  appears  to 
have  been  given  up.  The  main  street  was  three-quarters  of  a 
mile  long,  and  very  wide;  at  one  end  of  it  was  the  college,  and 
at  the  other  the  capitol.  The  college  was  thought  to  be  some 
thing  like  Chelsea  Hospital.  The  capitol,  in  the  shape  of  an  H, 
is  described  as  "a  noble  pile."  The  church  was  "adorned  and 
convenient  as  the  best  churches  in  London."  Besides  these 
there  were  an  octagon  magazine  for  arms  and  ammunition,  a 
bowling-green,  and  a  play-house.  There  were  several  private 
houses  of  brick,  with  many  rooms  on  a  floor,  but  not  high.  It 
was  observed  that  wherever  the  water  was  brackish,  it  was  sickly ; 
but  Williamsburg  was  on  a  healthy  site.*  Gloucester  was  at  this 
time  the  most  populous  county;  Essex  or  Rappahannock  "over 
run  with  briars,  thorns,  and  wild  beasts."  The  Atlantic  Ocean 
is  denominated  the  "Virginian  Sea."f 

Whitefield,  while  at  Charleston,  in  South  Carolina,  during  the 
spring  of  1747,  being  presented  with  a  sum  of  money,  expended 
it  in  the  purchase  of  a  plantation  and  negroes  for  the  support  of 
the  orphan-house. "|  Having  come  on  to  Virginia,  in  a  letter 
written  from  Williamsburg  in  April  of  that  year,  he  says  to  a 
friend  in  Philadelphia:  "Men  in  power  here  seem  to  be  alarmed; 
but  truth  is  great  and  will  prevail.  I  am  to  preach  this  morn 
ing."  By  a  remarkable  coincidence,  Samuel  Davies,  so  pre 
eminently  instrumental  in  organizing  and  extending  Presbyte- 
rianism  in  Middle  Virginia,  happened  to  come  to  Virginia  about 
the  same  time.  lie  was  born  in  the  County  of  New  Castle,  Penn- 


*  Williamsburg  is  said  to  be  now  a  very  healthy  place,  except  during  the 
months  of  vacation. 

f  Dozen's  Geography,  ii.  649,  652.  J  Port  Folio  for  1812,  p.  152. 


446  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY  AND 

sylvania,  now  Delaware,  November  3d,  1723,  of  Welsh  extraction, 
on  both  paternal  and  maternal  side.  He  was  educated  principally 
in  Pennsylvania,  under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Blair,  at 
Fagg's  Manor,  where  he  was -thoroughly  instructed  in  the  classics, 
sciences,  and  theology.  By  close  study  his  slender  frame  was 
enfeebled.  He  married  Sarah  Kirkpatrick  in  October,  1746. 
Deputed  to  perform  a  mission  in  so  perplexing  a  field,  without 
experience,  and  in  delicate  health,  he  started  with  hesitation  and 
reluctance.  Passing  down  the  Eastern  Shore  associated  with 
the  labors  of  Makemie,  Davies  came  to  Williamsburg.  Here  he 
applied  to  the  general  court  for  license  to  preach  at  three  meet 
ing-houses  in  Hanover,  and  one  in  Henrico.  The  council  hesi 
tated  to  comply ;  but,  by  the  governor's  influence,  the  license  was 
obtained  on  the  fourteenth  of  April.  The  members  of  the  court 
present  on  this  occasion  were  William  Gooch,  Governor;  John 
Robinson,  John  Grymes,  John  Custis,  Philip  Lightfoot,  Thomas 
Lee,  Lewis  Bin-well,  William  Fairfax,  John  Blair,  William  Nel 
son,  Esqs. ;  William  Dawson,  Clerk.  This  was  only  two  days  after 
Whitefield  had  preached  in  Williamsburg,  and  he  and  Davies  were 
probably  there  at  the  same  time.  Davies,  proceeding  at  once  to 
Hanover,  was  received  with  joy,  since,  on  the  preceding  Sunday, 
a  proclamation  had  been  attached  to  the  door  of  Morris's  Read 
ing-house,  requiring  magistrates  to  suppress  itinerant  preachers, 
and  warning  the  people  against  gathering  to  hear  them.  After  a 
brief  sojourn,  returning  home,  he  languished  under  ill  health,  ag 
gravated  by  the  sudden  death  of  his  wife,  and  threatening  to  cut 
him  ofif  prematurely.  He,  however,  recovered  sufficient  strength 
to  return  to  Hanover  in  May,  1748,  and  settled  at  a  place  about 
twelve  miles  from  the  falls  of  the  James  River.  In  this  second 
visit  he  was  accompanied  by  the  Rev.  John  Rodgers,  who,  finding  it 
impossible  to  obtain  permission  to  settle  in  Virginia,  returned  to  the 
North.  Governor  Gooch  favored  the  application,  but  a  majority 
of  the  council  stood  out  against  it,  saying:  "We  have  Mr. 
Rodgers  out,  and  we  are  determined  to  keep  him  out."  Some  of 
the  clergy  of  the  established  church  were  vehement  in  their  oppo 
sition  to  Davies  and  Rodgers.  A  majority  of  the  council  lent  their 
countenance  to  this  opposition,  but  Gooch  took  occasion  to  rebuke 
it  in  severe  terms.  John  Blair,  nephew  of  the  commissary,  Com- 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  447 

missary  Dawson,  and  another  member  of  the  council,  whose  name 
is  forgotten,  united  with  the  governor  on  this  occasion  in  treating 
the  strangers  kindly,  and  endeavored  to  procure  a  reconsideration 
of  the  case,  but  in  vain.  According  to  Burk,*  most  of  the  in 
telligent  men  of  that  day,  including  Edmund  Pendleton,  appear 
in  the  character  of  persecutors.  It  must  be  remembered,  how 
ever,  that  the  council  and  its  friends  had  no  right  to  proclaim 
religious  freedom,  and  that  the  controversy  depended  on  the  true 
interpretation  of  the  act  of  parliament  and  the  Virginia  sta 
tutes.  These  made  the  law,  and  the  council  was  but  the  execu 
tive  of  the  law,  without  authority  to  repeal  or  amend  it. 

Davies  was  now  left  to  labor  alone  in  Virginia.  In  April  the 
court  decided  the  long-pending  suits  against  Isaac  Winston,  Sr., 
and  Samuel  Morris,  by  fining  them  each  twenty  shillings  and  the 
costs  of  prosecution.  Severe  laws  had  been  passed  in  Virginia 
in  accordance  with  the  English  act  of  uniformity,  and  enforcing 
attendance  at  the  parish  church.  The  toleration  act  was  little 
understood  in  Virginia;  Davies  examined  it  carefully,  and  satis 
fied  himself  that  it  was  in  force  in  the  colony,  not,  indeed,  by 
virtue  of  its  original  enactment  in  England,  but  because  it  had 
been  expressly  recognized  and  adopted  by  an  act  of  the  Virginia 
assembly. 

In  October,  1748,  licenses  were  with  difficulty  obtained  upon 
the  petitions  of  the  dissenters  for  three  other  meeting-houses 
lying  in  Caroline,  Louisa,  and  Goochland.  Davies  was  only 
about  twenty-three  years  of  age;  yet  his  fervid  eloquence  at 
tracted  large  congregations,  including  many  churchmen.  On 
several  occasions  he  found  it  necessary  to  defend  the  cause  of  the 
dissenters  at  the  bar  of  the  general  court.  When  on  one  occa 
sion,  by  permission,  he  rose  to  reply  to  the  argument  of  Peyton 
Randolph,  the  king's  attorney-general,  a  titter  at  first  ran 
through  the  court ;  but  it  ceased  at  the  utterance  of  the  very  first 
sentence,  and  his  masterly  argument  extorted  admiration;  and 
during  his  stay  in  Williamsburg  he  received  many  civilities,  espe 
cially  from  the  Honorable  John  Blair,  of  the  council,  and  Sir 
William  Gooch.  Samuel  Davies  happening  to  be  in  London  at 

*  Hist,  of  Va.,  iii.  121. 


448  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

the  same  time  with  Peyton  Randolph,  some  years  afterwards, 
mentions  him  in  his  Diary  as  "my  old  adversary,"  and  adds, 
"he  will,  no  doubt,  oppose  whatever  is  done  in  favor  of  the  dis 
senters  in  Hanover."  Davies,  who  was  a  man  of  exquisite  sen 
sibility,  repeatedly  alludes  to  the  torture  to  which  his  feelings 
had  been  subjected  by  the  mortifications  that  he  suffered  when 
appearing  before  the  general  court. 

There  was  eventually  obtained  from  Sir  Dudley  Rider,  the 
king's  attorney-general  in  England,  a  decision  confirming  the 
view  which  Davies  had  taken  of  the  toleration  act.  lie  ex 
pressed  himself  in  regard  to  the  governor  and  council  as  follows : 
"The  Honorable  Sir  William  Gooch,  our  late  governor,  dis 
covered  a  ready  disposition  to  allow  us  all  claimable  privileges, 
and  the  greatest  aversion  to  persecuting  measures;  but  consider 
ing  the  shocking  reports  spread  abroad  concerning  us  by  officious 
malignants,  it  was  no  great  wonder  the  council  discovered  a  con 
siderable  reluctance  to  tolerate  us.  Had  it  not  been  for  this,  I 
persuade  myself  they  would  have  shown  themselves  the  guardians 
of  our  legal  privileges,  as  well  as  generous  patriots  to  their  coun 
try,  which  is  the  character  generally  given  them." 

In  his  "State  of  Religion  among  the  Dissenters,"  Davies  re 
marks:  "There  are  and  have  been  in  this  colony  a  great  number 
of  Scotch  merchants,  who  were  educated  Presbyterians,  but  (I 
speak  what  their  conduct  more  loudly  proclaims)  they  generally, 
upon  their  arrival  here,  prove  scandals  to  their  religion  and 
country  by  their  loose  principles  and  immoral  practices,  and 
either  fall  into  indifferency  about  religion  in  general,  or  affect  to 
be  polite  by  turning  deists,  or  fashionable  by  conforming  to  the 
church."  Of  the  dissenters  in  Virginia  he  says,  that  at  the  first 
they  were  not  properly  dissenters  from  the  orginal  constitution 
of  the  Church  of  England,  but  rather  dissented  from  those  who 
had  forsaken  it. 

Sir  William  Gooch,  who  had  now  been  governor  of  Virginia 
for  twenty-two  years,  left  the  colony,  with  his  family,  in  August, 
1749,  amid  the  regrets  of  the  people.  Notwithstanding  some 
flexibility  of  principle,  he  appears  to  have  been  estimable  in  pub 
lic  and  private  character.  His  capacity  and  intelligence  were  of 
a  high  order,  and  were  adorned  by  uniform  courtesy  and  dignity, 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  449 

and  singular  amenity  of  manners.  If  he  exhibited  something  of 
intolerance  toward  the  close  of  his  administration,  he  seems, 
nevertheless,  to  have  commanded  the  esteem  and  respect  of  the 
dissenters.  After  his  departure  from  Virginia  he  continued  to 
be  the  steady  friend  of  the  colony.  A  county  was  named  after 
him.*  During  Sir  William  Gooch's  administration,  from  1728  to 
1749,  the  population  of  Virginia  had  nearly  doubled,  and  there 
had  been  added  one-third  to  the  extent  of  her  settlements. f 
The  taxes  were  light,  industry  revived,  foreign  commerce  in 
creased,  and  Virginia  enjoyed  a  prosperity  hitherto  unknown. 
The  frugal  and  industrious  Germans  were  filling  up  one  portion 
of  the  valley  and  the  Piedmont  country;  the  hardy,  well- 
disciplined,  and  energetic  Scotch-Irish  wrere  peopling  the  other 
portion  of  the  valley,  and  planting  colonies  eastward  of  the  Blue 
Ridge.  Like  the  strawberry,  the  population  continually  sent  out 
"runners"  to  possess  the  land.  The  contact  and  commingling 
of  the  English,  the  French,  the  German,  the  Scotch,  the  Irish, 
while  it  brought  about  some-  collision,  yet  produced  an  excite 
ment  which  was  salutary  and  beneficial  to  all.  So  the  meeting 
of  the  opposite  currents  of  electricity,  although  accompanied  by 
a  shock,  results  in  the  renovation  of  the  atmosphere.  The  peo 
ple  of  Eastern  Virginia  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  valley  have 
each  been  benefited  by  the  other;  each  section  has  its  virtues 
and  its  faults,  its  advantages  and  its  disadvantages,  and  Virginia 
does  not  derive  its  character  from  either  one,  but  the  elements  of 
both  are  mixed  up  in  her.  This  is  not  the  result  of  chance,  or 
the  mere  work  of  man,  but  the  order  of  a  superintending  Provi 
dence  that  presides  in  human  affairs. 

The  government  of  Virginia  now  devolved  upon  John  Robin 
son,  Sr.,  president  of  the  council,  but  he  dying  in  a  few  days, 
Thomas  Lee  succeeded  as  president.  Had  Lee  lived  longer,  it 
was  believed  his  influence  and  connexions  in  England  would  have 
secured  for  him  the  appointment  of  deputy  governor.  He  was 
father  of  Philip  Ludwell,  Richard  Henry,  Thomas  L.,  Arthur, 


*  His  son  married  a  Miss  Bowles,  of  Maryland,  who,  after  his  death,  married 
Colonel  William  Lewis. 

|  Chalmers'  Introduction,  ii.  202. 

29 


450  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

Francis  Lightfoot,  and  William.  As  Westmoreland,  their  native 
county,  is  distinguished  above  all  others  in  Virginia  as  the  birth 
place  of  great  men,  so  perhaps  no  other  Virginian  was  the  father 
of  so  many  distinguished  sons  as  President  Lee. 

The  Earl  of  Albeinarle,  after  whom  the  county  of  that  name  was 
called,  was  still  titular  governor-in-chief.  Of  this  nobleman,  when 
ambassador  at  Paris,  Horace  Walpole  says:  "It  was  convenient 
to  him  to  be  anywhere  but  in  England.  His  debts  were  excessive, 
though  ambassador,  groom  of  the  stole,  governor  of  Virginia, 
and  colonel  of  a  regiment  of  guards.  His  figure  was  genteel, 
his  manner  noble  and  agreeable.  The  rest  of  his  merit  was  the 
interest  Lady  Albemarle  had  with  the  king  through  Lady  Yar 
mouth.  He  had  all  his  life  imitated  the  French  manners  till  he 
came  to  Paris,  where  he  never  conversed  with  a  Frenchman.  If 
good  breeding  is  not  different  from  good  sense,  Lord  Albemarle, 
at  least,  knew  how  to  distinguish  it  from  good  nature.  He  would 
bow  to  his  postillion  while  he  was  ruining  his  tailor." 

Lee  was  succeeded  by  Lewis  Burwell,  of  Gloucester  County, 
also  president  of  the  council.  During  his  brief  administration, 
some  Cherokee  chiefs,  with  a  party  of  warriors,  visited  Williams- 
burg  for  the  purpose,  as  they  professed,  of  opening  a  direct  trade 
with  Virginia.  A  party  of  the  Nottoways,  animated  by  invete 
rate  hostility,  approached  to  attack  them;  and  the  Cherokees 
raised  the  Avar  song;  but  President  Burwell  effected  a  reconcilia 
tion,  and  they  sat  down  and  smoked  together  the  pipe  of  peace. 
A  New  York  company  of  players  were  permitted  to  erect  a 
theatre  in  Williamsburg.  President  Burwell,  who  was  educated 
in  England,  was  distinguished  for  his  scholarship ;  he  is  said  to 
have  embraced  almost  every  branch  of  human  knowledge  within 
the  circle  of  his  studies.  The  Burwells  are  descended  from  an 
ancient  family  of  that  name  of  the  Counties  of  Bedford  and 
Northampton,  England.  The  first  of  the  family,  Major  Lewis 
Burwell,  came  over  to  Virginia  at  an  early  date,  and  settled  in 
Gloucester.  He  died  in  1658,  two  hundred  years  ago.  He 
appears  to  have  married  Lucy,  daughter  of  Captain  Robert 
Higginson,  one  of  the  first  commanders  that  "subdued  the 
country  of  Virginia  from  the  power  of  the  heathen."  She  sur 
vived  till  the  year  1675. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  451 

Matthew  Burwell  married  Abigail  Smith,  descended  from  the 
celebrated  family  of  Bacon,  and  heiress  of  the  Honorable  Na 
thaniel  Bacon,  President  of  Virginia.  Nathaniel  Burwell,  who 
died  in  1721,  married  Elizabeth,  eldest  daughter  of  Robert  Car 
ter,  Esq.  Carter's  Creek,  the  old  seat  of  the  Burwells,  is 
situated  in  Gloucester,  on  a  creek  of  that  name,  and  not  far 
back  from  the  York  River.  The  stacks  of  antique  diamond- 
shaped  chimneys,  and  the  old  fashioned  panelling  of  the  interior, 
remind  the  visitor  that  Virginia  is  truly  the  "Ancient  Dominion.'* 
There  is  the  family  graveyard  shaded  with  locusts,  and  overrun 
with  parasites  and  grape-vines.  The  family  arms  are  carved  on 
some  of  the  tomb-stones ;  and  hogs  show  that  the  Bacon  arms  are 
quartered  upon  those  of  the  Burwells.* 


*  The  population  of  the  colonies  at  this  time  was  as  follows: — 

Increase  per  cent. 
COLONIES.  per  annum. 

Connecticut 100,000  4-65 

Georgia 6,000 

Maryland 85,000  5-00 

Massachusetts 220,000  4-46 

New  Hampshire 30,000  4-17 

New  Jersey 60,000  6-25 

New  York 100,000  4-86 

North  Carolina 45,000  16-67 

Pennsylvania* 250,000  23-96 

Rhode  Island 35,000  5-21 

South  Carolina 30,000  6-84 

Virginia 85,000  2-34 

All  classes 1,046,000  6-23 

By  this  table  it  appears  that  the  greatest  advance  in  population  took  place  in 
Pennsylvania  and  North  Carolina;  the  least  in  Virginia.  The  average  increase 
of  all  the  colonies  was  a  little  more  than  six  per  cent,  in  forty-eight  years,  from 
1701  to  1749. 

Delaware  included  in  Pennsylvania. 


CHAPTER    LIX. 

IT'SS. 

Dinwiddie,  Governor — Ohio  Company — Lawrence  Washington  —  His  Views  on 
Religious  Freedom — Davies  and  the  Dissenters — Dissensions  between  Dinwid- 
die  and  the  Assembly — George  Washington — His  Lineage — Early  Education — 
William  Fairfax — Washington  a  Surveyor — Lord  Fairfax — Washington  Adju 
tant-General. 

A  NEW  epoch  dawns  with  the  administration  of  Robert  Din- 
widdie,  who  arrived  in  Virginia  as  lieutenant-governor  early  in 
1752,  with  the  purpose  of  repressing  the  encroachments  of  the 
French,  of  extending  the  confines  of  Virginia,  and  of  enlarging 
the  Indian  trade.  A  vast  tract  of  land,  mostly  lying  west  of  the 
mountains  and  south  of  the  Ohio,  was  granted  by  the  king  about 
the  year  1749,  to  a  company  of  planters  and  merchants.  This 
scheme  appears  to  have  been  brought  forward  in  the  preceding- 
year  by  Thomas  Lee  of  the  council,  and  he  became  associated 
with  twelve  persons  in  Virginia  and  Maryland,  and  with  Mr. 
Hanbury,  a  London  Quaker  merchant,  and  they  were  incor 
porated  as  "The  Ohio  Company."  Lawrence  and  Augustine 
Washington  were  early  and  prominent  members  of  this  com 
pany.  The  company  sent  out  Mr.  Christopher  Gist  to  explore 
the  country  on  the  Ohio  as  far  as  the  falls.  He  was,  like 
Boone,  from  the  banks  of  the  Yadkin,  an  expert  pioneer,  at 
home  in  the  wilderness  and  among  the  Indians,  adventurous, 
hardy,  and  intrepid.  Crossing  the  Ohio,  he  found  the  country 
well  watered  and  wooded,  with  here  and  there  plains  covered  with 
wild  rye,  or  meadows  of  blue  grass  and  clover.  He  observed 
numerous  buffaloes,  deer,  elk,  and  wild  turkeys.  Returning  to 
the  Ohio  and  recrossing  it,  Gist  proceeded  toward  the  Cut- 
tawa  or  Kentucky  River.  Ascending  to  the  summit  of  a  moun- 
(452) 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  453 

tain,  lie  beheld  that  magnificent  region  long  before  it  was  seen  by 
Daniel  Boone.* 

On  the  13th  of  June,  1752,  a  treaty  was  effected  with  the 
western  Indians  at  Logstown,  on  the  Ohio,  by  which  they  agreed 
not  to  molest  any  settlements  that  might  be  made  on  the  south 
east  side  of  the  Ohio.  Colonel  Fry  and  two  other  commissioners 
represented  Virginia  on  this  occasion,  while  Gist  appeared  as 
agent  of  the  Ohio  Company. 

Thomas  Lee,  the  projector  of  this  company,  having  not  sur 
vived  long  after  its  incorporation,  the  chief  conduct  of  it  fell  into 
the  hands  of  Lawrence  Washington.  Governor  Dinwiddie  and 
George  Mason  were  also  members.  There  were  twenty  shares 
and  as  many  members.  Lawrence  Washington,  being  desirous 
of  colonizing  Germans  on  the  company's  lands,  wrote  to  Mr. 
Hanbury  as  follows:  "While  the  unhappy  state  of  my  health 
called  me  back  to  our  springs, f  I  conversed  with  all  the  Penn- 
sylvanian  Dutch  whom  I  met  with,  either  there  or  elsewhere,  and 
much  recommended  their  settling  on  the  Ohio.  The  chief  reason 
against  it  was,  the  paying  of  an  English  clergyman,  when  few 
understood  and  none  made  use  of  him.  It  has  been  my  opinion, 
and  I  hope  ever  will  be,  that  restraints  on  conscience  are  cruel 
in  regard  to  those  on  whom  they  are  imposed,  and  injurious  to 
the  country  imposing  them.  England,  Holland,  and  Prussia,  I 
may  quote  as  examples,  and  much  more,  Pennsylvania,  which 
has  flourished  under  that  delightful  liberty  so  as  to  become  the 
admiration  of  every  man  who  considers  the  short  time  it  has  been 
settled.  As  the  ministry  have  thus  far  shown  the  true  spirit 
of  patriotism,  by  encouraging  the  extending  of  our  dominions  in 
America,  I  doubt  not  by  an  application  they  would  still  go  farther, 
and  complete  what  they  have  begun,  by  procuring  some  kind  of 
charter  to  prevent  the  residents  on  the  Ohio  and  its  branches 
from  being  subject  to  parish  taxes.  They  all  assured  me  that 
they  might  have  from  Germany  any  number  of  settlers,  could 
they  but  obtain  their  favorite  exemption.  I  have  promised  to 
endeavor  for  it,  and  now  do  my  utmost  by  this  letter.  I  am  well 

*  Sparks'  Writings  of  Washington,  ii.  478;  Irving's  Washington,  i.  59. 
|  At  Bath,  in  Virginia. 


454  HISTOKY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

assured  we  shall  never  obtain  it  by  a  law  here.  This  colony  was 
greatly  settled,  in  the  latter  part  of  Charles  the  First's  time  and 
during  the  usurpation,  by  the  zealous  churchmen,  and  that  spirit 
which  was  then  brought  in  has  ever  since  continued,  so  that, 
except  a  few  Quakers,  we  have  no  dissenters.  But  what  has 
been  the  consequence?  We  have  increased  by  slow  degrees,  ex 
cept  negroes  and  convicts,  while  our  neighboring  colonies,  whose 
natural  advantages  are  greatly  inferior  to  ours,  have  become 
populous."*  He  also  wrote  to  Governor  Dinwiddie,  then  in  Eng 
land,  to  the  same  effect.  He  replied  that  it  would  be  difficult  to 
obtain  the  desired  exemption  for  the  Dutch  settlers,  but  promised  to 
use  his  utmost  endeavors  to  effect  it.  It  does  not  appear  whether 
the  ministry  ever  came  to  a  decision  on  this  subject.  The  non 
conformists  augured  favorably  of  Dinwiddie's  administration. 
The  Rev.  Jonathan  Edwards,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  Rev.  John 
Erskine,  of  the  Kirk  of  Scotland,  says:  "What  you  write  of  the 
appointment  of  a  gentleman  to  the  office  of  lieutenant-governor  of 
Virginia,  who  is  a  friend  to  religion,  is  an  event  that  the  friends  of 
religion  in  America  have  great  reason  to  rejoice  in,  by  reason  of 
the  late  revival  of  religion  in  that  province,  and  the  opposition 
that  has  been  made  against  it,  and  the  great  endeavors  to  crush 
it  by  many  of  the  chief  men  of  the  province.  Mr.  Davies,  in  a 
letter  I  lately  received  from  him,  dated  March  2d,  1752,  men 
tions  the  same  thing.  His  words  are,  'We  have  a  new  governor 
who  is  a  candid,  condescending  gentleman.  And  as  he  has  been 
educated  in  the  Church  of  Scotland,  he  has  a  respect  for  the 
Presbyterians,  which  I  hope  is  a  happy  omen.' "  Jonathan  Ed 
wards  was  invited  in  the  summer  of  1751  to  come  and  settle  in 
Virginia,  and  a  handsome  sum  was  subscribed  for  his  support; 
but  he  was  installed  at  Stockbridge,  in  Massachusetts,  before  the 
messenger  from  Virginia  reached  him.f 

Dinwiddie,  the  new  governor,  an  able  man,  had  been  a  clerk 
to  a  collector  in  a  West  India  custom-house,  whose  enormous  de 
falcation  he  exposed  to  the  government ;  and  for  this  service,  it  is 
said,  he  was  promoted,  in  1741,  to  the  office  of  surveyor  of  the 


*  Sparks'  Writings  of  Washington,  ii.  481. 
f  Foote's  Sketches,  219. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  455 

customs  for  the  colonies,  and  now  to  the  post  of  governor  of  Vir 
ginia.  She  was  at  this  time  one  of  the  most  populous  and  the 
most  wealthy  of  all  the  Anglo-American  colonies.  Dinwiddie, 
upon  his  arrival,  gave  offence  by  declaring  the  king's  dissent  to 
certain  acts  which  Grooch  had  approved;  and  in  June,  1752,  the 
assembly  remonstrated  against  this  exercise  of  the  royal  prero 
gative;  but  their  remonstrance  proved  unavailing.  The  Virgi 
nians  were  in  the  habit  of  acquiring  lands  without  expense,  by 
means  of  a  warrant  of  a  survey  without  a  patent.  Dinwiddie 
found  a  million  of  unpatented  acres  thus  possessed,  and  he  esta 
blished,  with  the  advice  of  the  council,  a  fee  of  a  pistole  (equiva 
lent  to  three  dollars  and  sixty  cents)  for  every  seal  annexed  to  a 
grant.  Against  this  measure  the  assembly,  in  December,  1753, 
passed  strong  resolutions,  and  declared  that  whoever  should  pay 
that  fee  should  be  considered  a  betrayer  of  the  rights  of  the  peo 
ple;  and  they  sent  the  attorney-general,  Peyton  Randolph,  as 
their  agent,  to  England,  with  a  salary  of  two  thousand  pounds,  to 
procure  redress.  The  board  of  trade,  after  virtually  deciding  in 
favor  of  Dinwiddie,  recommended  a  compromise  of  the  dispute, 
and  advised  him  to  reinstate  Randolph  in  the  office  of  attorney- 
general,  as  the  times  required  harmony  and  mutual  confidence. 
The  assembly  appear  to  have  been  much  disturbed  upon  a  small 
occasion.  During  Randolph's  absence  Dinwiddie  wrote  to  a  cor 
respondent  in  England:  "I  have  had  a  great  deal  of  trouble  and 
uneasiness  from  the  factious  disputes  and  violent  heats  of  a  most 
impudent,  troublesome  party  here,  in  regard  to  that  silly  fee  of  a 
pistole ;  they  are  very  full  of  the  success  of  their  party,  which  I 
give  small  notice  to." 

The  natural  prejudice  felt  by  the  aristocracy  of  Virginia 
against  Dinwiddie,  as  an  untitled  Scotchman,  was  increased  by  a 
former  altercation  with  him.  When,  in  1741,  he  was  made 
surveyor-general  of  the  customs,  he  was  appointed,  as  his  prede 
cessors  had  been,  a  member  of  the  several  councils  of  the  colo 
nies.  Gooch  obeyed  the  order;  but  the  council,  prompted  by 
their  old  jealousy  of  the  surveyor-general's  interfering  with  their 
municipal  laws,  and  still  more  by  their  overweening  exclusive- 
ness,  refused  to  permit  him  to  act  with  them,  either  in  the  coun- 


456  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY  AND 

cil  or  on  the  bench.  The  board  of  trade  decided  the  controversy 
in  favor  of  Dinwiddie.* 

It  was  during  Dinwiddie's  administration  that  the  name  of 
George  Washington  began  to  attract  public  attention.  The 
curiosity  of  his  admirers  has  traced  the  family  back  to  the  Con 
quest.  Sir  William  Washington,  of  Packington,  in  the  County 
of  Kent,  married  a  sister  of  George  Yilliers,  Duke  of  Bucking 
ham,  and  favorite  of  Charles  the  First.  Lieutenant-Colonel 
James  Washington,  taking  up  arms  in  the  royal  cause,  lost  his 
life  at  the  siege  of  Pontefract  Castle.  Sir  Henry  Washington, 
son  and  heir  of  Sir  William,  distinguished  himself  while  serving 
under  Prince  Rupert,  at  the  storming  of  Bristol,  in  1643,  and 
again  a  few  years  after,  while  in  command  of  Worcester.  His 
uncles,  John  and  Lawrence  Washington,  in  the  year  1657,  emi 
grated  to  Virginia,  and  settled  in  Westmoreland.  John  married 
a  Miss  Anne  Pope,  and  resided  at  Bridge's  or  Bridge  Creek,  in 
that  county.  It  is  he  who  has  been  before  mentioned  as  com 
manding  the  Virginia  troops  against  the  Indians  not  long  before 
the  breaking  out  of  Bacon's  rebellion.  He  and  his  brother 
Lawrence  both  died  in  1677 ;  their  wills  are  preserved ;  they  both 
appear  to  have  had  estates  in  England  as  well  as  in  Virginia. 
His  grandson,  Augustine,  father  of  George,  born  in  1694,  mar 
ried  first  in  April,  1715,  Jane  Butler ;  and  their  two  sons,  Law 
rence  and  Augustine,  survived  their  childhood.  In  March,  1730, 
Augustine  Washington,  Sr.,  married  secondly,  Mary  Ball.  The 
issue  of  this  union  were  four  sons,  George,  Samuel,  John  Augus 
tine,  and  Charles,  and  two  daughters,  Elizabeth  or  Betty,  and 
Mildred,  who  died  an  infant.  George  Washington  was  born  on 
the  twenty-second  day  of  February,  N.  S.,  1732.  The  birth 
place  is  sometimes  called  Bridge's  Creek,  and  sometimes  Pope's 
Creek;  the  house  stood  about  a  mile  apart  between  the  two 
creeks,  but  nearer  to  Pope's.  Of  the  steep-roofed  house  which 
overlooked  the  Potomac,  a  brick  chimney  and  some  scattered 
bricks  alone  remain.  George,  it  is  seen,  was  the  eldest  child  of 
a  second  marriage. 

Not  long  after  his  birth  his  father  removed  to  a  seat  opposite 

*  Chalmers'  Hist,  of  Revolt  of  Amer.  Colonies,  ii.  199. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OP   VIRGINIA.  457 

Fredericksburg ;  and  this  was  the  scene  of  George's  boyhood; 
but  the  house  has  disappeared.  He  received  only  a  plain  Eng 
lish  education,  having  obtained  his  first  instruction  at  an  old  field 
school,  under  a  teacher  named  Hobby — the  parish  sexton.  The 
military  spirit  pervading  the  colony  reached  the  school ;  in  these 
military  amusements  George  Washington  was  predominant;  but 
he  found  a  competitor  in  William  Bustle. 

Augustine  Washington,  the  father  of  George,  died  in  April, 
1743,  aged  forty-nine  years.  He  left  a  large  estate.  Not  long 
afterwards  Lawrence  Washington  married  Anne,  eldest  daughter 
of  the  Honorable  William  Fairfax,  and  took  up  his  residence 
at  Mount  Vernon,  in  Fairfax  County.  Augustine  resided  at 
Bridge's  Creek,  and  married  Anne,  daughter  of  William  Aylett, 
Esq.,  of  Westmoreland  County.  George  remained  under  the 
care  of  his  mother,  and  was  sent  to  stay  for  a  time  with  his 
brother  Augustine,  to  go  to  a  school  under  charge  of  a  teacher 
named  Williams.  It  is  probable  that,  as  he  taught  him  his  daily 
lesson,  he  little  anticipated  the  figure  which  his  pupil  was  des 
tined  to  make  in  the  world.  While  he  became  thorough  in  what 
he  learned  he  became  expert  in  manly  and  athletic  exercises. 
As  he  advanced  in  years  he  was  a  frequent  guest  at  Mount  Ver 
non,  and  became  familiar  with  the  Fairfax  family  at  Belvoir, 
(called  in  England  Beaver,)  a  few  miles  below,  on  the  Potomac. 

In  the  year  1747,  when  George  was  in  his  fourteenth  year,  a 
midshipman's  warrant  was  obtained  for  him  by  his  brother  Law 
rence.  His  father-in-law,  William  Fairfax,  in  September  of  the 
preceding  year,  had  written  to  him:  "George  has  been  with  us, 
and  says  he  will  be  steady,  and  thankfully  follow  your  advice  as 
his  best  friend."  From  his  promise  to  be  steady,  it  may  be  in 
ferred  that  he  was  then  not  so.  And  from  his  consenting  to  fol 
low  thankfully  his  brother's  advice,  it  would  appear  that  the  plan 
of  his  going  to  sea  originated  with  Lawrence,  and  not  from 
George's  strong  bent  that  way,  as  has  been  commonly  stated. 

While  the  matter  was  still  undetermined,  his  uncle,  Joseph 
Ball,  who,  having  married  an  English  lady,  had  settled  as  a  law 
yer  in  London,  wrote  as  follows  to  his  sister  Mary,  the  mother 
of  Washington,  in  a  letter  dated  at  Strafford-by-Bow,  May  the 
19th,  1747:  "I  understand  that  you  are  advised,  and  have  some 


458  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLONY  AND 

thoughts  of  putting  your  son  George  to  sea.  I  think  he  had 
better  be  put  apprentice  to  a  tinker;  for  a  common  sailor  before 
the  mast  has  by  no  means  the  liberty  of  the  subject;  for  they 
will  press  him  from  a  ship  where  he  has  fifty  shillings  a  month, 
and  make  him  take  twenty-three,  and  cut,  and  slash,  and  use  him 
like  a  negro,  or  rather  like  a  dog.  And  as  to  any  considerable 
preferment  in  the  navy,  it  is  not  to  be  expected,  as  there  are 
always  so  many  gaping  for  it  here  who  have  interest,  and  he  has 
none.  And  if  he  should  get  to  be  master  of  a  Virginia  ship, 
(which  it  is  very  difficult  to  do,)  a  planter  that  has  three  or  four 
hundred  acres  of  land,  and  three  or  four  slaves,  if  he  be  indus 
trious,  may  live  more  comfortably  and  have  his  family  in  better 
bread,  than  such  a  master  of  a  ship  can.  He  must  not  be  too 
hasty  to  be  rich,  but  go  on  gently  and  with  patience  as  things 
will  naturally  go.  This  method  without  aiming  at  being  a  fine 
gentleman  before  his  time,  will  carry  a  man  more  comfortably 
and  surely  through  the  world  than  going  to  sea,  unless  it  be  a 
great  chance  indeed.  I  pray  God  keep  you  and  yours. 
"Your  loving  brother, 

"JOSEPH  BALL."* 

At  length  the  mother's  affectionate  opposition  prevented  the 
execution  of  this  scheme.  George  Washington  now  devoted 
himself  to  his  studies,  especially  the  mathematics  and  surveying. 

The  marriage  of  his  brother,  Lawrence  Washington,  with  Miss 
Fairfax,  introduced  George  to  the  favor  of  Thomas  Lord  Fair 
fax,  proprietor  of  the  Northern  Neck,  who  gave  him  an  appoint 
ment  as  surveyor.  He  was  now  little  more  than  sixteen  years 
of  age.  After  crossing  the  Blue  Ridge,  the  surveying  party, 
including  George  Fairfax,  entered  a  wilderness  where  they  were 
exposed  to  the  inclemency  of  the  season,  and  subjected  to  hard 
ship  and  fatigue.  It  was  in  the  month  of  March,  in  the  eventful 
year  1748;  snow  yet  lingered  on  the  mountain-tops,  and  the 
streams  were  swollen  into  torrents.  The  survey-lands  lay  on  the 
Shenandoah,  near  the  site  of  Winchester,  and  beyond  the  first 
range  of  the  Alleghanies,  on  the  south  branch  of  the  Potomac, 

*  Bishop  Meade's  Old  Churches,  etc. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  459 

about  seventy  miles  above  Harper's  Ferry.  This  kind  of  life 
was  well  fitted  to  train  young  Washington  for  his  future  career : 
a  knowledge  of  topography  taught  him  how  to  select  a  ground 
for  encampment  or  for  battle ;  while  hardy  exercise  and  exposure 
invigorated  a  frame  naturally  athletic,  and  fitted  him  to  endure 
the  privations  and  encounter  the  dangers  of  military  life.  He 
now  became  acquainted  with  the  temper  and  habits  of  the  people 
of  the  frontier,  and  the  Indians ;  and  grew  familiar  with  the  wild 
country  which  was  to  be  the  scene  of  his  early  military  opera 
tions.  His  regular  pay  was  a  doubloon  (seven  dollars  and  twenty 
cents)  a  day,  and  occasionally  six  pistoles  (twenty-one  dollars 
and  sixty  cents.) 

Appointed  by  the  president  of  William  and  Mary  College,  in 
July,  1749,  a  public  surveyor,  he  continued  to  engage  in  this 
pursuit  for  three  years,  except  during  the  rigor  of  the  winter 
months.  Lord  Fairfax  had  taken  up  his  residence  at  Greenway 
Court,  thirteen  miles  southeast  of  the  site  of  Winchester.  A 
graduate  of  Oxford,  accustomed  to  that  society  in  England  to 
which  his  rank  entitled  him,  fond  of  literature,  and  having  con 
tributed  some  numbers  to  the  Spectator,  this  nobleman,  owing  to 
a  disappointment  in  love,  had  come  to  superintend  his  vast  landed 
possessions,  embracing  twenty-one  large  counties,  and  live  in  the 
secluded  Valley  of  the  Shenandoah.  Here  Washington,  the 
youthful  surveyor,  was  a  frequent  inmate;  and  here  he  indulged 
his  taste  for  hunting,  and  improved  himself  by  reading  and  con 
versing  with  Lord  Fairfax. 


CHAPTER    LX. 

French  Encroachments — Mission  of  Washington — Virginia  resists  the  French — 
First  Engagement  —  Death  of  Jumonville  —  Lieutenant-Colonel  Washington 
retreats — Surrenders  at  Fort  Necessity. 

AT  the  age  of  nineteen,  in  1751,  Washington  was  appointed  one 
of  the  adjutants-general  of  Virginia,  with  the  rank  of  major.  In 
the  autumn  of  that  year  he  accompanied  his  brother  Lawrence, 
then  in  declining  health,  to  Barbadoes,  in  the  West  Indies,  who 
returned  to  Virginia,  and  after  lingering  for  awhile  died  at  Mount 
Vernon,  aged  thirty-four. 

In  the  same  year  also  died  the  Rev.  William  Dawson,  Commis 
sary  and  President  of  William  and  Mary  College.  Davies  ex 
presses  veneration  for  his  memory. 

After  the  arrival  of  Governor  Dinwiddie,  the  colony  was 
divided  into  four  military  districts,  and  the  northern  one  was 
allotted  to  Major  Washington.  France  was  now  undertaking  to 
stretch  a  chain  of  posts  from  Canada  to  Louisiana,  in  order  to 
secure  a  control  over  the  boundless  and  magnificent  regions  west 
of  the  Alleghanies,  which  she  claimed  by  a  vague  title  of  La 
Salle's  discovery.  The  French  deposited,  (1749,)  under  ground, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Kenhawa  and  other  places,  leaden  plates,  on 
which  was  inscribed  the  claim  of  Louis  the  Fifteenth  to  the  whole 
country  watered  by  the  Ohio  and  its  tributaries.  England  claimed 
the  same  territory  upon  a  ground  equally  slender — the  cession 
made  by  the  Iroquois  at  the  treaty  of  Lancaster.  A  more 
tenable  ground  was,  that  from  the  first  discovery  of  Virginia, 
England  had  claimed  the  territory  to  the  north  and  northwest 
from  ocean  to  ocean,  and  that  the  region  in  question  was  the 
contiguous  back  country  of  her  settlements.  The  title  of  the 
native  tribes  actually  inhabiting  the  country  commanded  no  con 
sideration  from  the  contending  powers.  The  French  troops  had 
now  commenced  establishing  posts  in  the  territory  on  the  Ohio 
claimed  by  Virginia.  Dinwiddie  having  communicated  information 
(460) 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OE   VIRGINIA.  461 

of  these  encroachments  to  his  government,  had  been  instructed 
to  repel  force  by  force  if  necessary,  after  he  had  remonstrated 
•with  them ;  he  had  also  received  a  supply  of  cannon  and  warlike 
stores.  A  treaty  with  the  Ohio  tribes  was  held  September,  1753, 
at  Winchester,  when,  in  exchange  for  presents  of  arms  and  am 
munition,  they  promised  their  aid,  and  consented  that  a  fortlet 
should  be  erected  by  the  governor  of  Virginia  on  the  Mononga- 
hela. 

Dinwiddie,  deeming  it  necessary  to  remonstrate  against  the 
French  encroachments,  found  in  Major  Washington  a  trusty  mes 
senger,  who  cheerfully  undertook  the  hazardous  mission.  Start 
ing  from  Williamsburg  on  the  last  day  of  October,  he  reached 
Fredericksburg  on  the  next  day,  and  there  engaged  as  French 
interpreter  Jacob  Van  Braam,  who  had  served  in  the  Carthagena 
expedition  under  Lawrence  Washington.  At  Alexandria  they 
provided  necessaries,  and  at  Winchester  baggage  and  horses, 
and  reached  Will's  Creek,  now  Cumberland  River,  on  the  four 
teenth  of  November.  Thence,  accompanied  by  Van  Braam, 
Gist,  and  four  other  attendants,  he  traversed  a  savage  wilder 
ness,  over  rugged  mountains  covered  with  snow,  and  across  rapid 
swollen  rivers.  He  reconnoitred  the  face  of  the  country  with  a 
sagacious  eye,  and  selected  the  confluence  of  the  Alleghany  and 
Monongahela  Rivers,  where  they  form  the  beautiful  Ohio,  as  an 
eligible  site  for  a  fort.  Fort  Du  Quesne  was  afterwards  erected 
there  by  the  French.  After  conferring,  through  an  Indian 
interpreter,  with  Tanacharisson,  called  the  half-king,  (as  his 
authority  was  somewhat  subordinate  to  that  of  the  Iroquois,) 
Washington  provided  himself  with  Indian  guides,  and,  accom 
panied  by  the  half-king  and  some  other  chiefs,  set  out  for  the 
French  post.  Ascending  the  Alleghany  River  by  way  of  Ve- 
nango,  he  at  length  delivered  Dinwiddie's  letter  to  the  French 
commander,  Monsieur  Le  Gardeur  de  St.  Pierre,  a  courteous 
Knight  of  the  Order  of  St.  Louis.  Detained  there  some  days, 
young  Washington  examined  the  fort,  and  prepared  a  plan  and 
description  of  it.  It  was  situated  on  a  branch  of  French  Creek, 
about  fifteen  miles  south  of  Lake  Erie,  and  about  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  from  Williamsburg.  When  he-  departed  with  a  sealed 
reply,  a  canoe  was  hospitably  stocked  with  liquors  and  provisions, 


462  HISTORY  OF  THE  COLONY  AND 

but  the  French  gave  him  no  little  anxiety  by  their  intrigues  to 
win  the  half-king  over  to  their  interests,  and  to  retain  him  at  the 
fort.  Getting  away  at  last  with  much  difficulty,  after  a  perilous 
voyage  of  six  days  they  reached  Venango,  where  they  met  their 
horses.  They  growing  weak,  and  being  given  up  for  packs, 
Washington  put  on  an  Indian  dress  and  proceeded  with  the 
party  for  three  days,  when,  committing  the  conduct  of  them 
to  Van  Braam,  he  determined  to  return  in  advance.  With  an 
Indian  match-coat  tied  around,  taking  his  papers  with  him,  and  a 
pack  on  his  back  and  a  gun  in  his  hand,  he  proceeded  on  foot, 
accompanied  by  Gist.  At  a  place  of  ill-omened  name,  Murder- 
ingtown,  on  the  southeast  fork  of  Beaver  Creek,  they  met  with  a 
band  of  French  Indians  lying  in  wait  for  them,  and  one  of  them, 
being  employed  as  a  guide,  fired  at  either  Gist  or  the  major,  at 
the  distance  of  fifteen  steps,  but  missed.  Gist  would  have  killed 
the  Indian  at  once,  but  he  was  prevented  by  the  prudence  of 
Washington.  They,  however,  captured  and  detained  him  till 
nine  o'clock  at  night,  when  releasing  him,  they  pursued  their 
course  during  the  whole  night.  Upon  reaching  the  Alleghany 
River  they  employed  a  whole  day  in  making  a  raft  with  the  aid 
only  of  a  hatchet.  Just  as  the  sun  was  sinking  behind  the  moun 
tains  they  launched  the  raft  and  undertook  to  cross :  the  river 
was  covered  with  ice,  driving  down  the  impetuous  stream,  by 
which,  before  they  were  half  way  over,  they  were  blocked  up  and 
near  being  sunk.  Washington,  putting  out  his  setting-pole  to 
stop  the  raft,  was  thrown  by  the  revulsion  into  the  water,  but 
recovered  himself  by  catching  hold  of  one  of  the  logs.  He 
and  his  companion,  forced  to  abandon  it,  betook  themselves 
to  an  island  near  at  hand,  where  they  passed  the  night,  Decem 
ber  the  twenty-ninth,  in  wet  clothes  and  without  fire:  Gist's 
hands  and  feet  were  frozen.  In  the  morning  they  were  able  to 
cross  on  the  ice,  and  they  passed  two  or  three  days  at  a  trading- 
post  near  the  spot  where  the  battle  of  the  Monongahela  was 
afterwards  fought.  Here  they  heard  of  the  recent  massacre  of  a 
white  family  on  the  banks  of  the  Great  Kenhawa.  Washington 
visited  Queen  Aliquippa  at  the  mouth  of  the  Youghiogeny.  At 
Gist's  house,  on  the  Monongahela,  he  purchased  a  horse,  and, 
separating  from  this  faithful  companion,  proceeded  to  Belvoir, 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  463 

where  he  rested  one  day,  and  arrived  at  Williamsburg  on  the 
16th  day  of  January,  1754,  after  an  absence  of  eleven  weeks, 
and  a  journey  of  fifteen  hundred  miles,  one-half  of  it  being 
through  an  untrodden  wilderness.  A  journal  which  he  kept  was 
published  in  the  colonial  newspapers  and  in  England.  For  this 
hazardous  and  painful  journey  he  received  no  compensation  save 
the  bare  amount  of  his  expenses. 

The  governor  and  council  resolved  to  raise  two  companies,  of 
one  hundred  men  each,  the  one  to  be  enlisted  by  him  at  Alex 
andria,  and  the  other  by  Captain  Trent  on  the  frontier,  the  com 
mand  of  both  being  given  to  Washington.  He  received  orders  to 
march  as  soon  as  practicable  to  the  fork  of  the  Ohio,  and  com 
plete  a  fort,  supposed  to  have  been  already  commenced  there  by 
the  Ohio  Company.  The  assembly  which  met  December,  1753, 
refused  Dinwiddie  supplies  for  resisting  the  French  encroach 
ments,  "because  they  thought  their  privileges  in  danger,"  and 
they  did  not  apprehend  much  danger  from  the  French.  The 
governor  called  the  assembly  together  again  in  January,  1754, 
when  at  length,  after  much  persuasion,  they  appropriated  ten 
thousand  pounds  of  the  colonial  currency  for  protecting  the  fron 
tier  against  the  hostile  attempts  of  the  French.  The  bill,  how 
ever,  was  clogged  with  provisoes  against  the  encroachments  of 
prerogative.  Dinwiddie  increased  the  military  force  to  a  regi 
ment  of  three  hundred  men,  and  the  command  was  given  to 
Colonel  Joshua  Fry,  and  Major  Washington  was  made  lieutenant- 
colonel.  Cannon  and  other  military  equipments  were  sent  to 
Alexandria.  The  English  minister,  the  Earl  of  Holdernesse,  also 
ordered  the  governor  of  New  York  to  furnish  two  independent 
companies,  and  the  governor  of  South  Carolina  one,  to  co-operate 
in  this  enterprise. 

Early  in  April,  1754,  Washington,  with  two  companies,  pro 
ceeded  to  the  Great  Meadows.  At  Will's  Creek,  on  the  twenty- 
fifth,  he  learned  that  an  ensign,  in  command  of  Trent's  company, 
had  surrendered,  on  the  seventeenth,  the  unfinished  fort  at  the 
fork  of  the  Ohio,  (now  Pittsburg,)  to  a  large  French  force,  which 
had  come  down  under  Contrecoeur  from  Venango,  with  many 
pieces  of  cannon,  batteaux,  canoes,  and  a  large  body  of  men. 
Tins  was  regarded  as  the  first  open  act  of  hostility  between 


464  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

prance  and  England  in  North  America.  In  the  war  which  en 
sued  Great  Britain  indeed  triumphed  gloriously,  yet  that  triumph 
served  only  to  bring  on  in  its  train  the  revolt  of  the  colonies  and 
the  dismemberment  of  the  empire. 

"Washington,  upon  hearing  of  the  surrender  of  the  fort,  marched 
slowly  for  the  mouth  of  Red  Stone  Creek,  preparing  the  roads 
for  the  passage  of  cannon  which  were  to  follow.  Governor  Din- 
widdie,  about  the  same  time,  repaired  to  Winchester  for  the  pur 
pose  of  holding  a  treaty  with  the  Indians,  which,  however,  failed, 
only  two  or  three  chiefs  of  inferior  note  attending. 

Virginia  refused  to  send  delegates  to  the  Albany  Convention; 
and  the  assembly  and  governor  united  in  disapproving  of  Frank 
lin's  Plan  of  Union,  adopted  on  that  occasion.  Dinwiddie  during 
the  previous  year  had  proposed  to  Lord  Halifax  a  plan  of  colo 
nial  government,  dividing  the  colonies  into  two  districts,  northern 
and  southern,  in  each  of  which  there  should  be  a  congress,  or 
general  council,  for  the  regulation  of  their  respective  interests. 

The  money  appropriated  by  the  assembly  for  the  support  of 
the  troops  was  expended  under  the  care  of  a  committee  of  the 
assembly,  associated  with  the  governor,  and  the  niggardly 
economy  of  this  committee  gave  great  disgust  to  Washington  and 
the  officers  under  him.  He  declared  that  he  would  prefer  serving 
as  a  volunteer  to  "slaving  dangerously  for  the  shadow  of  pay 
through  woods,  rocks,  mountains."  Expecting  a  collision  with 
the  enemy,  he  wrote  to  Governor  Dinwiddie,  "We  have  prepared 
a  charming  field  for  an  encounter."  Ascertaining  that  a  French 
reconnoitering  detachment  was  near  his  camp,  and  believing  their 
intentions  hostile,  he  determined  to  anticipate  them.  Guided  by 
friendly  Indians,  in  a  dark  and  rainy  night  he  approached  the 
French  encampment,  and  early  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  May, 
with  forty  of  his  own  men  and  a  few  Indians,  surrounded  the 
French.  A  skirmish  ensued;  M.  De  Jumonville,  the  officer  in 
command,  and  ten  of  his  party  were  killed,  and  twenty-two  made 
prisoners.  Several  of  them  appeared  to  have  a  mixture  of  In 
dian  blood  in  them.  The  death  of  Jumonville  created  no  little 
indignation  in  France,  and  became  the  subject  of  a  French  poem. 
It  is  said  that  Washington,  in  referring  to  this  affair,  remarked 
that  "  he  knew  of  no  music  so  pleasing  as  the  whistling  of  bullets." 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  465 

This  being  mentioned  in  the  presence  of  George  the  Second,  he 
observed,  "He  would  not  say  so  if  he  had  been  used  to  hear 
many."  The  king  had  himself  fought  at  the  battle  of  Dettingen. 
Inquiry  being  many  years  afterwards  made  of  Washington  as  to 
the  expression,  he  replied,  "  If  I  said  so,  it  was  when  I  was  young." 
Charles  the  Twelfth,  of  Sweden,  expressed  delight  when  he  first 
heard  the  whistling  of  bullets.  Of  Washington's  men  one  was 
killed  and  two  or  three  were  wounded.  While  the  regiment  was 
on  its  march  to  join  the  detachment  in  advance,  the  command  de 
volved,  at  the  end  of  May,  on  Lieutenant-Colonel  Washington  by 
the  death  of  Colonel  Fry.  This  officer,  a  native  of  England,  was 
educated  at  Oxford.  Coming  over  to  Virginia,  he  appears  to 
have  resided  for  a  time  in  the  County  of  Essex.  He  was  some 
time  professor  of  mathematics  in  the  College  of  William  and 
Mary,  and  afterwards  a  member  of  the  house  of  burgesses,  and 
engaged  in  running  a  boundary  line  between  Virginia  and  North 
Carolina  to  the  westward.  In  concert  with  Peter  Jefferson, 
father  of  Thomas,  he  made  a  map  of  Virginia,  and  he  was,  as  has 
been  mentioned  before,  a  commissioner  at  the  treaty  of  Logstown, 
in  June,  1752.  He  died  universally  lamented. 

Washington,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  Governor  Dinwiddie  about 
this  time,  said:  "For  my  own  part,  I  can  answer  that  I  have  a 
constitution  hardy  enough  to  encounter  and  undergo  the  most 
severe  trials,  and  I  flatter  myself,  resolution  to  face  what  any 
man  dares,  as  shall  be  proved  when  it  comes  to  the  test,  which  I 
believe  we  are  upon  the  borders  of."  The  provisions  of  the  de 
tachment  being  nearly  exhausted,  and  the  ground  occupied  dis 
advantageous,  and  the  French  at  the  fork  of  the  Ohio,  now  called 
Fort  Du  Quesne,  having  been  reinforced,  and  being  about  to 
march  against  the  English,  a  council  of  war,  held  June  the  twenty- 
eighth,  at  Gist's  house,  thirteen  miles  beyond  the  Great  Meadows, 
advised  a  retreat,  and  Colonel  Washington  fell  back  to  the  post 
at  the  Great  Meadows,  now  styled  Fort  Necessity,  which  he 
reached  on  the  first  of  July.  His  force,  amounting,  wTith  the  ad 
dition  of  an  independent  company  of  South  Carolinians,  to  about 
four  hundred  men,  were  at  once  set  to  work  to  raise  a  breast 
work  and  to  strengthen  the  fortification  as  far  as  possible.  Forty 
or  fifty  Indian  families  took  shelter  in  the  fort,  and  among  them 

30 


466  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

Tanacharisson,  or  the  half-king,  and  Queen  Aliquippa.  They 
proved  to  be  of  more  trouble  than  advantage,  being  as  spies  and 
scouts  of  some  service  when  rewarded,  but  in  the  fort  useless. 
Before  the  completion  of  the  ditch,  M.  De  Villiers,  a  brother  of 
De  Jumonville,  appeared  on  the  3d  of  July,  1754,  in  front  of  the 
fort  with  nine  hundred  men,  and  at  eleven  o'clock  A.M.,  com 
menced  an  attack  by  firing  at  the  distance  of  six  hundred  yards, 
but  without  effect.  The  assailants  fought,  under  cover  of  the 
trees  and  high  grass,  on  rising  ground  near  the  fort.  They  were 
received  with  intrepidity  by  the  Americans.  Some  of  the  In 
dians  climbed  up  trees  overlooking  the  fort,  and  fired  on  Wash 
ington's  men,  who  returned  the  compliment  in  such  style  that  the 
red  men  slipped  down  the  trees  with  the  celerity  of  monkeys, 
which  excited  a  loud  laugh  among  the  Virginians. 

The  rain  fell  heavily  during  the  day;  the  trenches  were  filled 
with  water;  and  many  of  the  arms  of  Washington's  men  were 
out  of  order.  The  desultory  engagement  lasted  till  eight  o'clock 
in  the  evening,  when  the  French  commander,  having  twice 
sounded  a  parley,  and  the  stock  of  provisions  and  ammunition 
in  the  fort  being  much  reduced,  it  was  accepted.  About  mid 
night,  during  a  heavy  rain,  one  half  of  the  garrison  being  drunk, 
a  capitulation  took  place,  after  the  articles  had  been  modified  in 
some  points  at  Washington's  instance.  The  French  at  first  de 
manded  a  surrender  of  the  cannon ;  but  this  being  resisted  it  was 
agreed  that  they  should  be  destroyed,  except  one  small  piece  re 
served  by  the  garrison  upon  the  point  of  honor;  but  which  they 
were  eventually  unable  to  remove. 

These  guns,  probably  only  spiked  and  abandoned,  were  subse 
quently  restored,  and  lay  for  a  long  time  on  the  Great  Meadows. 
After  the  Revolution  it  was  an  amusement  of  settlers  moving 
westward,  to  discharge  them.  They  were  at  last  removed  to 
Kentucky. 

The  troops  were  to  retain  their  other  arms  and  baggage;  to 
march  out  with  drums  beating  and  colors  flying,  and  return  home 
unmolested.  The  terms  of  the  surrender,  as  published  at  the  time 
from  the  duplicate  copy  retained  by  Colonel  Washington,  implied 
("by  the  too  great  condescension  of  Van  Braam,"  the  inter 
preter)  an  acknowledgment  on  his  part  that  M.  de  Jumonville 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  467 

had  been  "assassinated."  It  appears  that  Washington  was  mis 
led  by  the  inaccuracy  of  Van  Braam  in  translating  the  word,  he 
being  a  Dutchman,  and  the  only  officer  in  the  garrison  who  was 
acquainted  with  the  French  language.  It  was  so  stormy  at  the 
time  that  he  could  not  give  a  written  translation  of  the  articles, 
and  they  could  scarcely  keep  a  candle  lighted  to  read  them  by, 
so  that  it  became  necessary  to  rely  upon  the  interpreter's  word. 
The  American  officers  present  afterwards  averred  that  the  word 
"assassination"  was  not  mentioned,  and  that  the  terms  employed 
were,  "the  death  of  Jumonville."  The  affair  is  involved  in  ob 
scurity:  for  why  should  the  French  require  Washington  to 
acknowledge  himself  the  author  of  "his  death,"  unless  the  killing 
was  unjustifiable?  On  the  other  hand,  with  what  consistency 
could  Yillicrs  allow  such  honorable  terms  in  the  same  articles  in 
which  it  was  demanded  of  Washington  that  he  should  sign  a 
confession  of  his  own  disgrace? 

Of  the  Virginia  regiment,  three  hundred  and  five  in  number, 
twelve  were  killed,  and  forty-three  wounded.  The  loss  sustained 
by  Captain  Mackay's  Independent  Company  was  not  ascertained. 
Villiers'  loss  was  three  killed,  and  seventeen  dangerously  wounded. 
The  horses  and  cattle  having  been  captured  or  killed  by  the 
enemy,  it  was  found  necessary  to  abandon  a  large  part  of  the 
baggage  and  stores,  and  to  convey  the  remainder,  with  the 
wounded,  on  the  backs  of  the  soldiers.  Washington  had  agreed 
to  restore  the  prisoners  taken  at  the  skirmish  with  Jumonville ; 
and  to  insure  this,  two  captains,  Van  Braam  and  Stobo,  were 
given  up  as  hostages. 

Washington,  early  on  the  4th  of  July,  1754,  perhaps  the  most 
humiliating  of  his  life,  marched  out  according  to  the  terms;  but 
in  the  confusion  the  Virginia  standard,  which  wTas  very  large,  was 
left  behind,  and  was  carried  off  in  triumph  by  the  enemy.  But 
the  regimental  colors  were  preserved.  In  a  short  time  the  Vir 
ginians  met  a  body  of  Indians  who  plundered  the  baggage,  and 
were  with  difficulty  restrained  from  attacking  the  men.  Wash 
ington  hastened  back  to  Will's  Creek,  whence  he  proceeded  to 
Vulliamsburg.  The  assembly  voted  him  and  his  officers  thanks, 
and  gave  him  three  hundred  pistoles  to  be  distributed  among  his 
men ;  but  dissatisfaction  was  expressed  at  some  of  the  articles  of 


468  ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA. 

capitulation  when  they  came  to  be  made  public.*  Among  the 
prisoners  taken  at  the  time  when  Jumonville  was  killed,  was  La 
Force,  who,  on  account  of  his  influence  among  the  Indians,  was 
looked  upon  as  a  dangerous  character,  and  was  imprisoned  at 
Williamsburg.  He  managed  to  escape  from  prison  in  the  summer 
of  1756,  but  was  recaptured  near  West  Point;  and  he  was  now 
kept  in  irons.  This  severe  usage,  and  his  being  detained  by  Din- 
widdie  a  prisoner,  in  violation  of  the  treaty  of  Fort  Necessity, 
cannot  be  justified,  and  was  unjust  to  Stobo  and  Van  Braam, 
who  were,  consequently,  long  retained  as  prisoners  of  Avar,  and 
for  some  time  confined  in  prison  at  Quebec.  It  is  true  that  the 
French  suffered  the  Indians  to  violate  the  article  of  the  treaty 
securing  the  troops  from  molestation;  but  an  excuse  might  be 
found  in  the  difficulty  of  restraining  savages. 

Much  blame  was  laid  on  poor  Van  Braam  at  the  time,  and  in 
the  thanks  voted  by  the  assembly  his  name  was  excepted,  as 
having  acted  treacherously  in  interpreting  the  treaty.  "VVashing- 
ington,  who  had  shortly  before  the  surrender  pronounced  him 
"an  experienced,  good  officer,  and  very  worthy  of  the  command 
he  has  enjoyed,"  appears  to  have  been  at  a  loss  whether  to  attri 
bute  his  misinterpretation  to  "evil  intentions  or  negligence,"  but 
was  rather  disposed  to  believe  that  it  was  owing  to  his  being  but 
little  acquainted  with  the  English  language.  Van  Braam  ap 
pears  to  have  been  rather  hardly  judged  in  this  affair. f  Stobo,  a 
native  of  Scotland,  who  emigrated  early  to  Virginia,  was  brave, 
energetic,  and  a  man  of  genius,  but  eccentric;  his  fidelity  was 
never  doubted.  He  was  an  acquaintance  of  David  Hume,  and 
a  friend  of  Smollett,  and  was,  it  is  said,  the  original  of  the  charac 
ter  of  Lismahago. 

*  Washington's  Writings,  ii.  456. 

f  Ibid.,  ii.  305,  456;  Va.  Hist.  Register,  v.  194;  Hist,  of  Expedition  against 
Fort  Du  Quesne,  edited  by  Winthrop  Sargent,  Esq.,  ajid  published  by  the  Penn 
sylvania  Hist.  Society,  51. 


CHAPTER    LXL 

17'£54-17'o£5. 

Dinwiddie's  injudicious  Orders — Washington  resigns  —  Statistics  —  Braddock's 
arrival — Washington  joins  him  as  aid-de-camp — Braddock's  Expedition — His 
Defeat — Washington's  Bravery — His  account  of  the  Defeat. 

THE  Virginia  regiment  quartered  at  Winchester  being  re-en 
forced  by  some  companies  from  Maryland  and  North  Carolina, 
Dinwiddie  injudiciously  ordered  this  force  to  march  at  once  again 
over  the  Alleghanies,  and  expel  the  French  from  Fort  Du 
Quesne,  or  build  another  near  it.  This  little  army  was  under 
command  of  Colonel  Innes,  of  North  Carolina,  who,  having 
brought  three  hundred  and  fifty  men  with  him  from  that  colony, 
had  been  appointed,  upon  Colonel  Fry's  death,  commander-in- 
chief.  Innes  had  been  with  Lawrence  Washington  at  Cartha- 
gena.  The  force  under  Innes  did  not  exceed  half  the  number  of 
the  enemy,  and  was  unprovided  for  a  winter  campaign.  The 
assembly  making  no  appropriation  for  the  expedition,  it  was  for 
tunately  abandoned. 

Two  independent  companies,  ordered  from  New  York  by  Din 
widdie,  arrived  in  Hampton  Roads,  in  his  majesty's  ship  Centaur, 
Captain  Dudley  Digges,  in  June,  1754.  They  were  marched  to 
Will's  Creek,  where  they  were  joined  by  an  independent  company 
from  South  Carolina;  and  these  troops,  under  command  of  Colo 
nel  Innes,  during  the  autumn,  built  Fort  Cumberland  in  the  fork 
between  Will's  Creek  and  the  north  branch  of  the  Potomac,  on 
the  Maryland  side,  about  fifty-five  miles  northwest  of  Winches 
ter.  It  was  called  after  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  captain- 
general  of  the  British  army.  The  fort  was  mounted  with  ten 
four-pounders,  and  some  swivels;  and  contained  magazines  and 
barracks.  A  prosperous  town  has  arisen  on  the  spot. 

The  North  Carolina  troops  at  Winchester,  not  duly  receiving 
their  pay,  disbanded  themselves  in  a  disorderly  way,  and  re 
turned  home.  Dinwiddie  wrote  to  the  board  of  trade  that  "the 

(469) 


470  HISTORY    OP    THE    COLONY   AND 

progress  of  tnc  French  would  never  be  effectually  opposed,  but 
by  means  of  an  act  of  parliament  compelling  the  colonies  to  con 
tribute  to  the  common  cause  independently  of  assemblies;"  and 
to  the  secretary  of  state:  "I  know  of  no  method  to  compel 
them  to  their  duty  to  the  king,  but  by  an  act  of  parliament  for  a 
general  poll-tax  of  two  shillings  and  six  pence  a  head,  from  all 
the  colonies  on  this  continent."  This  scheme  had  been  sug 
gested  a  long  time  before. 

In  1738  the  assembly  of  Virginia,  which  had  long  exercised 
the  right  of  choosing  a  treasurer,  had  placed  their  speaker,  John 
Robinson,  in  that  office;  and  he  continuing  to  hold  both  places 
for  many  years,  exerted  an  undue  influence  over  the  assembly  by 
lending  the  public  money  to  the  members.  Dinwiddie  ruled  on 
ordinary  occasions,  but  Robinson  was  dictator  in  all  extraordi 
nary  emergencies.* 

When  the  assembly  met  in  October,  1754,  they  granted  twenty 
thousand  pounds  for  the  public  exigencies;  Maryland  and  New 
York  also  contributed  their  quotas  to  the  common  cause ;  and  Din 
widdie  received  ten  thousand  pounds  from  England.  He  now 
enlarged  the  Virginia  forces  to  ten  companies,  under  the  pretext 
of  peremptory  orders  from  England,  and  made  each  of  them 
independent,  with  a  view,  as  was  alleged,  of  terminating  the  dis 
putes  between  the  regular  and  provincial  officers  respecting 
command.  The  effect  of  this  upon  Washington  would  have  been 
to  reduce  him  to  the  grade  of  captain,  and  to  subject  him  to 
officers  whom  he  had  commanded;  officers  of  the  same  rank,  but 
holding  the  king's  commission,  would  rank  before  him.  This 
would  have  been  the  more  mortifying  to  him,  after  the  catas 
trophe  of  the  Great  Meadows.  He,  therefore,  although  his 
inclinations  were  still  strongly  bent  to  arms,  resigned,  and  passed 
the  winter  at  Mount  Vernon.  He  was  now  twenty-two  years  of 
age. 

In  the  meanwhile  Horatio  Sharpe,  professionally  a  military 
man,  and  Lord  Baltimore's  lieutenant-governor  of  Maryland, 
was  appointed  by  the  crown  commander-in-chief  of  the  forces 
against  the  French.  Colonel  William  Fitzhugh,  of  Virginia, 

*  Chalmers'  Revolt,  ii.  353. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  471 

who  was  to  command  in  the  absence  of  Sharpe,  had  endeavored 
to  persuade  Washington  to  continue  in  the  service,  retaining  for 
the  present  his  commission  of  colonel.  Replying  in  November, 
1754,  he  said:  "If  you  think  me  capable  of  holding  a  commis 
sion  that  has  neither  rank  nor  emolument  annexed  to  it,  you 
must  entertain  a  very  contemptible  opinion  of  my  weakness,  and 
believe  me  to  be  more  empty  than  the  commission  itself." 
Washington  was  dissatisfied  with  Dinwiddie's  action  in  this 


o 

matter. 


The  population  of  the  American  colonies  at  'this  period  was 
estimated  at  1,485,000,  of  whom  292,000  were  blacks,  and  the 
number  of  fighting  men  240,000;  while  the  French  population 
in  Canada  was  not  over  90,000.  Virginia  was  reckoned  the  first 
of  the  colonies  in  power,  Massachusetts  the  second,  Pennsylvania 
the  third,  and  Maryland  the  fourth ;  and  either  one  of  these  had 
greater  resources  than  Canada.  Yet  the  power  of  the  French 
was  more  concentrated;  they  were  better  fitted  for  the  emer 
gencies  of  the  war,  and  they  had  more  regular  troops.*  The 
colonies  were  not  united  in  purpose;  and  the  Virginians  were 
describee!  by  Dinwiddie  as  "an  indolent  people,  and  without  mili 
tary  ardor." 

Sharpe's  appointment  was  sent  over  by  Arthur  Dobbs,  Gover 
nor  of  North  Carolina,  who  arrived  in  Hampton  Roads  on  the 
first  of  October.  Sharpe,  proceeding  to  Williamsburg,  concerted 
with  Dinwiddie  and  Dobbs  a  plan  of  operations  against  Fort  Du 
Quesne.  This  plan  was  abandoned,  owing  to  intelligence  of  the 
French  being  re-enforced  by  numerous  Indian  allies. 

In  February,  1755,  General  Edward  Braddock,  newly  ap 
pointed  commander-in-chief  of  all  the  military  forces  in  America, 
arrived  in  Virginia  with  a  small  part  of  the  troops  of  the  intended 
expedition,  the  remainder  arriving  afterwards,  being  two  British 
regiments,  each  consisting  of  five  hundred  men,  the  forty-fourth 
commanded  by  Sir  Peter  Halket,  the  forty-eighth  by  Colonel 
Dunbar.  Braddock  went  immediately  to  Williamsburg  to  confer 
with  Dinwiddie.  Sir  John  St.  Glair,  who  had  come  over  to 

*  Chalmers'  Revolt,  ii.  273. 


472  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

America  some  time  before,  was  already  there  awaiting  the 
general's  arrival. 

In  compliance  with  Braddock 's  invitation,  dated  the  second  of 
March,  Washington  entered  his  military  family  as  a  volunteer, 
retaining  his  former  rank.  This  proceeding  aroused  his  mother's 
tender  solicitude,  and  she  hastened  to  Mount  Yernon  to  give 
expression  to  it. 

From  Williarnsburg  Braddock  proceeded  to  Alexandria,  then 
sometimes  called  Belhaven,  the  original  name,  where  he  made  his 
headquarters,  the  troops  being  quartered  in  that  place  and  the 
neighborhood  until  they  marched  for  Will's  Creek.  On  the  thir 
teenth  of  April  the  governors  of  Massachusetts,  New  York, 
Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Virginia,  met  General  Braddock 
at  Alexandria,  to  concert  a  plan  of  operations.  Washington  was 
courteously  received  by  the  governors,  especially  by  Shirley, 
with  whose  manners  and  character  he  was  quite  fascinated. 
Overtaking  Braddock  (who  inarched  from  Alexandria  on  the 
twentieth)  at  Frederictown,  Maryland,  he  accompanied  him  to 
Winchester,  and  thence  to  Fort  Cumberland.  Early  in  May 
Washington  was  made  an  aid-de-camp  to  the  general.  Being 
dispatched  to  Williamsburg  to  convey  money  for  the  army-chest, 
he  returned  to  the  camp  with  it  on  the  thirtieth. 

The  army  consisted  of  the  two  regiments  of  British  regulars, 
together  originally  one  thousand  men,  and  augmented  by  Vir 
ginia  and  Maryland  levies  to  fourteen  hundred.  The  Virginia 
captains  were  Waggoner,  Cock,  Hogg,  Stephen,  Poulson,  Pey- 
rouny,  Mercer,  and  Stuart.  The  provincials  included  the  frag 
ments  of  two  independent  companies  from  New  York,  one  of 
which  was  commanded  by  Captain  Horatio  Gates,  afterwards  a 
major-general  in  the  revolutionary  war.  Of  the  remaining  pro 
vincials  one  hundred  were  pioneers  and  guides,  called  Hatchet- 
men  :  there  were  besides  a  troop  of  Virginia  light-horse,  and  a 
few  Indians.  Thirty  sailors  were  detached  by  Commodore  Kep- 
pel,  commander  of  the  fleet  that  brought  over  the  forces.  The 
total  effective  force  was  about  two  thousand  one  hundred  and 
fifty,  and  they  were  accompanied  by  the  usual  number  of  non- 
combatants.  The  army  was  detained  by  the  difficulty  of  pro 
curing  provisions  and  conveyances.  The  apathy  of  the  legisla- 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF    VIRGINIA.  473 

tures  and  the  bad  faith  of  the  contractors,  so  irritated  Braddock 
that  he  indulged  in  sweeping  denunciations  against  the  colonies. 
These  led  to  frequent  disputes  between  him  and  Washington, 
who  found  the  exasperated  general  deaf  to  his  arguments  on  that 
subject.  The  plan  suggested  by  him  of  employing  pack-horses 
for  transportation,  instead  of  wagons,  was  afterwards  in  some 
measure  adopted. 

Benjamin  Franklin,  deputy  postmaster-general  of  the  colonies, 
who,  at  Governor  Shirley's  instance,  had  accompanied  him  to 
the  congress  at  Alexandria,  visited  Braddock  at  Frederictown, 
for  the  purpose  of  opening  a  post-route  between  Will's  Creek  and 
Philadelphia.  Learning  the  general's  embarrassment,  he  under 
took  to  procure  the  requisite  number  of  wagons  and  horses  from 
the  Pennsylvania  farmers.  Issuing  a  handbill  addressed  to  their 
interests  and  their  fears,  and  exciting  among  the  Germans  an 
apprehension  of  an  arbitrary  impressment  to  be  enforced  by  Sir 
John  St.  Glair,  "the  Hussar,"  he  was  soon  able  to  provide  the 
general  with  the  means  of  transportation.*  It  was  a  long  time 
before  Franklin  recovered  compensation  for  the  farmers;  Gover 
nor  Shirley  at  length  paid  the  greater  part  of  the  amount,  twenty 
thousand  pounds ;  but  it  is  said  that  owing  to  the  neglect  of  Lord 
Loudoun,  Franklin  was  never  wholly  repaid.  Washington  and 
Franklin  were  both  held  in  high  estimation  by  Braddock,  and 
they  were  unconsciously  co-operating  with  him  in  a  war  destined 
in  its  unforeseen  consequences  to  dismember  the  British  empire. 

Braddock's  army,  with  its  baggage  extending  (along  a  road 
twelve  feet  wide)  sometimes  four  miles  in  length,  moved  from 
Fort  Cumberland,  at  the  mouth  of  Will's  Creek,  early  in  June, 
and  advanced  slowly  and  with  difficulty,  five  miles  being  con 
sidered  a  good  day's  march.  There  was  much  sickness  among 
the  soldiers :  Washington  was  seized  with  a  fever,  and  obliged  to 
travel  in  a  covered  wagon.  Braddock,  however,  continued  to 
consult  him,  and  he  advised  the  general  to  disencumber  himself 
of  his  heavy  guns  and  unnecessary  baggage,  to  leave  them  with 
a  rear  division,  and  to  press  forward  expeditiously  to  Fort  Du 
Quesne.  In  a  council  of  war  it  was  determined  that  Braddock 

*  Gordon's  Hist,  of  Pa. ;  Braddock's  Expedition,  163. 


474  HISTORY  or  THE  COLONY  AND 

should  advance  as  rapidly  as  possible  with  twelve  hundred  select 
men,  and  Colonel  Dunbar  follow  on  slowly  with  a  rear-guard  of 
about  six  hundred, — a  number  of  the  soldiers  being  disabled  by 
sickness.  The  advance  corps  proceeded  only  nineteen  miles  in 
four  days,  losing  occasionally  a  straggler,  cut  off  by  the  French 
and  Indian  scouts.  Trees  were  found  near  the  road  stripped  of 
their  barks  and  painted,  and  on  them  the  French  had  written 
many  of  their  names  and  the  number  of  scalps  recently  taken, 
with  many  insolent  threats  and  scurrilous  bravados. 

Washington  was  now  (by  the  general's  order)  compelled  to 
stop,  his  physician  declaring  that  his  life  would  be  jeoparded  by 
a  continuance  with  the  army,  and  Braddock  promising  that  he 
should  be  brought  up  with  it  before  it  reached  Fort  Du  Quesnc. 
On  the  day  before  the  battle  of  the  Monongahela,  Washington, 
in  a  wagon,  rejoined  the  army,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Youghiogany 
River,  and  fifteen  miles  from  Fort  Du  Quesne.  On  the  morning 
of  Wednesday,  the  9th  of  July,  1755,  the  troops,  in  high  spirits, 
confident  of  entering  the  gates  of  Fort  Du  Quesne  triumphantly 
in  a  few  hours,  crossed  the  Monongahela,  and  advanced  along 
the  southern  margin.  Washington,  in  after-life,  was  heard  to 
declare  it  the  most  beautiful  spectacle  that  he  had  ever  witnessed 
— the  brilliant  uniform  of  the  soldiers,  arranged  in  columns  and 
marching  in  exact  order;  the  sun  gleaming  on  their  burnished 
arms;  the  Monongahela  flowing  tranquilly  by  on  the  one  hand, 
on  the  other,  the  primeval  forest  projecting  its  shadows  in  sombre 
magnificence.  At  one  o'clock  the  army  again  crossed  the  river 
at  a  second  ford  ten  miles  from  Fort  Du  Quesne.  From  the 
river  a  level  plain  extends  northward  nearly  half  a  mile,  thence 
the  ground,  gradually  ascending,  terminates  in  hills.  The  road 
from  the  fording-place  to  the  fort  led  across  this  plain,  up  this 
ascent,  and  through  an  uneven  country  covered  with  woods.* 
Beyond  the  plain  on  both  sides  of  the  road  were  ravines  unnoticed 
by  the  English.  Three  hundred  men,  under  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Gage,  subsequently  commander  of  the  British  troops  at  Boston, 
made  the  advanced  party,  and  it  was  immediately  followed  by 
another  of  two  hundred.  Next  came  Braddock  with  the  artil- 

*  A  plan  of  the  ground  is  given  in  Washington's  Writings,  ii.  90. 


ANCIEXT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  475 

lery,  the  main  body,  and  the  baggage.  Brigadier- General  Sir 
Peter  Halket  was  second  in  command.  No  sooner  had  the  army 
crossed  the  river,  at  the  second  ford,  than  a  sharp  firing  was 
heard  upon  the  advanced  parties,  who  were  now  ascending  the 
hill  about  a  hundred  yards  beyond  the  edge  of  the  plain.* 

At  an  early  hour  De  Beaujeu  had  been  detached  from  Fort  Du 
Quesne,  at  the  head  of  about  two  hundred  and  thirty  French  and 
Canadians,  and  six  hundred  and  thirty  Indian  savages,  with  the 
design  of  attacking  the  English  at  an  advantageous  ground 
selected  on  the  preceding  evening.  Before- reaching  it  he  came 
upon  the  English.  The  greater  part  of  Gage's  command  was  ad 
vanced  beyond  the  spot  where  the  main  battle  was  fought,  when 
Mr.  Gordon,  one  of  the  engineers  in  front  marking  out  the  road, 
perceived  the  enemy  bounding  forward.  Before  them  with  long 
leaps  came  Beaujeu,  the  gay  hunting-shirt  and  silver  gorget  de 
noting  him  as  the  chief.  Halting  he  waved  his  hat  above  his 
head,  and  at  this  signal  the  Indians  dispersed  themselves  to  the 
right  and  left,  throwing  themselves  flat  on  the  ground,  or  gliding 
behind  rocks  and  trees  into  the  ravines.  The  French  occupied 
the  centre  of  the  Indian  semicircle,  and  a  fierce  attack  was  com 
menced.  Gage's  troops,  recovering  from  their  first  surprise,  opened 
a  fire  of  grape  and  musketry.  Beaujeu  and  twelve  others  fell 
dead  upon  the  spot ;  the  Indians,  astonished  by  the  report  of  the 


*  The  surprise  of  the  Roman  army  under  Titurius  Sabinus  on  his  march,  by 
the  Gauls  (as  described  by  Caesar)  resembles  Braddock's  defeat  in  several  par 
ticulars. 

"At  hostes,  posteaquam  ex  nocturno fremitu vigiliis  que  de  profectione  eorum 
senserunt,  collocatis  insicliis  bipartite  in  silvis  opportune  at  que  occulto  loco,  a 
millibus  passuum  circiter  duobus,  Romanorum  adventum  expectabant:  et  cum 
se  major  pars  agminis  in  magnam  convallem  demisisset,  ex  utraque  parte  ejus 
vallis  subito  se  ostenderunt,  novissimosque  premere  et  primos  prohibere  ascensu 
atque  iniquissimo  nostris  loco  proelium  committere  coeperunt."  Lucius  Cotta 
was  the  Washington  of  that  defeat:  but  he  fell  in  the  general  massacre.  "At 
Cotta  qui  cogitasset  htec  posse  in  itinere  accidere,  atque  ob  earn  causam  profec- 
tionis  auctor  non  fuisset,  nulla  in  re  communi  saluti  deerat,  et  in  appellandis 
cohortandisque  militibus,  imperatoris,  et  in  pugna,  militis  officia  prsestabat." 

The  following  sentence  describes  the  war-whoop :  "Tumvero  suo  more  vic- 
toriam  conclamant,  atque  ululatum  tollunt,  impetuque  in  nostros  facto,  ordines 
perturbant." 


476  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLOXY   AND 

cannon,  began  to  fly.  Rallied  by  Dumas,  who  succeeded  Beau- 
jeu, they  resumed  the  combat:  the  French  in  front,  the  Indians 
on  the  flank.  For  a  time  the  issue  was  doubtful:  cries  of  "Vive 
le  lloi"  were  answered  by  the  cheers  of  the  English.  But  while 
the  officers  of  the  Forty-fourth  led  on  their  men  with  waving 
swords,  the  enemy,  concealed  in  the  wToods  and  ravines,  secure 
and  invisible,  kept  up  a  steady,  well-aimed,  and  fatal  fire.  Their 
position  was  only  discovered  by  the  smoke  of  their  muskets. 
Gage,  not  reinforcing  his  flanking  parties,  they  were  driven  in, 
and  the  English,  instead  of  advancing  upon  the  hidden  enemy, 
returned  a  random  arid  ineffectual  fire  in  full  column. 

In  the  mean  time  Braddock  sent  forward  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Burton  with  the  vanguard.  And  while  he  was  forming  his  men 
to  face  a  rising  ground  on  the  right,  the  advanced  detachment, 
overwhelmed  with  consternation  by  the  savage  war-whoop  and 
the  mysterious  danger,  fell  back  upon  him  in  great  confusion, 
communicating  a  panic  from  wrhich  they  could  not  be  recovered. 
Braddock  now  came  up  and  endeavored  to  form  the  two  regi 
ments  under  their  colors,  but  neither  entreaties  nor  threats  could 
prevail.  The  baggage  in  the  rear  was  attacked,  and  many  horses 
killed;  some  of  the  drivers  fell,  the  rest  escaped  by  flight.  Two 
of  the  cannon  flanking  the  baggage  for  some  time  protected  it 
from  the  Indians;  the  others  fired  away  most  of  their  am 
munition,  and  were  of  some  service  in  awing  the  enemy,  but 
could  do  but  little  execution  against  a  concealed  foe.  The  enemy 
extended  from  front  to  rear,  and  fired  upon  every  part  at  once. 
The  general  finding  it  impossible  to  persuade  his  men  to  advance, 
many  officers  falling,  and  no  enemy  appearing  in  sight,  endeavored 
to  effect  a  retreat  in  good  order,  but  such  was  the  panic  that  he 
could  not  succeed.  They  were  loading  as  fast  as  possible  and 
firing  in  the  air. 

Braddock  and  his  officers  made  every  effort  to  rally  them,  but 
in  vain ;  in  this  confusion  and  dismay  they  remained  in  a  road 
twelve  feet  wide,  enclosed  by  woods,  for  three  hours,  huddled 
together,  exposed  to  the  insidious  fire,  doing  the  enemy  little 
hurt,  and  shooting  one  another.  None  of  the  survivors  could 
afterwards  say  that  they  saw  one  hundred  of  the  enemy,  and 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  477 

many  of  the  officers  that  were  in  the  heat  of  the  action  would  not 
assert  that  they  saw  one.* 

The  Virginia  troops  preserved  their  presence  of  mind,  and  be 
haved  with  the  utmost  bravery,  adopting  the  Indian  mode  of 
combat,  and  fighting  each  man  for  himself  behind  a  tree.  This 

o  cD 

was  done  in  spite  of  the  orders  of  Braddock,  who  still  endeavored 
to  form  his  men  into  platoons  and  columns,  as  if  they  had  been 
manoeuvring  in  the  plains  of  Flanders  or  parading  in  Hyde  Park. 
Washington  and  Sir  Peter  Halket  in  vain  advised  him  to  allow 
the  men  to  shelter  themselves:  he  stormed  at  such  as  attempted 
to  take  to  the  trees,  calling  them  cowards,  and  striking  them 
with  his  sword.  Captain  Waggoner,  of  the  Virginia  troops, 
resolved  to  take  advantage  of  the  trunk  of  a  tree  five  feet  in 
diameter,  lying  athwart  the  brow  of  a  hill.  With  shouldered 
firelocks  he  marched  a  party  of  eighty  men  toward  it,  and  losing 
but  three  men  on  the  way,  the  remainder  throwing  themselves 
behind  it,  opened  a  hot  fire  upon  the  enemy.  But  no  sooner  were 
the  flash  and  report  of  their  muskets  perceived  by  the  mob  be 
hind,  than  a  general  discharge  was  poured  upon  them,  by  which 
fifty  were  killed  and  the  rest  compelled  to  fly.f 

The  French  and  Indians,  concealed  in  deep  ravines,  and  be 
hind  trees,  and  logs,  and  high  grass,  and  tangled  undergrowth, 
kept  up  a  deadly  fire,  singling  out  their  victims.  The  mounted 
officers  were  especially  aimed  at,  and  shortly  after  the  commence 
ment  of  the  engagement,  Washington  was  the  only  aid  not 
wounded.  Although  still  feeble  from  the  effects  of  his  illness, 
on  him  now  was  devolved  the  whole  duty  of  carrying  the  general's 
orders,  and  he  rode  a  conspicuous  mark  in  every  direction.  Two 
horses  were  killed  under  him,  four  bullets  penetrated  his  coat, 
but  he  escaped  unhurt,  while  every  other  officer  on  horseback 
was  either  killed  or  wounded.  Dr.  Craik  afterwards  said:  "I 
expected  every  moment  to  see  him  fall.  His  duty  and  situation 
exposed  him  to  every  danger.  Nothing  but  the  superintending 
care  of  Providence  could  have  saved  him  from  the  fate  of  all 
around  him."  Washington,  writing  to  his  brother,  said:  "By 
the  all-powerful  dispensations  of  Providence  I  have  been  pro- 

*  Bancroft,  iv.  189.  f  Braddook's  Expedition,  231. 


478  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

tected  beyond  all  human  probability  or  expectation,  for  I  had 
four  bullets  through  rny  coat  and  two  horses  shot  under  me,  yet 
escaped  unhurt,  although  death  was  levelling  my  companions  on 
every  side." 

More  than  half  of  the  army  were  killed  or  wounded,  two-thirds 
of  them,  according  to  Washington's  conjecture,  by  their  own 
bullets;  Sir  Peter  Halket  was  killed  on  the  field;  Shirley,  Brad- 
dock's  secretary,  was  shot  through  the  head;  Colonels  Burton, 
Gage,  and  Orme,  Major  Sparks,  Brigade-Major  Ilalket,  Captain 
Morris,  etc.,  were  wounded.  Out  of  eighty-six  officers,  twenty- 
six  were  killed  and  thirty-seven  wounded.  The  whole  number  of 
killed  was  estimated  at  four  hundred  and  fifty-six,  wounded  four 
hundred  and  twenty  one,  the  greater  part  of  whom  were  brought 
off;  the  aggregate  loss,  eight  hundred  and  seventy-seven.  The 
enemy's  force,  variously  estimated,  did  not  exceed  eight  hundred 
and  fifty  men,  of  whom  six  hundred,  it  was  conjectured,  were 
Indians.  The  French  loss  was  twenty-eight  killed,  including 
three  officers,  one  of  whom,  Beaujeu,  was  chief  in  command; 
and  twenty-nine  badly  wounded,  including  two  officers.  The 
French  and  Indians  being  covered  by  ravines,  the  balls  of  the 
English  passed  harmless  over  their  heads ;  while  a  charge  with 
the  bayonet,  or  raking  the  ravines  with  cannon,  would  have  at 
once  driven  them  from  their  lurking  places,  and  put  them  to 
flight,  or,  at  the  least,  dispersed  them  in  the  woods.  Any  move 
ment  would  have  been  better  than  standing  still. 

During  the  action,  or  massacre,  of  three  hours,  Braddock  had 
three  horses  killed  under  him,  and  two  disabled.  At  five  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  while  beneath  a  large  tree  standing  between  the 
heads  of  two  ravines,  and  in  the  act  of  giving  an  order,  he  re 
ceived  a  mortal  wound.  Falling  from  his  horse,  he  lay  helpless 
on  the  ground,  surrounded  by  the  dead.  His  army  having  fired 
away  all  their  ammunition,  now  fled  in  disorder  back  to  the 
Monongahela.  Pursued  to  the  water's  edge  by  a  party  of 
savages,  the  regulars  threw  away  arms,  accoutrements,  and  even 
clothing,  that  they  might  run  the  faster.  Many  were  toma 
hawked  at  the  fording-place;  but  those  who  crossed  were  not 
pursued,  as  the  Indians  returned  to  the  harvest  of  plunder.  The 
provincials,  better  acquainted  with  Indian  warfare  were  less  dis 
concerted,  and  retreated  with  more  composure. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  479 

Not  one  of  his  British  soldiers  could  be  prevailed  upon  to  stay 
and  aid  in  bearing  off  the  wounded  general.  In  vain  Orme 
offered  them  a  purse  of  sixty  guineas.  Braddock  begged  his 
faithful  friends  to  provide  for  their  own  safety,  and  declared  his 
resolution  to  die  on  the  field.  Orme  disregarded  these  desperate 
injunctions;  and  Captain  Stewart,  of  the  Virginia  Light-horse, 
(attached  to  the  general's  person,)  and  his  servant,  together  with 
another  American  officer,  hastening  to  Orme's  relief,  brought  off 
Braddock,  at  first  on  a  small  tumbrel,  then  on  a  horse,  lastly  by 
the  soldiers. 

According  to  Washington's  account,  in  a  letter  written  to  Din- 
widdie:  "They  were  struck  with  such  an  inconceivable  panic, 
that  nothing  but  confusion  and  disobedience  of  orders  prevailed 
among  them.  The  officers  in  general  behaved  with  incomparable 
bravery,  for  which  they  greatly  suffered,  there  being  upwards  of 
sixty  killed  and  wounded,  a  large  proportion  out  of  what  we  had. 
The  Virginia  companies  behaved  like  men  and  died  like  soldiers; 
for,  I  believe,  out  of  three  companies  on  the  ground  that  day, 
scarcely  thirty  men  were  left  alive.  Captain  Peyrouny,  a 
Frenchman  by  birth,  and  all  his  officers  down  to  a  corporal,  were 
killed.  Captain  Poulson  had  almost  as  hard  a  fate,  for  only  one 
of  his  escaped.  In  short,  the  dastardly  behavior  of  the  regular 
troops  (so  called)  exposed  those  who  were  inclined  to  do  their 
duty  to  almost  certain  death;  and,  at  length,  in  spite  of  every 
effort  to  the  contrary,  they  broke  and  ran  like  sheep  before 
hounds,  leaving  the  artillery,  ammunition,  provisions,  baggage, 
and,  in  short,  everything  a  prey  to  the  enemy;  and  when  we 
endeavored  to  rally  them  in  hopes  of  regaining  the  ground  and 
what  we  had  left  upon  it,  it  was  with  as  little  success  as  if  we 
had  attempted  to  have  stopped  the  wild  bears  of  the  mountains, 
or  the  rivulets  with  our  feet;  for  they  would  break  by  in  spite  of 
every  effort  to  prevent  it." 

Braddock  was  brave  and  accomplished  in  European  tactics; 
but  not  an  officer  of  that  comprehensive  genius  which  knows  how 
to  bend  and  accommodate  himself  to  circumstances.  Burke  says 
that  a  wise  statesman  knows  how  to  be  governed  by  circum 
stances:  the  maxim  applies  as  well  to  a  military  commander. 
Braddock,  headstrong,  passionate,  irritated,  not  without  just 
grounds,  against  the  provinces,  and  pursuing  the  policy  of  the 


480  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY  AND 

British  government  to  rely  mainly  on  the  forces  sent  over,  and  to 
treat  the  colonial  troops  as  inferior  arid  only  secondary,  rejected 
the  proposal  of  Washington  to  lead  in  advance  the  provincials, 
who,  accustomed  to  border  warfare,  knew  better  how  to  cope  with 
a  savage  foe.*  Braddock,  however,  showed  that  although  he 
could  not  retrieve  these  errors,  nor  reclaim  a  degenerate  soldiery, 
he  could  at  any  rate  fall  like  a  soldier,  f 

Although  no  further  pursued,  the  remainder  of  the  army  con 
tinued  their  flight  during  the  night  and  the  next  day.  Braddock 
continued  for  two  days  to  give  orders;  and  it  was  in  compliance 
with  them  that  the  greater  part  of  the  artillery,  ammunition,  and 
other  stores  were  destroyed.  It  was  not  until  the  thirteenth 
that  the  general  uttered  a  word,  except  for  military  directions. 
He  then  bestowed  the  warmest  praise  on  his  gallant  officers,  and 
bequeathed,  as  is  said,  his  charger,  and  his  body-servant, 
Bishop,  to  Washington. J  The  dying  Braddock  ejaculated  in  re 
ference  to  the  defeat,  "Who  would  have  thought  it?"  Turning 
to  Orme  he  remarked,  "We  shall  better  know  how  to  deal  with 
them  another  time;"  and  in  a  few  moments  expired,  at  eight 
o'clock,  in  the  evening  of  Sunday,  the  13th  of  July,  1755, 
at  the  Great  Meadows.  On  the  next  morning  he  was  buried  in 
the  road,  near  Fort  Necessity,  Washington,  in  the  absence  of  the 
chaplain,  who  was  wounded,  reading  the  funeral  service.  Wash 
ington  retired  to  Mount  Vernon,  oppressed  with  the  sad  retrospect 
of  the  recent  disaster.  But  his  reputation  was  greatly  elevated 
by  his  signal  gallantry  on  this  occasion.  Such  dreary  portals 
open  the  road  of  fame. 

The  green  and  bosky  scene  of  battle  was  strewn  with  the 
wounded  and  the  dead.  Toward  evening  the  forest  resounded 


*  Chalmers'  Hist,  of  Revolt,  ii.  276.  True  to  his  unvarying  prejudice  against 
the  colonies,  he  justifies  the  conduct  of  Braddock. 

f  The  History  of  Braddock's  Expedition,  by  Winthrop  Sargent,  Esq.,  is  full, 
elaborate,  and  authentic.  The  volume,  a  beautiful  specimen  of  typography,  was 
printed,  1856,  by  Messrs.  J.  B.  Lippincott  &  Co.,  for  the  Pennsylvania  Historical 
Society.  I  am  indebted  to  Townsend  Ward,  Esq.,  Librarian,  for  a  copy  of  it. 

J  Gilbert,  a  slave,  is  said  to  have  been  with  Washington  at  the  battle  of  the 
Monongahela,  and  at  the  siege  of  York.  John  Alton  is  likewise  mentioned  as  a 
servant  attending  him  during  Braddock's  expedition. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF    VIRGINIA.  481 

with  the  exulting  cries  and  war-whoop  of  the  returning  French 
and  Indians,  the  firing  of  small  arms,  and  the  responsive  roar  of 
the  cannon  at  the  fort.  A  lonely  American  prisoner  confined 
there  listened  during  this  anxious  day  to  the  various  sounds,  and 
with  peering  eye  explored  the  scene.  Presently  he  saw  the 
greater  part  of  the  savages,  painted  and  blood-stained,  bringing 
scalps,  and  rejoicing  in  the  possession  of  grenadiers'  caps,  and 
the  laced  hats  and  splendid  regimentals  of  the  English  officers. 
Next  succeeded  the  French,  escorting  a  long  train  of  pack-horses 
laden  with  plunder.  Last  of  all,  just  before  sunset,  appeared  a 
party  of  Indians  conducting  twelve  British  regulars,  naked,  their 
faces  blackened,  their  hands  tied  behind  them.  In  a  short  while 
they  were  burned  to  death  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  Ohio, 
with  every  circumstance  of  studied  barbarity  and  inhuman  tor 
ture,  the  French  garrison  crowding  the  ramparts  of  the  fort  to 
witness  the  spectacle. 

The  remains  of  the  defeated  detachment  retreated  to  the  rear 
division  in  precipitate  disorder,  leaving  the  road  behind  them 
strewed  with  signs  of  the  disaster.  Shortly  after,  Colonel  Dun- 
bar  marched  with  the  remaining  regulars  to  Philadelphia.  Colo 
nel  Washington  returned  home,  mortified  and  indignant  at  the 
conduct  of  the  regular  troops. 

31 


CHAPTER    LXIL 


IT'SS-lT'SG. 


Stith — Davies  visits  England  and  Scotland — Patriotic  Discourse — Waddel,  the 
Blind  Preacher  —  Washington  made  Colonel  of  Virginia  Regiment  —  Indian 
Incursions — Washington  visits  Boston. 

DURING  the  year  1755  died  the  Rev.  William  Stith,  president 
of  the  College  of  William  and  Mary,  and  author  of  an  excellent 
"History  of  Virginia,"  from  the  first  settlement  to  the  dissolu 
tion  of  the  London  Company.  He  was  of  exemplary  character 
and  catholic  spirit,  a  friend  of  well-regulated  liberty,  and  a  true 
patriot. 

The  Rev.  Samuel  Davies,  during  the .  year  1754,  went  on  a 
mission  to  England  and  Scotland  for  the  purpose  of  raising  a 
fund  for  the  endowment  of  a  college  at  Princeton,  New  Jersey. 
His  eloquence  commanded  admiration  in  the  mother  country. 
The  English  Presbyterians  he  found  sadly  fallen  away  from  the 
doctrines  -of  the  Reformation,  and  their  clergy,  although  learned 
and  able,  deeply  infected  with  the  " modish  divinity" — Socinian- 
ism  and  Arminianism.  In  Scotland,  where  he  met  a  warm 
welcome,  he  found  the  young  clergy  no  less  imbued  with  the 
" modish  divinity,"  and  the  cause  of  religion  and  the  spiritual 
independence  of  the  kirk  lamentably  impaired  by  the  overween 
ing  influence  of  secular  patronage.  Davies  was  of  opinion  that 
in  genuine  piety  the  Methodists,  who  commenced  their  reform  in 
the  Church  of  England,  ranked  the  highest.  He  returned  to 
Virginia  early  in  1755,  and  during  the  Erench  and  Indian  wars 
he  often  employed  his  eloquence  in  arousing  the  patriotism  of  the 
Virginians. 

After  Braddock's  defeat,  such  was  the  general  consternation 

that  many  seemed  ready  to  desert  the  country.     On  the  20th  of 

July,  1755,  Davies  delivered  a  discourse,  in  which  he  declared: 

"  Christians  should  be  patriots.     What  is  that  religion  good  for 

(482) 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  483 

that  leaves  men  cowards  upon  the  appearance  of  danger?  And 
permit  me  to  say,  that  I  am  particularly  solicitous  that  you,  my 
brethren  of  the  dissenters,  should  act  with  honor  and  spirit  in 
this  juncture,  as  it  becomes  loyal  subjects,  lovers  of  your  country, 
and  courageous  Christians.  That  is  a  mean,  sordid,  cowardly 
soul  that  would  abandon  his  country  and  shift  for  his  own  little 
self,  when  there  is  any  probability  of  defending  it.  To  give  the 
greater  weight  to  what  I  say,  I  may  take  the  liberty  to  tell  you, 
I  have  as  little  personal  interest,  as  little  to  lose  in  the  colony,  as 
most  of  you.  If  I  consulted  either  my  safety  or  my  temporal 
interest,  I  should  soon  remove  with  my  family  to  Great  Britain, 
or  the  Northern  colonies,  where  I  have  had  very  inviting  offers. 
Nature  has  not  formed  me  for  a  military  life,  nor  furnished  me 
with  any  great  degree  of  fortitude  and  courage;  yet  I  must  de 
clare,  that  after  the  most  calm  and  impartial  deliberation,  I  am 
determined  not  to  leave  my  country  while  there  is  any  prospect 
of  defending  it."* 

Dejection  and  alarm  vanished  under  his  eloquence,  and  at  the 
conclusion  of  his  address  every  man  seemed  to  say,  "Let  us 
march  against  the  enemy!"  A  patriotic  discourse  was  delivered 
by  him  on  the  17th  of  August,  1755,  before  Captain  Overton's 
company  of  Independent  Volunteers,  the  first  volunteer  company 
raised  in  Virginia  after  Braddock's  defeat.  In  a  note  appended 
to  this  discourse,  Davies  said:  "As  a  remarkable  instance  of  this, 
I  may  point  out  to  the  public  that  heroic  youth,  Colonel  Wash 
ington,  whom  I  cannot  but  hope  Providence  has  hitherto  pre 
served  in  so  signal  a  manner  for  some  important  service  to  his 
country,  "f 

It  is  probable  that  Patrick  Henry  caught  the  spark  of  elo 
quence  from  Davies,  as  in  his  early  youth,  and  in  after  years,  he 
often  heard  him  preach.  They  were  alike  gifted  with  a  profound 
sensibility.  Henry  always  remarked  that  Mr.  Davies  was  "the 


*  Davies'  Sermons,  iii.  169;  Sermon  on  the  defeat  of  General  Braddock 
going  to  Fort  Du  Quesne;  Memoir  of  Davies  in  Evan,  and  Lit.  Mag. 

j  Davies'  Sermons,  iii.  38.  "Who  is  Mr.  Washington?"  inquired  Lord  Hali 
fax.  "  I  know  nothing  of  him,"  he  added ;  "  but  they  say  he  behaved  in  Brad- 
dock's  action  as  bravely  as  if  he  really  loved  the  whistling  of  bullets." 


484  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY  AND 

greatest  orator  he  had  ever  heard."  Presbyterianism  steadily 
advanced  in  Virginia  under  the  auspices  of  Davies  and  his 
successors,  particularly  Graham,  Smith,  Waddell,  "the  blind 
preacher"  of  Wirt's  "British  Spy,"  and  Brown. 

The  Rev.  James  Waddell,  a  Presbyterian  minister,  was  born  in 
the  North  of  Ireland,  in  July,  1739,  as  is  believed.  He  was 
brought  over  in  his  infancy  by  his-parents  to  America;  they  set 
tled  in  the  southeastern  part  of  Pennsylvania,  on  White-clay 
Creek.  James  was  sent  to  school  at  Nottingham  to  Dr.  Finley, 
afterwards  president  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey.  In  the  school 
young  Waddell  made  such  proficiency  in  his  studies  as  to  become 
an  assistant  teacher;  and  Dr.  Benjamin  Rush,  the  signer  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  recited  lessons  to  him  there.  lie 
devoted  his  attention  chiefly  to  the  classics,  in  which  he  became 
very  well  versed.  He  was  afterwards  an  assistant  to  the  elder 
Smith,  father  of  the  Rev.  John  Blair  Smith,  president  of  Hamp- 
den  Sidney  College,  Virginia,  and  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Stanhope 
Smith,  president  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey.  Waddell,  in 
tending  to  pursue  the  vocation  of  a  teacher,  and  to  settle  with 
that  view  at  Charleston,  in  South  Carolina,  set  out  for  the  South. 
In  passing  through  Virginia  he  met  with  the  celebrated  preacher, 
Davies,  and  that  incident  gave  a  different  turn  to  his  life. 
Shortly  after,  he  became  an  assistant  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Todd  in  his 
school  in  the  County  of  Louisa,  with  whom  he  studied  theology. 
He  was  licensed  to  preach  in  1761,  and  ordained  in  the  following 
year,  when  he  settled  as  pastor  in  Lancaster  County.  Here, 
about  the  year  1768,  he  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Colonel 
James  Gordon,  of  that  county,*  a  wealthy  and  influential  man. 
In  the  division  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  Mr.  Waddell  was  of 
the  "New  Side,"  as  it  was  termed.  The  Rev.  Samuel  Davies 
often  preached  to  Mr.  Waddell' s  congregation;  as  also  did  White- 
field  several  times. 

In  the  year  1776  Mr.  Waddell  removed  from  Lower  Virginia,  in 
very  feeble  health,  to  Augusta  County.  His  salary  was  now 
only  forty-five  pounds,  Virginia  currency,  per  annum.  In  1783 


*  Ancestor  of  the  late  General  Gordon,  of  Albemarle. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  485 

he  came  to  reside  at  an  estate  purchased  by  him,  and  called 
Hopewell,  at  the  junction  of  Louisa,  Orange,  and  Albemarle — 
the  dwelling-house  being  in  Louisa.  Here  he  again  became  a 
classical  teacher,  receiving  pupils  in  his  own  house.  James  Bar- 
hour,  afterwards  governor  of  Virginia,  was  one  of  these,  and 
Merriwether  Lewis,  the  companion  of  Clarke  in  the  exploration 
beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains,  another.  Mr.  Waddell  resided  in 
Louisa  County  about  twenty  years,  and  died  there,  and  was 
buried,  according  to  his  request,  in  his  garden.  During  his  resi 
dence  here  he  was,  for  a  part  of  the  time,  deprived  of  his  sight ; 
but  he  continued  to  preach.  In  person  he  was  tall  and  erect ; 
his  complexion  fair,  with  a  light  blue  eye.  His  deportment 
was  dignified;  his  manners  elegant  and  graceful.  He  is  repre 
sented  by  Mr.  Wirt,  in  the  "British  Spy,"  as  preaching  in  a 
white  linen  cap;  this  was,  indeed,  a  part  of  his  domestic  cos 
tume,  but  when  he  went  abroad  he  always  wore  a  large  full- 
bottomed  wig,  perfectly  white.  Mr.  Wirt  held  him  as  equal  to 
Patrick  Henry,  in  a  different  species  of  oratory.  In  regard  to 
place,  time,  costume,  and  lesser  particulars,  Mr.  Wirt  used  an 
allowable  liberty  in  grouping  together  incidents  which  had 
occurred  apart,  and  perhaps  imagining,  as  in  a  sermon,  expres 
sions  which  had  been  uttered  at  the  fire-side.  Patrick  Henry's 
opinion  of  Mr.  Waddell's  eloquence  has  been  before  mentioned. 
It  was  the  remark  of  another  cotemporary,  that  when  he 
preached,  "whole  congregations  were  bathed  in  tears."  It  might 
also  be  said  by  his  grave,  as  at  that  of  John  Knox, — 

"Here  lies  one  who  never  feared  the  face  of  man." 

The  late  Rev.  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander  married  a  daughter  of 
Dr.  Waddell,  and  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  James  Waddell  Alexander  thus 
derived  his  middle  name. 

August,  1755,  the  assembly  voted  forty  thousand  pounds  for 
the  public  service,  and  the  governor  and  council  immediately  re 
solved  to  augment  the  Virginia  Regiment  to  sixteen  companies, 
numbering  fifteen  hundred  men.  To  Washington  was  granted 
the  sum  of  three  hundred  pounds  in  reward  for  his  gallant  beha 
vior  arid  in  compensation  for  his  losses  at  the  battle  of  Mononga  - 
hela.  Colonel  Washington  was,  during  this  month,  commissioned 


486  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

commander-in-chief  of  the  forces,  and  allowed  to  appoint  his  own 
officers.  The  officers  next  in  rank  to  him  were  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Adam  Stephen  and  Major  Andrew  Lewis.  Washing 
ton's  military  reputation  was  now  high,  not  only  in  Virginia,  but 
in  the  other  colonies.  Peyton  Randolph  raised  a  volunteer  com 
pany  of  one  hundred  gentlemen,  who,  however,  proved  quite  unfit 
for  the  frontier  service. 

After  organizing  the  regiment  and  providing  the  commissariat, 
Washington  repaired  early  in  October  to  Winchester,  and  took 
such  measures  as  lay  in  his  power  to  repel  the  cruel  outrages  of 
a  savage  irruption.  Alarm,  confusion,  and  disorder  prevailed,  so 
that  he  found  no  orders  obeyed  but  such  as  a  party  of  soldiers, 
or  his  own  drawn  sword,  enforced.  He  beheld  with  emotion 
calamities  which  he  could  not  avert,  and  he  strenuously  urged 
the  necessity  of  an  act  to  enforce  the  military  law,  to  remedy 
the  insolence  of  the  soldiers  and  the  indolence  of  the  officers. 
He  even  intimated  a  purpose  of  resigning,  unless  his  authority 
should  be  re-enforced  by  the  laws,  since  he  found  himself  thwarted 
in  his  exertions  at  every  step  by  a  general  perverseness  and  in 
subordination,  aggravated  by  the  hardships  of  the  service  and 
the  want  of  system.  At  length,  by  persevering  solicitations,  he 
prevailed  on  the  assembly  to  adopt  more  energetic  military  regu 
lations.  The  discipline  thus  introduced  was  extremely  rigorous, 
severe  flogging  being  in  ordinary  use.  The  penalty  for  fighting 
was  five  hundred  lashes;  for  drunkenness,  one  hundred.  The 
troops  were  daily  drilled  and  practised  in  bush-fighting.  A  Cap 
tain  Dagworthy,  stationed  at  Fort  Cumberland,  commissioned  by 
General  Sharpe,  governor  of  Maryland,  refusing,  as  holding  a 
king's  commission,  to  obey  Washington's  orders,  the  dispute  was 
referred  by  Governor  Dinwiddie  to  General  Shirley,  commander- 
in-chief  of  his  majesty's  armies  in  America,  who  was  then  at 
Boston.  He  was  also  requested  to  grant  royal  commissions  to 
Colonel  Washington  and  his  field-officers,  such  commissions  to 
imply  rank  but  to  give  no  claim  to  pay. 

The  Indians,  after  committing  murders  and  barbarities  upon 
the  unhappy  people  of  the  border  country,  retired  beyond  the 
mountains.  Colonel  Byrd  and  Colonel  Randolph  were  sent  out 
with  presents  to  the  Cherokees,  Catawbas,  and  other  Southern 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  487 

Indians,  in  order  to  conciliate  their  good-will  and  counteract  the 
intrigues  of  the  French. 

Colonel  Washington  obtained  leave  to  visit  General  Shirley,  so 
as  to  deliver  in  person  a  memorial  from  the  officers  of  the  Virgi 
nia  Regiment,  requesting  him  to  grant  them  king's  commissions ; 
and  also  in  order  to  make  himself  better  acquainted  with  the 
military  plans  of  the  North.  He  set  out  from  Alexandria  early 
in  February,  1756,  accompanied  by  his  aid-de-camp,  Colonel 
George  Mercer,  and  on  his  route  passed  through  Philadelphia, 
New  York,  New  London,  Newport,  and  Providence.  He  visited 
the  governors  of  Pennsylvania  and  New  York,  and  spent  several 
days  in  each  of  the  principal  cities.  He  was  well  received  by 
General  Shirley,  with  whom  he  continued  ten  days,  mingling  with 
the  society  of  Boston,  attending  the  sessions  of  the  legislature, 
and  visiting  Castle  William.  During  the  tour  he  was  everywhere 
looked  upon  with  interest  as  the  hero  of  the  Monongahela. 
Shirley  decided  the  contested  point  between  Dagworthy  and  him 
in  his  favor. 

While  in  New  Yrork  he  was  a  guest  of  his  friend  Beverley  Ro 
binson  (brother  of  the  speaker.)  Miss  Mary  Philipse,  a  sister  of 
Mrs.  Robinson,  and  heiress  of  a  vast  estate,  was  an  inmate  of  the 
family,  and  Washington  became  enamored  of  her.  The  flame 
was  transient;  he  probably  having  soon  discovered  that  another 
suitor  was  preferred  to  him.  She  eventually  married  Captain 
Roo-er  Morris,  his  former  associate  in  arms,  and  one  of  Brad- 

O  ' 

dock's  aids.  She  and  her  sister,  Mrs.  Robinson,  and  Mrs.  Inglis, 
were  the  only  females  who  were  attainted  of  high  treason  during 
the  Revolution.  Imagination  dwells  on  the  outlawry  of  a  lady 
who  had  won  the  admiration  of  Washington.  Humanity  is 
shocked  that  a  woman  should  have  been  attainted  of  treason  for 
clinging  to  the  fortunes  of  her  husband.*  Mary  Philipse  is  the 
original  of  one  of  the  characters  in  Cooper's  "Spy." 

*  Sabine's  Loyalists,  476. 


CHAPTER    LXIII. 

lT'56-17'58. 

First  Settlers  of  the  Valley — Sandy  Creek  Expedition — Indian  Irruption — Mea 
sures  of  Defence — Habits  of  Virginians — Washington  and  Dinwiddie — Congress 
of  Governors — Dinwiddie  succeeded  by  Blair — Davies'  Patriotic  Discourse. 

THE  inhabitants  of  tramontane  Virginia  are  very  imperfectly 
acquainted  with  its  history.  This  remark  applies  particularly  to 
that  section  commonly  called  the  Valley  of  Virginia,  which,  lying 
along  the  Blue  Ridge,  stretches  from  the  Potomac  to  the  Alle- 
ghany  Mountains.  Of  this  many  of  the  inhabitants  know  little 
more  than  what  they  see.  They  see  a  country  possessing  salu 
brity  and  fertility,  yielding  plentifully,  in  great  variety,  most  of 
the  necessaries  of  life,  a  country  which  has  advantages,  conveni 
ences,  and  blessings,  in  abundance,  in  profusion,  it  may  almost  be 
said  in  superfluity.  But  they  know  not  how  it  came  into  the 
hands  of  the  present  occupants ;  they  know  not  who  were  the  first 
settlers,  whence  they  came,  at  what  time,  in  what  numbers,  nor 
what  difficulties  they  had  to  encounter,  nor  what  was  the  progress 
of  population.  One  who  would  become  acquainted  with  these 
matters  must  travel  back  a  century  or  more  ;  he  must  witness  the 
early  adventurers  leaving  the  abodes  of  civilization,  and  singly, 
or  in  families,  or  in  groups  composed  of  several  families,  like 
pioneers  on  a  forlorn  hope,  entering  the  dark,  dreary,  trackless 
forest,  which  had  been  for  ages  the  nursery  of  wild  beasts  and 
the  pathway  of  the  Indian.  After  traversing  this  inhospitable 
solitude  for  days  or  weeks,  and  having  become  weary  of  their 
pilgrimage,  they  determined  to  separate,  and  each  family  taking 
its  own  course  in  quest  of  a  place  where  they  may  rest,  they 
find  a  spot  such  as  choice,  chance,  or  necessity  points  out ;  here 
they  sit  down;  this  they  call  their  home — a  cheerless,  houseless 
home.  If  they  have  a  tent,  they  stretch  it,  and  in  it  they  all 
nestle;  otherwise  the  umbrage  of  a  wide-spreading  oak,  or  may 
hap  the  canopy  of  heaven,  is  their  only  covering.  In  this  new- 
(488) 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  489 

found  home,  while  they  are  not  exempt  from  the  common  frailties 
and  ills  of  humanity,  many  peculiar  to  their  present  condition 
thicken  around  them.  Here  they  must  endure  excessive  labor, 
fatigue,  and  exposure  to  inclement  seasons;  here  innumerable 
perils  and  privations  await  them;  here  they  are  exposed  to  alarms 
from  wild  beasts  and  from  Indians.  Sometimes  driven  from 
home,  they  take  shelter  in  the  breaks  and  recesses  of  the  moun 
tains,  where  they  continue  for  a  time  in  a  state  of  anxious  sus 
pense;  venturing  at  length  to  reconnoitre  their  home,  they  per 
haps  find  it  a  heap  of  ruins,  the  whole  of  their  little  peculium 
destroyed.  This  frequently  happened.  The  inhabitants  of  the 
country  being  few,  and  in  most  cases  widely  separated  from  each 
other,  each  group,  fully  occupied  with  its  own  difficulties  and  dis 
tresses,  seldom  could  have  the  consolation  of  hoping  for  the 
advice,  assistance,  or  even  sympathy  of  each  other.  Many  of 
them,  worn  out  by  the  hardships  inseparable  from  their  new  con 
dition,  found  premature  graves;  many  hundreds,  probably  thou 
sands,  were  massacred  by  the  hands  of  the  Indians;  and  peace 
and  tranquillity,  if  they  came  at  all,  came  at  a  late  day  to  the  few 
survivors. 

"Tantte  erat  molis — condere  gentem." 

Here  have  been  stated  a  few  items  of  the  first  cost  of  this 
country,  but  the  half  has  not  been  told,  nor  can  we  calculate  in 
money  the  worth  of  the  sufferings  of  these  people,  especially  we 
cannot  estimate  in  dollars  and  cents  the  value  of  the  lives  that 
were  lost.* 

In  the  year  1756  took  place  the  "Sandy  Creek  Expedition" 
against  the  Shawnees  on  the  Ohio  River.  With  the  exception  of 
a  few  Cherokees,  it  consisted  exclusively  of  Virginia  troops,  under 
the  conduct  of  Major  Andrew  Lewis. f  Although  this  expedition 
proved  in  the  event  abortive,  yet  its  incidents,  as  far  as  known, 
are  interesting.  Nor  are  such  abortive  enterprises  without  their 
useful  effects :  they  are  the  schools  of  discipline,  the  rehearsals 
of  future  success.  The  rendezvous  from  which  the  expedition 

*  Memoir  of  Battle  of  Point  Pleasant,  by  Samuel  L.  Campbell,  M.D.,  of  Rock- 
bridge  County,  Va. 

f  Washington's  Writings,  ii.  125;  Ya.  Hist.  Reg. 


490  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLOXY   AXD 

started  was  Fort  Frederick,  on  New  River,  in  what  was  then 
Augusta  County.  Under  Major  Andrew  Lewis  were  Captains 
William  Preston,  Peter  Hogg,  John  Smith,  Archibald  Alexander, 
father  of  Rev.  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander,  Breckenridge,  Woodson, 
and  Overton.  Their  companies  appear  to  have  been  already 
guarding  the  frontier  when  called  upon  for  this  new  service. 
There  were  also  the  volunteer  companies  of  Captains  Montgomery 
and  Dunlap,  and  a  party  of  Cherokees  under  Captain  Paris.  A 
party  of  this  tribe  had  come  to  the  assistance  of  the  Virginians 
in  the  latter  part  of  1755,  and  they  were  ordered  by  Governor 
Dinwiddie  to  join  the  Sandy  Creek  Expedition;  but  whether 
they  all  actually  joined  it  is  not  known.  The  war  leaders  of 
these  savages  were  old  Outacitd,  the  Round  0,  and  the  Yellow 
Bird.  Captain  David  Stewart,*  of  Augusta,  seems  to  have  acted 
as  commissary  to  the  expedition.  The  whole  force  that  marched 
from  Fort  Frederick  amounted  to  three  hundred  and  forty.  While 
waiting  to  procure  horses  arid  pack-saddles,  the  soldiers  were 
preached  to  by  the  pioneer  Presbyterian  clergymen  of  the  valley, 
Craig  and  Brown.  Major  Lewis  marched  on  the  eighteenth  of 
February,  and  passing  by  the  Holston  River  and  the  head  of  the 
Clinch,  they  reached  the  head  of  Sandy  Creek  on  the  twenty- 
eighth.  This  stream  was  found  exceedingly  tortuous;  on  the 
twenty-ninth,  they  crossed  it  sixty-six  times  in  the  distance  of 
fifteen  miles.  Although  some  bears,  deer,  and  buffaloes  were 
killed,  yet  their  provisions  began  to  run  low  early  in  March, 
when  they  were  reduced  to  half  a  pound  of  flour  per  man,  and  no 
meat  except  what  they  could  kill,  which  was  very  little.  There 
being  no  provender  for  the  horses,,  they  strayed  away.  The 
march  was  fatiguing,  the  men  having  frequently  to  wade  labo 
riously  across  the  deepening  water  of  the  river;  they  suffered 
with  hunger,  and  starvation  began  to  stare  them  in  the  face. 
The  Cherokees  undertook  to  make  bark  canoes  to  convey  them 
selves  down  the  creek,  and  Lewis  ordered  a  large  canoe  to  be 
made  to  transport  the  ammunition  and  the  remaining  flour.  The 


*  Father  of  the  late  Judge  Archibald  Stewart,  of  Augusta  County,  and  grand 
father  of  the  Honorable  A.  H.  H.  Stewart,  Secretary  of  the  Interior  under 
President  Taylor. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  491 

men  murmured,  and  many  threatened  to  return  home.  Lewis 
ordered  a  cask  of  butter  to  be  divided  among  them.  An  advance 
party  of  one  hundred  and  thirty,  with  nearly  all  of  the  horses, 
proceeded  down  the  creek,  Lewis  with  the  rest  remaining  to  com 
plete  the  canoes.  No  game  was  met  with  by  the  party  proceed 
ing  down  the  stream,  and  the  mountains  were  found  difficult  to 
cross.  Hunger  and  want  increased,  and  the  men  became  almost 
mutinous.  Captain  Preston  proposed  to  kill  the  horses  for  food, 
but  this  offer  was  rejected.  About  this  time  some  elks  and  buf 
faloes  were  killed,  and  this  relief  rescued  some  of  the  men  from 
the  jaws  of  starvation.  The  advance  party  had  now,  as  they 
supposed,  reached  the  distance  of  fifteen  miles  below  the  forks 
of  the  Sandy.  Captain  Preston,  who  commanded  it,  was  greatly 
perplexed  at  the  discontents  which  prevailed,  and  which  threat 
ened  the  ruin  of  the  expedition.  The  men  laid  no  little  blame 
on  the  commissaries,  who  had  furnished  only  fifteen  days'  provi 
sion  for  what  they  supposed  to  be  a  march  of  three  hundred 
miles.  Major  Lewis  preserved  his  equanimity,  and  remarked 
that  "he  had  often  seen  the  like  mutiny  among  soldiers."  On 
the  eleventh  of  March  ten  men  deserted;  others  preparing  to 
follow  them,  were  disarmed  and  forcibly  detained,  but  some  of 
them  soon  escaped.  They  were  pursued  and  brought  back. 
When  Major  Lewis  rejoined  the  advance  party,  one  of  his  men 
brought  in  a  little  bear,  which  he  took  to  Captain  Preston's  tent, 
where  the  major  lodged  that  night,  "by  which,"  says  Preston, 
"I  had  a  good  supper  and  breakfast — a  rarity."  Major  Lewis 
addressed  the  men,  encouraging  them  to  believe  that  they  would 
soon  reach  the  hunting-ground  and  find  game,  and  reminded  them 
that  the  horses  would  support  them  for  some  time.  The  men, 
nevertheless,  appeared  obstinately  bent  upon  returning  home,  for 
they  said  that  if  they  went  forward  they  must  either  perish  or 
eat  horses — neither  of  which  they  were  willing  to  do.  The  major 
then,  stepping  off  a  few  yards,  called  upon  all  those  who  would 
serve  their  country  and  share  his  fate,  to  go  with  him.  All  the 
officers  and  some  twenty  or  thirty  privates  joined  him;  the  rest 
marched  off.  In  this  conjuncture,  when  deserted  by  his  own 
people,  Lewis  found  old  Outacite',  the  Cherokee  chief,  willing  to 
stand  by  him.  Outacite'  remarked,  that  "the  white  men  could 


492  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

not  bear  hunger  like  Indians."  The  expedition  was  now,  of 
necessity,  abandoned  when  they  had  arrived  near  the  Ohio  River, 
and  all  made  the  best  of  their  way  home. 

It  appears  to  have  required  two  weeks  for  them  to  reach  the 
nearest  settlements,  and  during  this  interval  they  endured  great 
sufferings  from  cold  and  hunger,  and  some  who  separated  from 
the  main  body,  and  undertook  to  support  themselves  on  the  way 
back  by  hunting,  perished.  When  the  main  body  reached  the 
Burning  Spring,  in  what  is  now  Logan  County,  they  cut  some 
buffalo  hides,  which  they  had  left  there  on  the  way  down,  into 
tuggs  or  long  thongs,  and  ate  them,  after  exposing  them  to  the 
flame  of  the  Burning  Spring.  Hence  Tugg  River,  separating 
Virginia  from  Kentucky,  derives  its  name.  During  the  last  two 
or  three  days,  it  is  said  that  they  ate  the  strings  of  their  mocca 
sins,  belts  of  their  hunting-shirts,  and  shot-pouch  flaps.  The  art 
of  extracting  nutriment  from  such  articles  is  now  lost. 

"The  Sandy  Creek  Voyage,"  as  it  was  sometimes  styled, 
appears  to  have  been  directed  against  the  Shawnee  town  near  the 
junction  of  the  Kanawha  and  the  Ohio,  and  perhaps  to  erect  a 
fort  there.  The  conduct  of  the  expedition  was  left  almost  en 
tirely  to  the  discretion  of  Major  Lewis.*  Washington  predicted 
the  failure  of  the  expedition,  on  account  of  the  length  of  the 
march,  and  even  if  it  reached  the  Ohio,  "as  we  are  told  that  those 
Indians  are  removed  up  the  river  into  the  neighborhood  of  Fort 
Du  Quesne."f 

Old  Outacit(3,  or  the  Man-killer,  was  in  distinction  among  the 
Cherokee  chiefs,  second  only  to  Attacullaculla,  or  the  Little 
Carpenter.  Outacite  attained  a  venerable  age,  and  continued  to 
be  a  steadfast  friend  of  the  whites.  At  the  massacre  committed 
near  Fort  Loudoun,  by  his  interposition  he  rescued  many  from 
destruction. 

Early  in  April,  1756,  another  Indian  irruption,  led  on  by  the 
French,  spread  consternation  in  the  tramontane  country,  and 
threatened  to  exterminate  the  inhabitants.  Washington,  now 


*  Lyman  C.  Draper,  in  Va.  Hist.  Register,  61 ;   Howe's  Hist.  Collections  of 
Va.,  352. 

-j-  Washington's  Writings,  ii.  125,  135. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  493 

aged  twenty-four,  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  "five  hundred  In 
dians  have  it  more  in  their  power  to  annoy  the  inhabitants  than 
ten  times  their  number  of  regulars."  While  the  unhappy  people 
were  flying  from  the  barbarous  foe,  Washington,  in  view  of  the 
inadequate  means  of  protection,  wrote  to  Governor  Dinwiddie: 
"  The  supplicating  tears  of  the  women  and  moving  petitions  of 
the  men  melt  me  into  such  deadly  sorrow,  that  I  solemnly  de 
clare,  if  I  know  my  own  mind,  I  could  offer  myself  a  willing 
sacrifice  to  the  butchering  enemy,  provided  that  would  contribute 
to  the  people's  ease."  In  this  sentence  we  find  the  key  to  his 
whole  character  and  history. 

The  governor  immediately  gave  orders  for  a  re-enforcement  of 
militia  to  assist  him.  The  "Virginia  Gazette,"  however,  cast 
discredit  and  blame  on  Washington  and  the  force  under  his  com 
mand.  Virginia  continued  to  be  too  parsimonious  and  too  indif 
ferent  to  the  sufferings  of  her  people  beyond  the  mountains.  The 
woods  appeared  to  be  alive  with  French  and  Indians;  each  day 
brought  fresh  disasters  and  alarms.  Washington  found  no  lan 
guage  expressive  enough  to  portray  the  miseries  of  the  country. 
Affording  all  the  succor  in  his  power,  he  called  upon  the  governor 
for  arms,  ammunition,  and  provisions,  and  gave  it  as  his  opinion 
that  a  re-enforcement  of  Indian  allies  was  indispensable,  as  In 
dians  alone  could  be  effectually  opposed  to  Indians.  Winchester, 
incorporated  in  1752,  was  now  almost  the  only  settlement  west 
of  the  Blue  Ridge  that  was  not  almost  entirely  deserted,  the  few 
families  that  remained  being  sheltered  in  forts.  West  of  the 
North  Mountain  the  country  was  depopulated,  save  a  few  families 
on  the  South  Branch  of  the  Potomac  and  on  the  Cacapehon. 
About  the  close  of  April  the  French  and  Indians  returned  to 
Fort  Du  Quesne  laden  with  plunder,  prisoners,  and  scalps. 

Governor  Dinwiddie  recommended  to  the  board  of  trade  an  ex 
tensive  cordon  of  forts,  to  cover  the  entire  frontier  of  the  colonies 
from  Crown  Point  to  the  country  of  the  Creek  Indians.  His 
project  was  to  pay  for  these  forts  and  support  their  garrisons  by 
a  land  and  poll  tax,  levied  on  all  the  colonies  by  an  act  of  parlia 
ment.  Washington  advised  that  Virginia  should  guard  her  fron 
tier  by  additional  forts  about  fifteen  miles  apart.  Fort  Loudoun 
was  erected  at  Winchester,  the  key  of  that  region,  under  his 


HISTORY   OF    THE   COLONY   AND 

superintendence.  It  was  a  square  with  four  bastions;  the  bat 
teries  mounted  twenty-four  guns;  a  well  was  sunk,  mostly  through 
a  bed  of  limestone;  the  barracks  were  sufficient  for  four  hundred 
and  fifty  men.  Vestiges  of  this  fortification  still  remain.  Win 
chester,  after  the  erection  of  Fort  Loudoun,  increased  rapidly, 
owing  to  its  being  the  rendezvous  of  the  Virginia  troops:  in  17o9 
it  contained  two  hundred  houses. 

It  is  remarkable  that  as  late  as  the  year  1756,  when  the  colony 
was  a  century  and  a  half  old,  the  Blue  Ridge  of  mountains  was 
virtually  the  western  boundary  of  Virginia,  and  great  difficulty 
was  found  in  completing  a  single  regiment  for  the  protection  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  border  country  from  the  cruel  irruptions 
of  the  Indians.  Yet  at  this  time  the  population  of  the  colony 
was  estimated  at  two  hundred  and  ninety-three  thousand,  of  whom 
one  hundred  and  seventy-three  thousand  were  white,  and  one 
hundred  and  twenty  thousand  black,  and  the  militia  were  com 
puted  at  thirty-five  thousand  fit  to  bear  arms. 

Dinwiddie  wrote  to  Fox,  (father  of  Charles  James,)  one  of  the 
secretaries  of  state:  "We  dare  not  venture  to  part  with  any  of 
our  white  men  any  distance,  as  we  must  have  a  watchful  eye  over 
our  negro  slaves,  who  are  upwards  of  one  hundred  thousand." 
Some  estimated  them  at  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  equal 
in  number  to  the  whites,  but  the  smaller  estimate  is  probably 
more  correct.  The  increase  of  the  blacks  was  rapid,  and  many 
lamented  that  the  mother  country  should  suffer  such  multitudes 
to  be  brought  from  Africa  to  gratify  the  African  Company,  "and 
overrun  a  dutiful  colony."  As  to  the  question  whether  enslaving 
the  negroes  is  consistent  with  Christianity,  the  Rev.  Peter  Fon 
taine  remarks:  "Like  Adam,  we  are  all  apt  to  shift  off  the  blame 
from  ourselves  and  lay  it  upon  others;  how  justly,  in  our  case, 
you  may  judge.  The  negroes  are  enslaved  by  the  negroes  them 
selves  before  they  are  purchased  by  the  masters  of  the  ships  who 
bring  them  here.  It  is,  to  be  sure,  at  our  choice  whether  we 
buy  them  or  not;  so  this,  then,  is  our  crime,  folly,  or  whatever 
you  will  please  to  call  it.  But  our  assembly,  foreseeing  the  ill 
consequences  of  importing  such  numbers  among  us,  hath  often 
attempted  to  lay  a  duty  upon  them  which  would  amount  to  a  pro 
hibition,  such  as  ten  or  twenty  pounds  a  head;  but  no  governor 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  495 

dare  pass  such  a  law,  having  instructions  to  the  contrary  from 

the  board  of  trade  at  home.  By  this  means  they  are  forced  upon 
us  whether  we  will  or  will  riot.  This  plainly  shows  the  African 
Company  hath  the  advantage  of  the  colonies,  arid  may  do  as  it 
pleases  with  the  ministry."  "To  live  in  Virginia  without  slaves  is 
morally  impossible,"  arid  it  was  a  hard  task  for  the  planter  to 
perform  his  duty  toward  them;  for.  on  the  one  hand,  if  they  were 
not  compelled  to  work  hard,  he  would  endanger  his  temporal 
ruin ;  on  the  other  hand,  was  the  danger  of  not  being  able,  in  a 
better  world,  to  render  a  good  account  of  his  humane  steward 
ship  of  them.* 

A  Ion;:  interval  of  tranquillity  had  enervated  the  planters  of 
Virginia;  luxury  had  introduced  effeminate  manners  and  disso 
lute  habits.  "To  eat  and  drink  delicately  arid  freely;  to  feast, 
and  'lance,  and  riot;  to  pamper  cocks  and  horses;  to  observe  the 
anxious,  important,  interesting  event,  which  of  two  horses  can 
run  fastest,  or  which  of  two  cocks  can  flutter  and  spur  most  dex 
terously;  these  are  the  grand  affairs  that  almost  engross  the 
attention  of  some  of  our  great  men.  And  little  low-lived  sinners 
imitate  them  to  the  utmost  of  their  power.  The  low-born  sinner 
can  leave  a  needy  family  to  starve  at  home,  and  add  one  to  the 
rabble  at  a  horse-race  or  a  cock-fight.  He  can  get  drunk  and 
turn  himself  into  a  beast  with  the  lowest  as  well  as  his  betters 
with  more  delicate  liquors."  Burk.  the  historian  of  Virginia, 
who  was  by  no  means  a  rigid  censor,  noticing  the  manners  of  the 
Virginians  during  the  half  century  preceding  the  Revolution, 
says:  "The  character  of  the  people  for  hospitality  and  expense 
was  now  decided,  arid  the  wealth  of  the  land  proprietors,  par 
ticularly  on  the  banks  of  the  rivers,  enabled  them  to  indulge  their 
passions  even  to  profusion  and  excess.  Drinking  parties  were 
then  fashionable,  in  which  the  strongest  head  or  stomach  gained 
the  victory.  The  moments  that  could  be  spared  from  the  bottle 
were  devoted  to  cards.  Cock-fighting  was  also  fashionable,  "f 
On  the  same  pages  he  adds:  "I  find,  in  1747,  a  main  of  cocks 
advertised  to  be  fought  between  Gloucester  and  James  River. 

*  Huguenot  Family,  348,  851. 
f  Burk's  Hi=t.  of  Va.,  iii.  402. 


496  HISTORY  OF  THE  COLONY  AND 

The  cocks  on  one  side  were  called  ''Bacon 's  Thunderbolts,'  after 
the  celebrated  rebel  of  1676." 

The  pay  of  the  soldiers  in  1756  was  but  eight  pence  a  day,  of 
which  two  pence  was  reserved*  for  supplying  them  with  clothes. 
The  meagre  pay,  and  the  practice  of  impressing  vagrants  into 
the  military  service,  increased  much  the  difficulty  of  recruiting 
and  of  enforcing  obedience  and  subordination.  Even  Indians 
calling  themselves  friendly  did  not  scruple  to  insult  and  annoy 
the  inhabitants  of  the  country  through  which  they  passed.  One 
hundred  and  twenty  Cherokees,  passing  through  Lunenburg 
County,  insulted  people  of  all  ranks,  and  a  party  of  Catawbas 
behaved  so  outrageously  at  Williamsburg  that  it  was  necessary 
to  call  out  the  militia. 

Although  Governor  Dinwiddie  was  an  able  man,  his  zeal  in 
military  affairs  sometimes  outstripped  his  knowledge,  and  Wash 
ington  was  at  times  distracted  by  inconsistent  and  impracticable 
orders,  and  harassed  by  undeserved  complaints.  It  was  indeed 
alleged  by  some,  that  if  he  could  have  withstood  the  strong  in 
terest  arrayed  in  favor  of  Washington,  the  governor  would  rather 
have  given  the  command  to  Colonel  Innes,  although  far  less  com 
petent,  and  an  inhabitant  of  another  colony,  North  Carolina. 
Dinwiddie's  partiality  to  Innes  was  attributed,  by  those  unfriendly 
to  the  governor,  to  national  prejudice,  for  they  were  both  natives 
of  Scotland.*  Yet  it  appears  by  Dinwiddie's  letters  that  he 
urgently  pressed  the  rank  of  colonel  on  Washington. f  Wash 
ington,  in  his  letters  to  Speaker  Robinson,  complains  heavily  of 
the  governor's  line  of  conduct,  and  Robinson's  replies  were  such 
as  would  widen  the  breach. {  The  tenor  of  the  governor's  corre 
spondence  with  Washington,  in  1757,  became  so  ungracious,  per 
emptory,  and  even  offensive,  that  he  could  not  but  attribute  the 
change  in  his  conduct  toward  him  to  some  secret  detraction,  and 
he  gave  utterance  to  a  noble  burst  of  eloquent  self-defence. 
Dinwiddie's  position  was  indeed  trying,  his  measures  being 
thwarted  by  a  rather  disaffected  legislature  and  an  arrogant 
aristocracy,  and  the  censures  thrown  upon  him,  coming  to  us 


*  Bancroft,  iv.  223.  f  Sparks'  Writings  of  Washington,  ii.  262. 

J  Washington's  Writings,  ii.  217,  in  note. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  497 

through  a  discolored  medium  of  prejudice,  ought  to  bo  taken 
with  much  allowance.  However  this  may  be,  harsh  and  rather 
overbearing  treatment  from  a  British  governor,  together  with  the 
invidious  distinctions  drawn  between  colonial  and  British  officers 
in  regard  to  rank,  naturally  tended  to  abate  Washington's  loyalty, 
and  thus  gradually  to  fit  him  for  the  great  part  which  he  was 
destined  to  perform  in  the  war  of  Independence. 

Lord  Loudoun,  the  newly-appointed  governor  of  Virginia,  and 
commander-in-chief  of  the  colonies,  now  arrived  in  America,  and 
called  a  conference  of  governors  and  military  officers  to  meet  him 
at  Philadelphia.  Washington,  by  the  rather  ungracious  and  re 
luctant  leave  of  Dinwiddie,  attended  the  conference.  Yet  Din- 
widdio,  in  his  letters  to  Loudoun,  said  of  him:  "He  is  a  very 
deserving  gentleman,  and  has  from  the  beginning  commanded 
the  forces  of  this  Dominion.  He  is  much  beloved,  has  gone 
through  many  hardships  in  the  service,  has  great  merit,  and  can 
raise  more  men  here  than  any  one."  He  therefore  urged  his 
promotion  to  the  British  establishment.*  Washington  had  pre 
viously  transmitted  to  the  incompetent  Loudoun  an  elaborate 
statement  of  the  posture  of  affairs  in  Virginia,  exhibiting  the  in 
sufficiency  of  the  militia  and  the  necessity  of  an  offensive  system 
of  operations.  But  Loudoun  determined  to  direct  his  main  efforts 
against  Canada,  and  to  leave  only  twelve  hundred  men  in  the 
middle  and  southern  provinces.  Instead  of  receiving  aid,  Vir 
ginia  was  required  to  send  four  hundred  men  to  South  Carolina. 
The  Virginia  Regiment  was  now  reduced  to  a  thousand  men. 
Colonel  Washington,  nevertheless,  insisted  that  a  favorable  con 
juncture  was  presented  for  capturing  Fort  Du  Quesne,  since  the 
French,  when  attacked  in  Canada,  would  be  unable  to  re-enforce 
that  remote  post.  This  wise  advice,  although  approved  by  Din 
widdie,  was  unheeded;  and  the  campaign  of  the  North  proved 
inglorious,  that  of  the  South  ineffectual.  Toward  the  close  of 
the  year,  Washington,  owing  to  multiplied  cares,  vexations,  and 
consequent  ill  health,  relinquished  his  post,  and  retired  to  Mount 
Vernon,  where  he  remained  for  several  months. 

In  January,  1758,  Robert  Dinwiddie,  after  an   arduous    and 

*  Bancroft,  iv.  236. 

32 


498  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

disturbed  administration  of  five  years,  worn  out  with  vexation 
and  age,  sailed  from  Virginia  not  much  regretted,  except  by  his 
particular  friends.  A  scholar,  a  wit,  and  an  amiable  companion, 
in  private  life  he  deservedly  won  esteem.  The  charge  alleged 
against  him  of  avarice  and  extortion  in  the  exaction  of  illegal 
fees,  appears  to  have  originated  in  political  prejudice,  and  that 
of  failing  to  account  for  sums  of  money  transmitted  by  the  British 
government,  rests  on  the  unsupported  assertions  of  those  who 
were  inimical  to  him.  His  place  was  filled  for  a  short  time  by 
John  Blair,  president  of  the  council. 

The  Rev.  Samuel  Davies,  by  invitation,  preached  to  the  militia 
of  Hanover  County,  in  Virginia,  at  a  general  muster,  on  the  8th 
of  May,  1758,  with  a  view  to  the  raising  a  company  for  Captain 
Samuel  Meredith.  In  this  discourse  Davies  said :  "Need  I  inform 
you  what  barbarities  and  depredations  a  mongrel  race  of  Indian 
savages  and  French  Papists  have  perpetrated  upon  our  frontiers? 
How  many  deserted  or  demolished  houses  and  plantations  ?  How 
wide  an  extent  of  country  abandoned?  How  many  poor  families 
obliged  to  fly  in  consternation  and  leave  their  all  behind  them? 
What  breaches  and  separations  between  the  nearest  relations? 
What  painful  ruptures  of  heart  from  heart  ?  What  shocking 
dispersions  of  those  once  united  by  the  strongest  and  most  en 
dearing  ties  ?  Some  lie  dead,  mangled  with  savage  wrounds,  con 
sumed  to  ashes  with  outrageous  flames,  or  torn  and  devoured  by 
the  beasts  of  the  wilderness,  while  their  bones  lie  whitening  in 
the  sun,  and  serve  as  tragical  memorials  of  the  fatal  spot  Avhere 
they  fell.  Others  have  been  dragged  away  captives,  and  made 
the  slaves  of  imperious  and  cruel  savages :  others  have  made  their 
escape,  and  live  to  lament  their  butchered  or  captivated  friends 
and  relations.  In  short,  our  frontiers  have  been  drenched  with 
the  blood  of  our  fellow-subjects  through  the  length  of  a  thousand 
miles,  and  new  wounds  are  still  opening.  We,  in  these  inland 
parts  of  the  country  are  as  yet  unmolested,  through  the  unmerited 
mercy  of  Heaven.  But  let  us  only  glance  a  thought  to  the 
western  extremities  of  our  body  politic,  and  what  melancholy 
scenes  open  to  our  view !  Now  perhaps  while  I  am  speaking, 
now  while  you  are  secure  and  unmolested,  our  fellow-subjects 
there  may  be  feeling  the  calamities  I  am  now  describing.  Now, 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF    VIRGINIA.  499 

perhaps,  the  savage  shouts  and  whoops  of  Indians,  and  the  screams 
and  groans  of  some  butchered  family,  may  be  mingling  their 
horrors  and  circulating  their  tremendous  echoes  through  the 
wilderness  of  rocks  and  mountains."*  There  appears  to  be  some 
resemblance  between  this  closing  sentence  and  the  following,  in 
Fisher  Ames'  speech  on  the  western  posts:  "I  can  fancy  that  I 
listen  to  the  yells  of  savage  vengeance  and  the  shrieks  of  torture. 
Already  they  seem  to  sigh  in  the  western  wind;  already  they 
mingle  with  every  echo  from  the  mountain  s."f 

*  Davies'  Sermons,  iii.  68. 

f  These  eloquent  words  may  have  been  suggested  by  those  of  Davies. 


CHAPTER    LXIV. 


Earl  of  Loudoun  —  General  Forbes  —  Pamunkey  Indians  —  Fauquier,  Governor  — 
Forbes'  Expedition  against  Fort  Du  Quesne  —  Its  Capture  —  Burnaby's  Account 
of  Virginia  —  Washington,  member  of  Assembly  —  His  Marriage  —  Speaker  Ro 
binson's  Compliment  —  Stobo  —  Germans  on  the  Shenandoah  —  Miscellaneous. 

THE  Earl  of  Loudoun  had  been  commissioned  to  fill  Dinwid- 
die's  place,  but  his  military  avocations  prevented  him  from  enter 
ing  on  the  duties  of  the  gubernatorial  office,  and  it  is  believed 
that  he  never  visited  the  colony  of  Virginia.  Pitt,  now  minister, 
had  resolved  on  a  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war  in  America, 
and  it  was  quickly  felt  in  every  part  of  the  British  empire  that 
there  was  a  man  at  the  helm.  The  department  of  the  Middle 
and  Southern  Colonies  was  entrusted  to  General  Forbes,  and  he 
was  ordered  to  undertake  an  expedition  against  Fort  Du  Quesne. 
"Washington  rejoined  the  army.  Forbes  having  deferred  the 
campaign  too  late,  the  French  and  Indians  renewed  their  merci 
less  warfare.  In  the  County  of  Augusta  sixty  persons  were 
murdered.  The  Virginia  troops  were  augmented  to  two  thousand 
men,  divided  into  two  regiments:  one  under  Washington,  who 
was  still  commander-in-chief  ;  the  other,  the  new  regiment,  under 
Colonel  William  Byrd,  of  Westover.  The  strength  of  Colonel 
Byrd's  regiment  at  Fort  Cumberland  (August  3d,  1758,)  was 
eight  hundred  and  fifty-  nine.* 

As  late  as  1758  there  were  some  descendants  of  the  Pamunkey 
Indians  still  residing  on  their  original  seat.  The  Rev.  Andrew 
Burnaby  makes  mention  of  them  in  his  Travels.  A  few  words 
of  their  language  were  found  surviving  as  late  as  1844. 

Francis  Fauquier,  appointed  governor,  now  reached  Virginia. 

*  The  officers  were  Lieutenant-Colonel  George  Mercer,  Major  William  Peachy, 
Captains  S.  Munford,  Thomas  Cocke,  Hancock  Eustace,  John  Field,  John  Posey, 
Thomas  Fleming,  John  Roote,  and  Samuel  Meredith. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  501 

Late  in  June,  1758,  the  Virginia  troops  left  Winchester,  and 
early  in  July  halted  at  Fort  Cumberland.*  At  Washington's 
suggestion  the  light  Indian  dress,  hunting-shirt  and  blanket,  were 
adopted  by  the  army.  Contrary  to  his  advice,  Forbes,  instead 
of  marching  immediately  upon  the  Ohio,  by  Braddock's  road, 
undertook  to  construct  another  from  Raystown,  in  Pennsylvania. 
The  general,  it  was  supposed,  was  influenced  by  the  Pennsylva- 
nians  to  open  for  them  a  more  direct  avenue  of  intercourse  with 
the  west.  The  new  road  caused  great  delay.  In  disregard  of 
Washington's  advice,  Major  Grant  had  been  detached  from  the 
Loyal  Hanna,  with  eight  hundred  men,  to  reconnoitre  the  coun 
try  about  Fort  Du  Quesne.  Presumptuous  temerity  involved  the 
detachment  in  a  surprise  and  defeat  similar  to  Braddock's; 
Grant  and  Major  Andrew  Lewis  were  made  prisoners.  Of  the 
eight  Virginia  officers  present  five  were  slain,  a  sixth  wounded, 
and  a  seventh  captured.  Captain  Thomas  Bullit,  and  fifty  Vir 
ginians,  defended  the  baggage  with  great  resolution,  and  contri 
buted  to  save  the  remnant  of  the  detachment.  He  was  the  only 
officer  who  escaped  unhurt.  Of  one  hundred  and  sixty-two  Vir 
ginians,  sixty-two  were  killed,  and  two  wounded.  Grant's  total 
loss  was  two  hundred  and  seventy-three  killed,  and  forty-two 
wounded. 

When  the  main  army  was  set  in  motion  Washington  requested 
to  be  put  in  advance,  and  Forbes,  profiting  by  Braddock's  fatal 
error,  complied  with  his  wish.  Washington  was  called  to  head 
quarters,  attended  the  councils  of  war,  and,  in  compliance  with 
the  general's  desire,  drew  up  a  line  of  march  and  order  of  battle. 
Forbes'  army  consisted  of  twelve  hundred  Highlanders,  three 
hundred  and  fifty  Royal  Americans,  twenty-seven  hundred  pro 
vincials  from  Pennsylvania,  sixteen  hundred  from  Virginia,  two 
or  three  hundred  from  Maryland,  and  two  companies  from  North 
Carolina,  making  in  all,  including  the  wagoners,  between  six  and 
seven  thousand  men.  This  army  was  five  months  in  reaching  the 
Ohio.  The  main  body  left  Raystown  on  the  8th  of  October, 


*  See  in  Bland  Papers,  i.  9,  Robert  Munford's  letter,  dated  at  the  Camp  near 
Fort  Cumberland.  He  -was  father  of  the  translator  of  Homer,  and  grandfather 
to  George  W.  Munford,  Esq.,  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth. 


502  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY    AND 

1758,  and  reached  the  camp  at  Loyal  Hanna  early  in  November. 
The  troops  were  worn  out  with  fatigue  and  exposure ;  winter  had 
set  in,  and  more  than  fifty  miles  of  rugged  country  yet  inter 
vened  between  them  and  Fort  Du  Quesne.  A  council  of  war 
declared  it  unadvisable  to  proceed  further  in  that  campaign.  Just 
at  this  conjuncture,  three  prisoners  were  brought  in,  and  they 
gave  such  a  report  of  the  feeble  state  of  the  garrison  at  the  fort, 
that  it  was  determined  to  push  forward  at  once.  Washington, 
with  his  provincials,  opened  the  way.  The  French,  reduced  to 
five  hundred  men,  and  deserted  by  the  Indians,  set  fire  to  the 
fort,  and  retired  down  the  Ohio.  Forbes  took  possession  of  the 
post  on  the  next  day,  (November  25th,  1758.)  The  works  were 
repaired,  and  the  fort  was  now  named  Fort  Pitt.  An  important 
city,  called  after  the  same  illustrious  statesman,  has  been 
reared  near  the  spot.  General  Forbes,  whose  health  had  been 
declining  during  the  campaign,  died  shortly  afterwards  at  Phila 
delphia.  He  was  a  native  of  Scotland,  and  was  educated  as  a 
physician;  was  an  estimable  and  brave  man,  and  of  fine  military 
talents. 

Burnaby,  who  visited  Virginia  about  this  time,  in  describing 
Williarnsburg,  mentions  the  governor's  palace  as  the  only  tolera 
bly  good  public  building.  The  streets  being  unpaved  are  dusty, 
the  soil  being  sandy.  The  miniature  capital  had  the  rare  advan 
tage  of  being  free  from  mosquitoes;  and  it  was,  all  things  consi 
dered,  a  pleasant  place  of  residence.  During  the  session  of  the 
assembly  and  of  the  general  court,  it  was  crowded  with  the 
gentry  of  the  country.  On  these  occasions  there  were  balls,  and 
other  amusements;  but  as  soon  as  the  public  business  was  dis 
patched  the  visitors  returned  to  their  homes,  and  Williamsburg 
appeared  to  be  deserted.  Lightning-rods  were  now  generally 
used  in  Virginia,  and  proved  efficacious.  At  Spotswood's  iron 
mines,  on  the  banks  of  the  Rappahannock,  there  were  smelted, 
annually,  upwards  of  six  hundred  tons  of  metal.  Coal  mines 
had  been  opened  with  good  success  on  the  James  River  near  the 
falls.  Not  a  tenth  of  the  land  in  Virginia  was  cultivated;  yet, 
besides  tobacco,  she  produced  considerable  quantities  of  fruit, 
cattle,  and  grain.  The  bacon  was  held  to  be  superior  in  flavor 
to  any  in  the  world;  but  the  mutton  and  beef  inferior  to  that  of 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  503 

Great  Britain.  The  horses  were  fleet  and  beautiful;  and  the 
breed  was  improved  by  frequent  importations  from  England. 
Delicious  fruits  abounded,  and  in  the  early  spring  the  eye  of  the 
traveller  was  charmed  with  the  appearance  of  the  orchards  in  full 
blossom.  There  were  fifty-two  counties  and  seventy-seven 
parishes,  and  on  the  pages  of  the  statute-book  forty-four  towns; 
but  one-half  of  these  had  not  more  than  five  houses,  and  the 
other  half,  for  the  most  part,  were  inconsiderable  villages.  The 
exports  of  tobacco  were  between  fifty  and  sixty  thousand  hogs 
heads,  each  weighing  eight  hundred  or  a  thousand  pounds.  Their 
other  exports  were,  to  the  Madeiras  and  the  West  Indies,  cider, 
pork,  lumber,  and  grain ;  to  Great  Britain,  bar-iron,  indigo,  and  a 
little  ginseng.  The  only  domestic  manufacture  of  any  conse 
quence  was  Virginia  cloth,  which  was  commonly  worn.  There  were 
between  sixty  and  seventy  clergymen,  "men  in  general  of  sober 
and  exemplary  lives."  Burnaby  describes  the  Virginians  as  in 
dolent,  easy,  good-natured,  fond  of  society,  and  much  given  to 
convivial  pleasures.  They  were  devoid  of  enterprise  and  incapa 
ble  of  enduring  fatigue.  Their  authority  over  their  slaves  ren 
dered  them  vain,  imperious,  and  destitute  of  refinement.  Ne 
groes  and  Indians  they  looked  upon  as  scarcely  of  the  human 
species;  so  that  in  case  of  violence,  or  even  murder  committed 
upon  them,  it  was  almost  impossible  to  bring  them  to  justice. 
Such  was  Burnaby's  report  on  this  subject.  During  the  reign  of 
James  the  Second,  John  Page,  in  a  religious  work  composed  by 
him,  thought  it  necessary  to  combat,  in  an  elaborate  argument,  the 
opinion  that  a  master  had  the  power  of  life  and  death  over  his 
slave. 

Washington,  after  furnishing  a  detachment  from  his  regiment 
as  a  garrison  for  Fort  Pitt,  then  considered  as  within  the  juris 
diction  of  Virginia,  marched  back  to  Winchester.  Thence  he 
proceeded  to  Williamsburg  to  take  his  seat  in  the  assembly, 
having  been  elected  by  the  County  of  Frederick.  He  resigned 
his  military  commission  in  December,  after  having  been  engaged 
in  the  service  for  more  than  five  years.  His  health  had  been 
impaired,  and  domestic  affairs  demanded  his  attention.  On  the 
6th  day  of  January,  1759,  he  was  married  to  Martha,  widow  of 


504  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

John  Parke  Custis,  and  daughter  of  John  Dandridge,  a  lady  in 
whom  were  united  wealth,  beauty,  and  an  amiable  temper. 

By  an  order  of  the  assembly,  Speaker  Kobinson  was  directed 
to  return  their  thanks  to  Colonel  Washington,  on  behalf  of  the 
colony,  for  the  distinguished  military  services  which  he  had  ren 
dered  to  the  country.  As  soon  as  he  took  his  seat  in  the  house, 
the  speaker  performed  this  duty  in  such  glowing  terms  as  quite 
overwhelmed  him.  Washington  rose  to  express  his  acknowledg 
ments  for  the  honor,  but  was  so  disconcerted  as  to  be  unable  to 
articulate  a  word  distinctly.  He  blushed  and  faltered  for  a 
moment,  when  the  speaker  relieved  him  from  his  embarrassment 
by  saying,  "  Sit  down,  Mr.  Washington,  your  modesty  equals 
your  valor,  and  that  surpasses  the  power  of  any  language  that  I 
possess." 

Captain  Stobo,  a  hostage  in  the  hands  of  the  French,  was  de 
tained  for  years  at  Quebec,  enduring  frequently  the  hardships  of 
actual  imprisonment,  and  for  a  time  being  under  condemnation 
of  death.  At  length  he  was  released  from  this  apprehension  and 
from  close  confinement,  and  in  May,  1759,  in  company  of  several 
others,  effected  his  escape.  Eluding  the  enemy  by  prudence  and 
gallantry,  he  and  his  associates  made  their  way  to  Louisburg. 
Here  Stobo  was  gladly  welcomed,  and  he  joined  General  Wolfe, 
to  whom  his  information  proved  serviceable;  and  he  appears  to 
have  been  present  at  the  capture  of  Quebec.  Shortly  afterwards 
he  returned  to  Virginia,  (November,  1759.)  The  assembly 
granted  him  a  thousand  pounds,  requested  the  governor  to  pro 
mote  him,  and  presented  their  thanks  to  him  for  his  fidelity,  for 
titude,  and  courage,  by  Mr.  R.  C.  Nicholas,  Mr.  Richard  Bland, 
and  Mr.  George  Washington.  Stobo  returned  to  England,  where 
his  memoirs  were  published.  In  1760  he  was  made  a  captain  in 
Amherst's  Regiment,  then  serving  in  America;  and  he  held  that 
position  in  1765. 

Van  Bra  am,  who  had  been  kept  prisoner  at  Montreal,  was  not 
released  until  the  surrender  of  that  city  to  the  British  in  the 
ensuing  year.  He  returned  to  Williamsburg  shortly  afterwards. 
In  1770  he  obtained  his  share  of  the  Virginia  bounty  lands;  and 
in  1777  was  made  major  in  the  Royal  Americans,  then  in  the 
West  Indies. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  505 

During  tliis  year  (1759)  Rev.  Andrew  Burnaby  visited  Mount 
Vernon,  of  which  he  remarks :  "  This  place  is  the  property  of  Co 
lonel  Washington,  and  truly  deserving  of  its  owner.  The  house  is 
most  beautifully  situated  upon  a  very  high  hill  on  the  banks  of 
the  Potomac,  and  commands  a  noble  prospect  of  water,  of  cliffs, 
of  woods,  and  plantations.  The  river  is  near  two  miles  broad 
though  two  hundred  from  the  mouth;  and  divides  the  dominions 
of  Virginia  from  Maryland." 

Burnaby,  in  his  Travels,  describes  the  condition  of  the  Ger 
mans  on  the  Shenandoah  as  follows:  "I  could  not  but  reflect 
with  pleasure  on  the  situation  of  these  people,  and  think,  if  there 
is  such  a  thing  as  happiness  in  this  life,  that  they  enjoy  it.  Far 
from  the  bustle  of  the  world,  they  live  in  the  most  delightful  cli 
mate  and  richest  soil  imaginable ;  they  are  everywhere  surrounded 
with  beautiful  prospects  and  sylvan  scenes,  lofty  mountains, 
transparent  streams,  falls  of  water,  rich  valleys,  and  majestic 
woods;  the  whole,  interspersed  with  an  infinite  variety  of  flower 
ing  shrubs,  constitute  the  landscape  surrounding  them ;  they  are 
subject  to  few  diseases;  are  generally  robust,  and  live  in  perfect 
liberty;  they  are  ignorant  of  want,  and  acquainted  with  but  few 
vices;  their  inexperience  of  the  elegancies  of  life  precludes  any 
regret  that  they  possess  not  the  means  of  enjoying  them;  but 
they  possess  what  many  princes  would  give  their  dominions  for — 
health,  content,  and  tranquillity  of  mind." 

In  the  year  1781  died  the  Rev.  Thomas  Dawson,  President  of 
the  College  of  William  and  Mary;  he  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev. 
William  Yatcs.  During  the  same  year  died  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Davies.*  He  accepted  the  presidency  of  the  College  of  New 
Jersey  in  1759.  and  died  on  the  4th  of  February,  1761.  In  this 
year  was  incorporated  the  town  of  Staunton,  in  Augusta  County, 
and  in  the  following  year  Romney,  in  the  County  of  Hampshire. 

During  the  tragic  scenes  of  the  French  and  Indian  war,  the 


*  John  Rodgers  Davies,  his  third  son,  was  at  Princeton  College  at  the  same 
time  with  Mr.  Madison,  and  leaving  it,  at  the  commencement  of  the  revolu 
tionary  war,  became  an  officer  in  the  army,  and  as  such  enjoyed  the  esteem  of 
Washington.  lie  is  said  to  have  been  engaged  in  the  auditor's  office  at  Rich 
mond.  He  removed  to  Sussex  County,  and  died  there. 


506  ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA. 

persecutions  of  the  dissenting  Presbyterians,  whose  aid  was  so 
necessary  in  defending  the  frontiers,  were  essentially  lessened. 
They  were  indebted  to  the  confusion  and  dangers  of  the  times  for 
a  freedom  in  matters  of  religion  which  was  denied  them  in  a 
period  of  tranquillity.  Their  ministers  now  enjoyed  the  privilege 
of  preaching  where  they  pleased,  and  were  no  longer  restrained 
by  the  Virginia  intolerant  construction  of  the  toleration  act. 
The  Baptists  began  to  multiply  their  number  in  Virginia,  and  their 
new  enthusiasm  became  the  object  of  persecution.  But  events 
were  about  to  turn  the  tide  of  popular  prejudice,  and  direct  it 
against  the  clergy  of  the  established  church,  and  to  give  to  the  dis 
senters  a  stronger  foothold  and  a  higher  vantage  ground.  Those 
ministers  of  the  establishment  who  had  been  vainly  endeavoring 
to  repress  the  progress  of  dissent  by  ridicule,  detraction,  and  in 
sult,  some  of  them  combining  with  and  leading  on  a  mob  of 
"lewd  fellows  of  the  baser  sort"  in  these  persecuting  indignities, 
now  began  to  find  it  necessary  to  defend  themselves  against  the 
rising  storm  of  public  indignation. 


CHAPTER    LXV. 

ires. 

The  Parsons'  Cause — Patrick  Henry's  Speech. 

IN  the  year  1763  occurred  the  famous  "Parsons'  Cause,"  in 
which  the  genius  of  Patrick  Henry  first  shone  forth.  The  emolu 
ments  of  the  clergy  of  the  established  church  for  a  long  time 
had  consisted  of  sixteen  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco,  contributed 
by  each  parish.  The  tobacco  crop  of  1755  failing,  in  conse 
quence  of  a  drought,  and  the  exigencies  of  the  colony  being 
greatly  augmented  by  the  French  and  Indian  war,  the  assembly 
passed  an  act,  to  endure  for  ten  months,  authorizing  all  debts 
due  in  tobacco  to  be  paid  either  in  kind  or  in  money,  at  the  rate 
ol  sixteen  shillings  and  eight  pence  for  every  hundred  pounds  of 
tobacco.  This  was  equivalent  to  two  pence  per  pound,  and  hence 
the  act  was  styled  by  the  clergy  the  "Two  Penny  Act."  As 
the  price  of  tobacco  now  rose  to  six  pence  per  pound,  the  reduc 
tion  amounted  to  sixty-six  and  two-thirds  per  cent.  At  two 
pence  the  salary  of  a  minister  clergy  was  about  one  hundred  and 
thirty-three  pounds;  at  six  pence,  about  four  hundred  pounds. 
Yet  the  act  must  have  operated  in  relief  of  the  indebted  clergy 
equally  with  other  debtors,  and  many  of  the  ministers  wrere  in 
debt.  It  was  by  no  means  the  intention  of  the  assembly  to 
abridge  the  maintenance  of  the  clergy,  or  to  bear  harder  upon 
them  than  upon  all  other  public  creditors;  and  as  they,  under 
the  new  act,  in  fact,  received  in  general  a  larger  salary  than  they 
had  received  in  any  year  since  it  was  first  regulated  by  law,  they, 
above  all  men,  ought  to  have  been  content  with  it  in  a  year  of  so 
much  distress.*  The  taxes  were  enormous,  and  fell  most  heavily 
upon  planters  of  limited  means ;  and  the  tobacco-crop  was  greatly 
fallen  off.  The  Rev.  James  Maury,  in  whose  behalf  the  suit  was 


*  Colonel  Richard  Eland's  Letter  to  the  Clergy. 

(507) 


508  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

afterwards  brought,  had  himself  at  the  time  expressly  approved 
of  the  Two  Penny  Act,  and  said:  "In  my  own  case,  who  am  en 
titled  to  upwards  of  seventeen  thousand  weight  of  tobacco  per 
annum,  the  difference  amounts  to  a  considerable  sum.  However, 
each  individual  must  expect  to  share  in  the  misfortunes  of  the 
community  to  which  he  belongs."*  The  law  was  universal  in  its 
operation,  embracing  private  debts,  public,  county,  and  parish 
levies,  and  the  fees  of  all  civil  officers.  Its  effect  upon  the  clergy 
was  to  reduce  their  salary  to  a  moderate  amount  in  money,  far 
less,  indeed,  than  the  sixteen  thousand  pounds  which  they  wrere 
ordinarily  entitled  to,  yet  still  rather  more  than  what  they  had 
usually  received.  The  act  did  not  contain  the  usual  clause,  by 
which  acts  altering  previous  acts  approved  by  the  crown  were 
suspended  until  they  should  receive  the  royal  sanction,  since  it 
might  require  the  entire  ten  months,  the  term  of  its  operation, 
to  learn  the  determination  of  the  crown.  The  king  had  a  few 
years  before  expressly  refused  to  allow  the  assembly  to  dispense 
with  the  suspending  clause  in  any  such  act.  The  regal  authority 
was  thus  apparently  abnegated;  necessity  discarding  forms,  and 
the  safety  of  the  people  being  the  supreme  law.  Up  to  the  time 
of  the  Revolution  the  king  freely  exercised  his  authority  in 
vetoing  acts  of  the  assembly  when  they  had  been  approved  by 
large  majorities  of  the  house  of  burgesses  and  of  the  council. 
The  practice  was  to  print  all  the  acts  at  the  close  of  each  session, 
and  when  an  act  was  negatived  by  the  king,  that  fact  was  writ 
ten  against  the  act  with  a  pcn.f 

No  open  resistance  was  offered  to  the  Two  Penny  Act ;  but  the 
greater  number  of  clergy  petitioned  the  house  of  burgesses  to 
grant  them  a  more  liberal  provision  for  their  maintenance.  Their 
petition  set  forth:  "That  the  salary  appointed  bylaw  for  the 
clergy  is  so  scanty  that  it  is  with  difficulty  they  support  them 
selves  and  families,  and  can  by  no  means  make  any  provision  for 
their  widows  and  children,  who  are  generally  left  to  the  charity 
of  their  friends;  that  the  small  encouragement  given  to  clergy- 


*  Memoirs  of  Huguenot  Family,  402. 

f  Journals  of  the  house  of  burgesses  thus  marked  are  in  the  possession  of  Mr. 
Grigsby. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  509 

men  is  a  reason  why  so  few  come  into  this  colony  from  the  two 
universities;  and  that  so  many,  who  are  a  disgrace  to  the  minis 
try,  find  opportunities  to  fill  the  parishes;  that  the  raising  the 
salary  would  prove  of  great  service  to  the  colony,  as  a  decent 
subsistence  would  be  a  great  encouragement  to  the  youth  to  take 
orders,  for  want  of  which  few  gentlemen  have  hitherto  thought 
it  worth  their  while  to  bring  up  their  children  in  the  study  of 
divinity ;  that  they  generally  spent  many  years  of  their  lives  at 
great  expense  in  study,  when  their  patrimony  is  pretty  well 
exhausted;  and  when  in  holy  orders  they  cannot  follow  any  se 
cular  employment  for  the  advancement  of  their  fortunes,  and  may 
on  that  account  expect  a  more  liberal  provision."*  Another  re 
lief  act,  similar  to  that  of  1755,  fixing  the  value  of  tobacco  at 
eighteen  shillings  a  hundred,  was  passed  in  1758f  upon  a  mere 
anticipation  of  another  scanty  crop.J  Burk§  attributes  the  rise 
in  the  price  of  tobacco  to  the  arts  of  an  extravagant  specula 
tor;  but  he  cites  no  authority  for  the  statement,  and  the  acts 
themselves  expressly  attribute  the  scarcity,  in  1755,  to  "drought," 
and  in  1757  to  "  unseasonableness  of  the  weather." ||  The  crop 
did  fall  short,  and  the  price  rose  extremely  high;  and  conten 
tion  ensued  between  the  planters  and  the  clergy.  The  Rev.  John 
Camm,  rector  of  York  Hampton  Parish,  assailed  the  "Two 
Penny  Act"  in  a  pamphlet  of  that  title,  which  was  replied  to 
severally  by  Colonel  Richard  Bland  and  Colonel  Landon  Carter. 
An  acrimonious  controversy  took  place  in  the  Virginia  Crazette; 
but  the  cause  of  the  clergy  became  at  length  so  unpopular,  that 
a  printer  could  not  be  found  in  Virginia  willing  to  publish 
Camm's  rejoinder  to  Bland  and  Carter,  styled  the  "  Colonels 
Dismounted,"  and  he  was  obliged  to  resort  to  Maryland  for  that 
purpose.  The  colonels  retorted,  and  this  angry  dispute  threw 
the  colony  into  great  excitement.  At  last  the  clergy  appealed 
to  the  king  in  council.  By  an  act  of  assembly  passed  as  early 
as  the  year  1662,  a  salary  of  eighty  pounds  per  annum  was  set- 


*  Colonel  Eland's  Letter  to  the  Clergy,  6.  f  Hening,  vii.  240. 

J  Ibid.,  vi.  568.  \  Hist,  of  Va.,  iii.  302. 

||  See  also  A.  H.  Everett's  Life  of  Patrick  Henry,  in  Sparks'  American  Biog., 
(second  series,)  i.  230. 


51U  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLONY  AND 

tied  upon  every  minister,  "to  be  paid  in  the  valuable  commodi 
ties  of  the  country — if  in  tobacco,  at  twelve  shillings  the  hundred ; 
if  in  corn,  at  ten  shillings  the  barrel."  In  1696  the  salary  of 
the  clergy  was  fixed  at  sixteen  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco, 
worth  at  that  time  about  eighty  pounds.  This  continued  to  be 
the  amount  of  their  stipends  until  1731,  when,  the  value  of  to 
bacco  being  raised,  they  increased  to  about  one  hundred  or  one 
hundred  and  twenty  pounds,  exclusive  of  their  glebes  and  other 
perquisites.  In  Virginia,  besides  the  salaries  of  the  clergy,  the 
people  had  to  bear  parochial,  county,  and  public  levies,  and  fees 
of  clerks,  sheriffs,  surveyors,  and  other  officers,  all  of  which  were 
payable  in  tobacco,  the  paper  currency  of  the  colony  having 
banished  gold  and  silver  from  the  colony.*  The  consequence  of 
this  state  of  things  was  that  a  failure  in  the  crop  involved  the 
people  in  general  distress ;  for  by  law  if  the  salaries  of  the  clergy 
and  the  fees  of  officers  were  not  paid  in  tobacco  by  the  tenth  day 
of  April,  the  property  of  delinquents  was  liable  to  be  distrained, 
and  if  not  replevied  within  five  days,  to  be  sold  at  auction.  Were 
they  to  be  exposed  to  cruel  imposition  and  exactions;  to  have 
their  estates  seized  and  sacrificed,  "for  not  complying  with  laws 
which  Providence  had  made  it  impossible  to  comply  with  ?  Com 
mon  sense,  as  well  as  common  humanity,  will  tell  you  that  they 
are  not,  and  that  it  is  impossible  any  instruction  to  a  governor 
can  be  construed  so  contrary  to  the  first  principles  of  justice  and 
equity,  as  to  prevent  his  assent  to  a  law  for  relieving  a  colony  in 
a  case  of  such  general  distress  and  calamity."f  Sherlock, 
Bishop  of  London,  in  his  letter  to  the  lords  of  trade  and  planta 
tions,  denounced  the  act  of  1758,  as  binding  the  king's  hands, 
and  manifestly  tending  to  draw  the  people  of  the  plantations 
from  their  allegiance  to  the  king.  It  was  replied,  on  the  other 
hand,  that  if  the  Virginians  could  ever  entertain  the  thought  of 
withdrawing  from  their  dependency  on  England,  nothing  could  be 
more  apt  to  bring  about  such  a  result  than  the  denying  them  the 
right  to  protect  themselves  from  distress  and  calamity  in  so  try 
ing  an  emergency.  In  the  year  when  this  relief  act  was  passed, 
many  thousands  of  the  colonists  did  not  make  one  pound  of  to- 

*  Burnaby's  Travels.  f  Eland's  Letter  to  the  Clergy,  14. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  511 

bacco,  and  if  all  of  it  raised  in  the  colony  had  been  divided 
among  the  tithables,  "they  would  not  have  had  two  hundred 
pounds  a  man  to  pay  the  taxes,  for  the  support  of  the  war,  their 
levies  and  other  public  dues,  and  to  provide  a  scanty  subsistence 
for  themselves  and  families;"  and  "the  general  assembly  were 
obliged  to  issue  money  from  the  public  funds  to  keep  the  people 
from  starving."  The  act  had  been  denounced  as  treasonable; 
but  were  the  legislature  to  sit  with  folded  arms,  silent  and  inac 
tive,  amid  the  miseries  of  the  people?  "This  would  have  been 
treason  indeed, — treason  against  the  state, — against  the  clemency 
of  the  royal  majesty."  Many  landlords  and  civil  officers  were 
members  of  the  assembly  in  1758,  and  their  fees  and  rents  were 
payable  in  tobacco;  nevertheless,  they  cheerfully  promoted  the 
enactment  of  a  measure  by  which  they  were  to  suffer  great  losses. 
The  royal  prerogative  in  the  hands  of  a  benign  sovereign  could 
only  be  exerted  for  "the  good  of  the  people,  and  not  for  their 
destruction."  "When,  therefore,  the  governor  and  council  (to 
whom  this  power  is  in  part  delegated)  find,  from  the  uncertainty 
and  variableness  of  human  affairs,  that  any  accident  happens 
which  general  instructions  can  by  no  means  provide  for,  or 
which,  by  a  rigid  construction  of  them,  would  destroy  a  people 
so  far  distant  from  the  royal  presence,  before  they  can  apply  to 
the  throne  for  relief,  it  is  their  duty  as  good  magistrates  to  exer 
cise  this  power  as  the  exigency  of  the  state  requires ;  and  though 
they  should  deviate  from  the  strict  letter  of  an  instruction,  or, 
perhaps  in  a  small  degree  from  the  fixed  rule  of  the  constitution, 
yet  such  a  deviation  cannot  possibly  be  treason,  when  it  is  in 
tended  to  produce  the  most  salutary  end — the  preservation  of  the 
people." 

The  Rev.  Andrew  Burnaby,  who  passed  some  months  in  Vir 
ginia  about  the  time  of  this  dispute,  travelling  through  the  colony 
and  conversing  freely  with  all  ranks  of  people,  expresses  him 
self  on  the  subject  in  the  following  manner:  "Upon  the  whole, 
however,  as  on  the  one  hand  I  disapprove  of  the  proceedings  of 
the  assembly  in  this  affair,  so  on  the  other  I  cannot  approve  of 
the  steps  which  were  taken  by  the  clergy;  that  violence  of  tem 
per,  that  disrespectful  behavior  toward  the  governor,  that  un 
worthy  treatment  of  their  commissary,  and,  to  mention  nothing 


512  HISTORY  OF  THE  COLONY  AND 

else,  that  confusion  of  proceeding  in  the  convention,*  of  which 
some,  though  not  the  majority,  as  has  been  invidiously  repre 
sented,  were  guilty;  these  things  were  surely  unbecoming  the 
sacred  character  they  are  invested  with,  and  the  moderation  of 
those  persons  who  ought  in  all  things  to  imitate  the  conduct  of 
their  Divine  Master.  If  instead  of  flying  out  in  invectives  against 
the  legislature,  of  accusing  the  governor  of  having  given  up  the 
cause  of  religion  by  passing  the  bill,  when,  in  fact,  had  he  re 
jected  it,  he  would  never  have  been  able  to  have  got  any  supplies 
during  the  course  of  the  war,  though  ever  so  much  wanted;  if 
instead  of  charging  the  commissaryf  with  want  of  zeal,  for  having 
exhorted  them  to  moderate  measures,  they  had  followed  the  pru 
dent  counsels  of  that  excellent  man,  and  had  acted  with  more 
temper  and  moderation,  they  might,  I  am  persuaded,  in  a  very 
short  time  have  obtained  any  redress  they  could  reasonably  have 
desired.  The  people  in  general  were  extremely  well  affected 
tOAvard  the  clergy.  "J 

The  following  paper  exhibits  the  view  maintained  by  Richard 
Henry  Lee  on  this  mooted  topic: — 

"Reasons  and  Objections  to  Mr.  Camm's  Appeal. 

"  OBJECTED,  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Camm:  That  the  law  of  1758, 
as  it  tended  to  suspend  the  act  of  1748,  which  had  obtained  the 
royal  approbation,  and  as  it  was  contrary  to  his  majesty's  instruc 
tions  to  his  governor,  was  void  ab  initio.  and  was  so  declared  by 
his  majesty's  order  of  disapprobation  of  10th  of  August.  1759. 

"ANSWER. — Whatever  might  be  allowed  to  be  the  effect  of 
these  objections,  and  however  they  might  affect  those  who  made 
the  law,  it  would  be  very  hard  that  they  should  subject  to  a  heavy 
penalty  two  innocent  subjects, §  who  have  been  guilty  of  no  offence 
but  that  of  obeying  a  law  passed  regularly  in  appearance  through 
the  several  branches  of  the  legislature  of  the  colony  while  it  had 

*  The  record  of  this  convention  of  the  clergy,  which  is  probably  in  the  archives 
of  the  See  of  London,  would  be  extremely  interesting  at  the  present  day. 

|  Robinson. 

J  Travels  through  the  Middle  Settlements  in  North  America  in  the  year  1759 
and  1760,  with  Observations  upon  the  state  of  the  Colonies,  by  the  Rev  Andrew 
Burnaby,  A.M.,  Vicar  of  Greenwich.     Second  edition.     London,  1775. 
The  collectors. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  513 

the  force  of  a  law  upon  the  spot.  It  would  be  to  punish  them 
for  a  mistake  of  the  assembly.  But  the  objections  do  not  prove 
either  that  the  law  was  a  nullity  from  the  beginning  by  its 
tending  to  suspend  the  act  of  1748,  or  by  being  assented  to  by 
the  governor,  contrary  to  his  majesty's  instructions  to  him,  or 
that  it  became  void  by  relation,  db  initio,  from  any  retrospective 
declarations  of  his  majesty.  As  to  the  law  in  question  tending 
to  suspend  the  act  of  1748,  which  had  received  the  royal  appro 
bation,  a  power  given  by  the  crown  to  make  laws  implies  a 
power  to  suspend  or  even  repeal  former  laws  which  are  become 
inconvenient  or  mischievous,  as  the  law  of  1748  was;  otherwise  a 
country  at  the  distance  of  three  thousand  miles  might  be  subject 
to  great  calamities,  before  relief  could  be  obtained,  for  which 
reason  such  power  is  lodged  in  the  legislature  of  the  country. 

"As  to  the  governor's  consent  being  contrary  to  his  majesty's 
instructions  to  him,  it  is  imagined  that  his  majesty's  instructions 
to  the  governor  are  private  directions  for  his  conduct  in  his 
government,  liable  to  be  sometimes  dispensed  with  upon  extraor 
dinary  emergencies,  the  propriety  of  which  he  may  be  called  to 
explain.  The  instructions  are  not  addressed  to  the  people  nor 
promulgated  among  them;  they  are  not  public  instruments,  nor 
lodged  among  the  public  records  of  the  province.  The  people 
know  the  governor's  authority  by  his  commission;  his  assent  is 
virtually  that  of  the  crown,  and  by  his  assent  the  law  is  in  force 
till  his  majesty's  disapprobation  arrives  and  is  ratified,  conse 
quently  everything  done  in  the  colony  till  then  conformably 
thereto  is  legal. 

"As  to  the  order  in  council  having  declared  the  act  void  db 
initio,  it  seems  to  have  been  a  mistake,  the  order  being  as  usual 
generally  expressed  that  the  act  be  disallowed,  declared  void,  and 
of  none  effect,  which  purposely  left  the  effect  of  the  law,  during 
the  interval,  open  to  its  legal  consequences. 

"The  king's  commission  to  his  governor  directs  him  that  he 
shall  transmit  all  laws  in  three  months  after  their  passage.  That 
when  the  laws  are  so  signified,  then  such  and  so  many  of  the  said 
laws  as  shall  be  disallowed  and  signified  to  the  governor  should 
from  thenceforth  cease,  etc.  Upon  appeal  from  the  Cockpit  to 
the  privy  council,  the  cause  was  put  off  sine  die." 

33 


514  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

When  the  clergy  appealed  to  the  king,  they  sent  over  the  Rev. 
John  Camm  to  plead  their  cause  in  England,  and  agents  were 
employed  by  the  assembly  to  resist  it.  Mr.  Gamin  remained 
eighteen  months  in  England  in  prosecution  of  the  appeal.  The 
king  at  length,  by  the  unanimous  advice  of  the  lords  of  trade, 
denounced  the  Two  Penny  Act  as  an  usurpation,  and  declared  it 
null  and  void :  and  the  governor,  by  express  instructions,  issued 
a  proclamation  to  that  effect.  Fauquier  was  reprimanded  for  not 
having  negatived  the  bill,  and  was  threatened  with  recall;  and 
he  pleaded  in  excuse  that  he  had  subscribed  the  law  in  conformity 
with  the  advice  of  the  council,  and  contrary  to  his  own  judgment. 
The  board  of  trade  deemed  the  apology  unsatisfactory.* 

But  the  king's  decision  not  being  retrospective,  the  repeal  of 
the  act  not  rendering  it  void  from  the  beginning,  was  in  effect 
futile,  the  act  having  been  passed  to  be  in  force  for  only  one 
year. 

At  Mr.  Camm's  instance  a  suit  was  brought  against  the  vestry 
of  his  parish  of  York  Hampton,  for  the  recovery  of  the  salary  in 
tobacco,  the  assembly  having,  in  the  mean  while,  determined  to 
support  the  vestries  in  their  defence.  The  case  was  decided 
against  the  plaintiff,  Mr.  Camm,  who,  in  accordance  with  the  ad 
vice  of  the  board  of  trade,  thereupon  appealed  to  the  king  in 
council.  The  appeal  was  dismissed  upon  some  informality. 
Camm  experienced  the  perfidy  of  courtiers,  and  it  being  the 
policy  of  the  government  to  avoid  a  collision  with  the  assembly, 
the  clergy  were  left  in  the  lurch,  to  take  their  chances  in  the 
Virginia  courts  of  law.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Warrington,  grandfather 
of  Commodore  Lewis  Warrington,  endeavored  to  bring  a  suit 
for  his  salary,  payable  in  tobacco,  in  the  general  court,  but  it 
was  not  permitted  to  be  tried,  the  court  awaiting  the  determina 
tion  of  Camm's  case  in  England,  which  was  in  effect  an  indefi 
nite  postponement.  Mr.  Warrington  then  brought  suit  in  the 
county  court  of  Elizabeth  City,  and  the  jury  brought  in  a  special 
verdict,  allowing  him  some  damages,  but  declaring  the  law  valid, 
notwithstanding  the  king's  decision  to  the  contrary.  The  Rev. 
Alexander  White,  of  King  William  County,  brought  a  similar 

*  Old  Ckurches  of  Va.,  i.  217. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  515 

suit,  and  the  court  referring  both  the  law  and  the  fact  to  the  jury, 
they  gave  the  plaintiff  trivial  damages.  The  County  of  Hanover 
was  selected  as  the  scene  of  the  most  important  trial  of  this  ques 
tion,  and  as  all  the  causes  stood  on  the  same  foot,  the  decision 
of  this  would  determine  all.  This  was  the  suit  brought  by  the 
Rev.  James  Maury,  of  an  adjoining  parish.  The  county  court 
of  Hanover  (November,  1763,)  decided  the  point  of  law  in  favor 
of  the  minister,  thus  declaring  the  "Two  Penny  Act"  to  be  no 
law,  as  having  been  annulled  by  the  crown,  and  it  was  ordered 
that  at  the  next  court  a  jury,  on  a  writ  of  inquiry,  should  deter 
mine  whether  the  plaintiff  was  entitled  to  damages,  and  if  so,  how 
much?  Maury's  success  before  the  jury  seemed  now  inevitable, 
since  there  could  be  no  dispute  relative  to  the  facts  of  the  case. 
Mr.  John  Lewis,  who  had  defended  the  popular  side,  retired  from 
the  cause  as  virtually  decided,  and  as  being  now  only  a  question 
of  damages.  The  defendants,  the  collectors  of  that  court,  as  a 
dernier  resort,  employed  Patrick  Henry,  Jr.,  to  appear  in  their 
behalf  at  the  next  hearing.  The  suit  came  to  trial  again  on  the 
first  of  December,  a  select  jury  being  ordered  to  be  summoned. 
On  an  occasion  of  such  universal  interest,  an  extraordinary  con 
course  of  people  assembled  at  Hanover  Court-house,  not  only 
from  that  county,  but  also  from  the  counties  adjoining.  The 
court-house  (which  is  still  standing,  but  somewhat  altered,)  and 
yard  were  thronged,  and  twenty  clergymen  sat  on  the  bench  to 
witness  a  contest  in  which  they  had  so  much  at  stake.  The  Rev. 
Patrick  Henry,  uncle  to  the  youthful  attorney,  retired  from  the 
court  and  returned  home,  at  his  request,  he  saying  that  he  should 
have  to  utter  some  harsh  things  toward  the  clergy,  which  he 
would  not  like  to  do  in  his  presence.  The  presiding  magistrate 
was  the  father  of  young  Henry.  The  sheriff,  according  to  Mr. 
Maury's  own  account,  finding  some  gentlemen  unwilling  to  serve 
on  the  jury,  summoned  men  of  the  common  people.  Mr.  Maury 
objected  to  them,  but  Patrick  Henry  insisting  that  "they  were 
honest  men,"  they  were  immediately  called  to  the  book  and 
sworn.  Three  or  four  of  them,  it  was  said,  were  dissenters  "of 
that  denomination  called  'New  Lights. ":  On  the  plaintiff's  side 
the  only  evidence  was  that  of  Messrs.  Gist  and  McDowall,  tobacco- 
buyers,  who  testified  that  fifty  shillings  per  hundred  weight  was 


516  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

the  current  price  of  tobacco  at  that  time.  On  the  defendant's 
side  was  produced  the  Rev.  James  Maury's  receipt  for  one  hun 
dred  and  forty-four  pounds  paid  him  by  Thomas  Johnson,  Jr. 
The  case  was  opened  for  the  plaintiff  by  Peter  Lyons.  When 
Patrick  Henry  rose  to  reply,  his  commencement  was  awkward, 
unpromising,  embarrassed.  In  a  few  moments  he  began  to  warm 
with  his  subject,  and  catching  inspiration  from  the  surrounding 
scene,  his  attitude  grew  more  erect,  his  gesture  bolder,  his  eye 
kindled  and  dilated  with  the  radiance  of  genius,  his  voice  ceased 
to  falter,  and  the  witchery  of  its  tones  made  the  blood  run  cold 
and  the  hair  stand  on  end.  The  people,  charmed  by  the  en 
chanter's  magnetic  influence,  hung  with  rapture  upon  his  accents ; 
in  every  part  of  the  house,  on  every  bench,  in  every  window, 
they  stooped  forward  from  their  stands  in  breathless  silence, 
astonished,  delighted,  riveted  upon  the  youthful  orator,  whose 
eloquence  blended  the  beauty  of  the  rainbow  with  the  terror  of 
the  cataract.  He  contended  that  the  act  of  1758  had  every 
characteristic  of  a  good  law,  and  could  not  be  annulled  consis 
tently  with  the  original  compact  between  king  and  people,  and 
he  declared  that  a  king  who  disallowed  laws  so  salutary,  from 
being  the  father  of  his  people  degenerated  into  a  tyrant,  and  for 
feited  all  right  to  obedience.  Some  part  of 'the  audience  were 
struck  with  horror  at  this  declaration,  and  the  opposing  advocate, 
Mr.  Lyons,  exclaimed,  in  impassioned  tones,  "The  gentleman  has 
spoken  treason!"  and  from  some  gentlemen  in  the  crowd  arose  a 
confused  murmur  of  "Treason!  Treason!"  Yet  Henry,  without 
any  interruption  from  the  court,  proceeded  in  his  bold  philippic; 
and  one  of  the  jury  was  so  carried  away  by  his  feelings  as  every 
now  and  then  to  give  the  speaker  a  nod  of  approbation.  He 
urged  that  the  clergy  of  the  established  church  by  thus  refusing 
acquiescence  in  the  law  of  the  land  counteracted  the  great  object 
of  their  institution,  and,  therefore,  instead  of  being  regarded  as 
useful  members  of  the  State,  ought  to  be  considered  as  enemies 
of  the  community.  In  the  close  of  his  speech  of  an  hour's  length, 
he  called  upon  the  jury,  unless  they  were  disposed  to  rivet  the 
chains  of  bondage  on  their  own  necks,  to  teach  the  defendant 
such  a  lesson,  by  their  decision  of  this  case,  as  would  be  a  warn 
ing  to  him  and  his  brethren  not  to  have  the  temerity  in  future 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  517 

to  dispute  the  validity  of  laws  authenticated  by  the  only  author 
ity  which,  in  his  opinion,  could  give  force  to  laws  for  the  govern 
ment  of  this  colony.*  Amid  the  storm  of  his  invective  the  dis 
comfited  and  indignant  clergy,  feeling  that  the  day  was  lost, 
retired.  Young  Henry's  father  sat  on  the  bench  bedewed  with 
tears  of  conflicting  emotions  and  fond  surprise.  The  jury,  in  less 
than  five  minutes,  returned  a  verdict  of  one  penny  damages.  Mr. 
Lyons  insisted  that  as  the  verdict  was  contrary  to  the  evidence, 
the  jury  ought  to  be  sent  out  again,  but  the  court  admitted  the 
verdict  without  hesitation.  The  plaintiff 's  counsel  then  in  vain 
endeavored  to  have  the  evidence  in  behalf  of  the  plaintiff  re 
corded.  His  motion  for  a  new  trial  met  with  the  same  fate.  He 
then  moved,  "that  it  might  be  admitted  to  record,  that  he  had 
made  a  motion  for  a  new  trial  because  he  considered  the  verdict 
contrary  to  evidence,  and  that  the  motion  had  been  rejected," 
which,  after  much  altercation,  was  agreed  to.  He  lastly  moved 
for  an  appeal,  which  too  was  granted.  Acclamations  resounded 
within  the  house  and  without,  and  in  spite  of  cries  of  "Order! 
Order!"  Patrick  Henry  was  reluctantly  lifted  up  and  borne  in 
triumph  on  the  shoulders  of  his  excited  admirers.  He  was  now 
the  man  of  the  people.  In  after-years,  aged  men  who  had  been 
present  at  the  trial  of  this  cause  reckoned  it  the  highest  enco 
mium  that  they  could  bestow  upon  an  orator  to  say  of  him:  "He 
is  almost  equal  to  Patrick  when  he  pleadf  against  the  parsons. "J 
This  speech  of  Henry's  was  looked  upon  by  the  clergy  and  their 
supporters  as  pleading  for  the  assumption  of  a  power  to  bind  the 
king's  hands,  as  asserting  such  a  supremacy  in  provincial  legisla- 


*  Letter  of  Rev.  James  Maury,  in  Memoirs  of  Huguenot  Family,  421,  422. 

fin  Virginia  to  this  day  the  preterite  of  "plead"  is  pronounced  "pled." 
Wirt  actually  prints  the  word  "pled,"  and  has  raised  a  smile  at  his  expense.  It 
is  proper,  however,  to  observe  that  "plead"  and  "read"  followed  the  same 
analogies  even  in  England  in  the  seventeenth  century.  Many  of  the  quaint 
words  used  by  the  common  people,  obsolete  among  the  well  educated,  and  usually 
set  down  as  illiterate  mistakes,  are  really  grounded  in  traditional  authority. 
Thus  the  word  "gardein,"  for  guardian,  is  the  old  law  term:  and  the  vei'b 
"learn,"  still  often  used  actively,  was,  according  to  Trench,  originally  employed 
indifferently  in  a  transitive  sense  as  well  as  intransitive.  The  common  people 
are  often  right  without  being  able  to  prove  it. 

+  Wirt's  Life  of  Patrick  Henry;  Hawks,  124;  Old  Churches,  etc..  i.  219. 


518  ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA. 

tures  as  was  incompatible  with  the  dignity  of  the  Church  of  Eng 
land,  and  as  manifestly  tending  to  draw  the  people  of  the  colonies 
away  from  their  allegiance  to  the  king.  Mr.  Cootes,  merchant 
on  James  River,  on  coming  out  of  the  court,  said  that  he  would 
have  given  a  considerable  sum  out  of  his  own  pocket  rather  than 
his  friend  Patrick  should  have  been  guilty  of  treason,  but  little, 
if  any,  less  criminal  than  that  which  had  brought  Simon  Lord 
Lovat  to  the  block.  The  clergy  and  their  adherents  deemed 
Henry's  speech  as  exceeding  the  most  inflammatory  and  sedi 
tious  harangues  of  the  Roman  tribunes  of  the  common  people. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Boucher,  rector  of  Hanover  Parish,  in  the  County 
of  King  George,  accounted  one  of  the  best  preachers  of  his  time, 
said:  "The  assembly  was  found  to  have  done  and  the  clergy  to 
have  suffered  wrong.  The  aggrieved  may,  and  we  hope  often  do, 
forgive,  but  it  has  been  observed  that  aggressors  rarely  forgive. 
Ever  since  this  controversy,  your  clergy  have  experienced  every 
kind  of  discourtesy  and  discouragement."* 

It  was  evident  that  the  municipal  affairs  of  Virginia  could  not 
be  rightly  managed,  or  safely  interfered  with,  by  a  slow-moving 
government  three  thousand  miles  distant.  The  act  of  1758 
appears  to  have  been  grounded  on  humanity,  the  law  of  nature, 
and  necessity. 

Henry's  speech  in  "the  Parsons'  Cause,"  and  the  verdict  of 
the  jury,  may  be  said  in  a  certain  sense  to  have  been  the  com 
mencement  of  the  Revolution  in  Virginia;  and  Hanover,  where 
dissent  had  appeared,  was  the  starting-point.  Wirt's  description 
of  the  scene  has  rendered  it  classic,  and  notwithstanding  the 
faults  of  a  style  sometimes  too  florid  and  extravagant,  there  is  a 
charm  in  the  biography  of  Henry  which  stamps  it  as  one  of  those 
works  of  genius  which  "men  will  not  willingly  let  die." 

*  Anderson's  Hist.  Col.  Church,  iii.  158. 


CHAPTER    LXVL 

PA&ICK  HENRY. 

PATRICK  HENRY,  the  second  of  nine  children,  was  born  on  the 
29th  day  of  May,  1736,  at  Studley,  in  Hanover  County.  The 
dwelling-house  is  no  longer  standing;  antique  hedges  of  box  and 
an  avenue  of  aged  trees  recall  recollections  of  the  past.  Studley 
farm,  devoid  of  any  picturesque  scenery,  is  surrounded  by  woods; 
so  that  Henry  was  actually, — 

"The  forest-born  Demosthenes, 
Whose  thunder  shook  the  Philip  of  the  seas."* 

His  parents  were  in  moderate  but  easy  circumstances.  The 
father,  John  Henry,  was  a  native  of  Aberdeen,  in  Scotland;  he 
was  a  cousin  of  David  Henry,  who  was  a  brother-in-law  of  Ed 
ward  Cave,  and  co- editor  with  him  of  the  G-entlemans  Magazine, 
and  his  successor.  Some  say  that  John  Henry  married  Jane, 
sister  of  Dr.  William  Robertson,  the  historian,  and  that  in  this 
wray  Patrick  Henry  and  Lord  Brougham  came  to  be  related. 
John  Henry,  who  emigrated  to  Virginia  some  time  before  1780, 
enjoyed  the  friendship  and  patronage  of  Governor  Dinwiddie, 
who  introduced  him  to  the  acquaintance  of  Colonel  John  Syme, 
of  Hanover,  in  whose  family  he  became  domesticated,  and  with 
whose  widow  he  intermarried.  Her  maiden  name  was  Sarah 
Winston,  of  a  good  old  family.  Colonel  Byrd  describes  her  as 
"a  portly,  handsome  dame,"  "of  a  lively,  cheerful  conversation, 
with  much  less  reserve  than  most  of  her  countrywomen.  It  be 
comes  her  very  well,  and  sets  off  her  other  agreeable  qualities  to 
advantage."  "The  courteous  widow  invited  me  to  rest  myself 
there  that  good  day,  and  to  go  to  church  with  her;  but  I  excused 
myself  by  telling  her  she  would  certainly  spoil  my  devotion. 


*  Lord  Byron  so  calls  him,  in  the  Age  of  Bronze. 

(519) 


520  HISTORY   OP   THE    COLONY   AND 

Then  she  civilly  entreated  me  to  make  her  house  my  home  when 
ever  I  visited  my  plantations,  which  made  me  bow  low,  and  thank 
her  very  kindly."  She  possessed  a  mild  and  benevolent  disposi 
tion,  undeviating  probity,  correct  understanding,  and  easy  elocu 
tion.  Colonel  Syme  had  represented  the  County  of  Hanover  in 
the  house  of  burgesses.  He  left  a  son  who,  according  to  Colonel 
Byrd,  inherited  all  the  strong  features  of  his  sire,  not  softened  in 
the  least  by  those  of  his  mother.* 

John  Henry,  father  of  Patrick  Henry,  Jr.,  was  colonel  of  his 
regiment,  county  surveyor,  and,  for  many  years,  presiding  ma 
gistrate  of  Hanover  County.  He  was  a  loyal  subject,  and  took 
pleasure  in  drinking  the  king's  health  at  the  head  of  his  regi 
ment.  He  enjoyed  the  advantage  of  a  liberal  education;  his  un 
derstanding  was  plain  but  solid.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
established  church,  but  was  supposed  to  be  more  conversant  with 


*  Several  persons  of  the  name  of  Winston  came  over  from  Yorkshire,  Eng 
land,  and  settled  in  Hanover.  Isaac  Winston,  one  of  these,  or  a  son  of  one  of 
them,  had  children:  1.  "William,  father  of  Judge  Edmund  Winston.  2.  Sarah, 
mother  of  Patrick  Henry,  Jr.,  the  orator.  3.  Geddes.  4.  Mary,  who  married 

John  Coles.     5.  A  daughter  who  married Cole.      She  was  grandmother  to 

Dorothea  or  Dolly  Payne,  who  married  James  Madison,  President  of  the  United 
States.  Of  these  five  children,  William,  the  eldest,  called  Langaloo  William, 
married  Alice  Taylor,  of  Caroline.  He  was  a  great  hunter;  had  a  quarter  in 
Bedford  or  Albemarle,  where  he  spent  much  time  in  hunting  deer.  He  was  fond 
of  the  Indians,  dressed  in  their  costume,  and  was  a  favorite  with  them.  He  was 
also  distinguished  as  an  Indian-fighter.  He  is  said  to  have  been  endowed  with 
that  rare  kind  of  magnetic  eloquence  Avhich  rendered  his  nephew,  Patrick  Henry, 
so  famous.  Indeed  it  was  the  opinion  of  some  that  he  alone  excelled  him  in 
eloquence.  During  the  French  and  Indian  war,  shortly  after  Braddock's  defeat, 
when  the  militia  were  marched  to  the  frontier,  this  William  Winston  was  a  lieu 
tenant  of  a  company,  which,  being  poorly  clothed,  without  tents,  and  exposed  to 
the  rigors  of  an  inclement  season,  became  very  much  dissatisfied,  and  were 
clamorous  to  return  to  their  homes.  At  this  juncture,  Lieutenant  Winston, 
mounting  a  stump,  made  to  them  an  appeal  so  patriotic  and  overpowering  that 
when  he  concluded,  the  general  cry  was,  "Let  us  march  on;  lead  us  against  the 
enemy!"  This  maternal  uncle  of  Patrick  Henry,  Jr.,  being  so  gifted  with  na 
tive  eloquence,  it  may  be  inferred  that  he  derived  his  genius  from  his  mother. 
William  Winston's  children  were:  1.  Elizabeth,  who  married  Rev.  Peter  Fontaine. 
2.  Fanny,  who  married  Dr.  Walker.  3.  Edmund,  the  judge,  who  married,  first, 
Sarah,  daughter  of  Isaac  AVinston;  second,  the  widow  of  Patrick  Henry,  the 
orator,  (Dolly  Dandridge  that  was.) 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  521 

Livj  and  Horace  than  with  the  Bible.     He  appears  to  have  made 
a  map  of.  Virginia  which  was  published  in  London  in  1770.* 

When  James  Waddel  first  came  to  Virginia  he  visited  the  Rev. 
Samuel  Davics  in  Hanover,  near  where  Colonel  John  Henry 
lived,  and  being  introduced  to  him,  on  a  Sunday,  he  accepted  an 
invitation  to  accompany  him  home.  At  parting,  Mr.  Davies  re 
marked  to  young  Waddel,  that  he  would  not  find  the  Sabbath 
observed  in  Virginia  as  in  Pennsylvania;  and  he  would  have  to 
bear  with  many  things  which  he  would  wish  to  be  otherwise. 
Soon  after  the  settlement  of  Colonel  John  Henry  in  Virginia, 
Patrick,  his  brother,  followed  him,  and  after  some  interval  be 
came,  by  his  brother's  interest,  (April,  1733,)  rector  of  St. 
George's  Parish,  in  the  new  County  of  Spotsylvania,  where  he 
remained  only  one  year.  He  afterwards  became  rector  of  St. 
Paul's  Church  in  Hanover.  John  Henry,  in  a  few  years  after 
the  birth  of  his  son  Patrick,  removed  from  Studley  to  Mount 
Brilliant,  now  the  Retreat,  in  the  same  county;  and  it  was  here 
that  the  future  orator  was  principally  educated.  The  father,  a 
good  classical  scholar,  had  opened  a  grammar-school  in  his  own 
house,  and  Patrick,  after  learning  the  first  rudiments  at  an  "old 
field  school"  in  the  neighborhood,  at  ten  years  of  age  com 
menced  his  studies  under  his  father,  with  whom  he  acquired  an 
English  education,  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  had  advanced  in 
Latin  so  far  as  to  read  Virgil  and  Livy;  had  learned  to  read  the 
Greek  characters,  and  attained  some  proficiency  in  the  mathema 
tics.  At  this  age  his  scholastic  education  appears  to  have  ended, 
and,  as  he  mentioned  to  John  Adams  in  1774,  he  never  read  a 
Latin  book  after  that.  His  attainments,  however,  evince  that  he 
could  not  have  been  so  deficient  in  application  to  study  as  has 
been  commonly  supposed.  With  a  taste  so  prevalent,  and  for 
which  his  kinsmen,  the  Winstons,  were  peculiarly  distinguished,  he 
was  fond  of  hunting  and  angling.  He  would,  it  is  said,  recline 
under  the  shade  of  a  tree  overhanging  the  sequestered  stream, 
watching  in  indolent  repose  the  motionless  cork  of  his  fishing- 


*  A  copy  of  this  rare  map  is  in  possession  of  Joseph  Homer,  Esq.,  of  War- 
renton,  Virginia.  Appended  to  it  is  an  epitome  of  the  state  and  condition  of 
Virginia.  The  marginal  illustration  is  profuse,  and,  like  the  map,  well  executed. 


522  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

line.  He  loved  solitude,  and  in  hunting  chose  not  to  accompany 
the  noisy  set  that  drove  the  deer,  but  preferred  to  occupy  the 
silent  "stand,"  where  for  hours  he  might  muse  alone  and  indulge 
"the  pleasing  solitariness  of  thought."  The  glowing  fancy  of 
Wirt  has,  perhaps,  thrown  over  these  particulars  some  prismatic 
coloring.  Young  Henry,  probably,  after  all,  fished  and  hunted 
pretty  much  like  other  lads  in  his  neighborhood.  It  would,  per 
haps,  not  be  easy  to  prove  that  he  was  fonder  of  fishing  and 
hunting  than  George  Mason,  George  Washington,  arid  many 
other  of  his  cotemporaries.  From  his  eleventh  to  his  twenty- 
second  year  he  lived  in  the  neighborhood  where  Davies  preached, 
and  occasionally  accompanied  his  mother  to  hear  him.  His  elo 
quence  made  a  deep  impression  on  young  Henry,  and  he  always 
spoke  of  Davies  and  Waddel  as  the  greatest  orators  that  he  had 
ever  heard.  Whether  he  ever  heard  Whitefield  does  not  appear. 

Isaac  Winston  was  one  of  the  persons  informed  against  in 
1748  for  allowing  the  Rev.  John  Roan  to  preach  in  his  house. 
Two  of  the  sisters  of  Patrick  Henry — Lucy,  who  married  Valen 
tine  Wood,  and  Jane,  who  married  Colonel  Samuel  Meredith — 
were  members  of  Davies'  congregations. 

At  the  age  of  fifteen  Patrick  Henry  was  placed,  about  the  year 
1751,  in  a  store,  to  learn  the  mercantile  business,  and  after  a 
year  so  passed  the  father  set  up  William,  an  elder  brother,  and 
Patrick  together  in  trade.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  his 

O 

alleged  aversion  to  books  and  his  indolence,  have  been  exaggerated 
by  Wirt's  artistic  romancing.  There  is  no  royal  road  to  learn 
ing;  men  do  not  acquire  knowledge  by  intuition.  Aversion  to 
study  is  by  no  means  unusual  among  the  young ;  nor  is  it  proba 
ble  that  Patrick  Henry  was  much  more  averse  to  it  than  the 
generality  of  youth;  indeed,  his  domestic  educational  advantages 
were  uncommonly  good,  and  the  early  development  of  his  mind 
proves  that  he  did  not  neglect  them.  The  mercantile  adventure, 
after  the  experiment  of  a  year,  proving  a  failure,  William,  who, 
it  would  appear,  had  less  energy  than  Patrick,  retired  from  the 
concern,  and  the  management  was  devolved  upon  the  younger 
brother.  Patrick,  disgusted  with  an  unpromising  business,  lis 
tened  impatiently  to  the  hunter's  horn,  and  the  cry  of  hounds 
echoing  in  the  neighboring  woods.  Debarred  from  these  conge- 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  523 

nial  sports,  he  sought  a  resource  in  music,  and  learned  to  play  not 
unskilfully  on  the  flute  and  the  violin,  the  latter  being  the  favorite 
instrument  in  Virginia.  He  found  another  source  of  entertainment 
in  the  conversation  of  the  country  people  who  met  at  his  store, 
particularly  on  Saturday;  and  was  fond  of  starting  debates 
among  them,  and  observed  the  workings  of  their  minds ;  and  by 
stories,  real  or  fictitious,  studied  how  to  move  the  passions  at  his 
will.  Many  country  storekeepers  have  done  the  same  thing,  but 
they  were  not  Patrick  Henrys.  That  he  employed  part  of  his 
leisure  in  storing  his  mind  with  information  from  books,  cannot 
be  doubted.  Behind  the  counter  he  could  con  the  news  furnished 
by  the  Virginia  Gazette,  and  he  probably  dipped  sometimes  into 
the  Gentleman's  Magazine.  At  the  end  of  two  or  three  years, 
a  too  generous  indulgence  to  his  customers,  and  negligence  in 
business,  together  perhaps  with  the  insuperable  difficulties  of  the 
enterprise  itself,  in  a  period  of  war,  disaster,  and  public  distress, 
forced  him  to  abandon  his  store  almost  in  a  state  of  insolvency. 
William  Henry,  the  older  brother,  was  then  wild  and  dissipated ; 
but  became  in  after-life  a  member  of  the  assembly  from  the 
County  of  Fluvanna,  enjoyed  the  title  of  colonel,  and  had  a 
competent  estate.  In  the  mean  time  Patrick  had  married  the 
daughter  of  a  poor  but  honest  farmer  of  the  neighborhood, 
named  Shelton;  and  now  by  the  joint  assistance  of  his  father 
arid  his  father-in-law,  furnished  with  a  small  farm  and  one  or  two 
slaves,  he  undertook  to  support  himself  by  agriculture.  Yet, 
although  he  tilled  the  ground  with  his  own  hands,  whether  owing 
to  his  negligent,  unsystematic  habits,  much  insisted  on  by  Wirt 
and  others,  or  to  the  sterility  of  the  soil,  or  to  both,  or  to  nei 
ther,  after  an  experiment  of  two  years  he  failed  in  this  enter 
prise,  as  utterly  as  in  the  former.  It  was  a  period  of  unexam 
pled  scarcity  and  distress  in  Virginia;  and  young  Henry  was 
suffering  a  reverse  of  fortune  which  befell  many  others  at  the 
same  time;  and  it  would  be,  perhaps,  unjust  to  attribute  his 
failure  exclusively  or  even  mainly  to  his  neglect  or  incompetency. 
However  that  may  be,  selling  his  scanty  property  at  a  sacrifice 
for  cash,  for  lack  of  more  profitable  occupation  ho  returned  to 
merchandise.  Still  displaying  indifference  to  the  business  of  his 
store,  he  resumed  his  violin,  his  flute,  his  books,  and  his  curious 


524  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

inspection  of  human  nature;  and  occasionally  shut  up  his  store 
to  indulge  his  favorite  sports.  He  studied  geography,  and  be 
came  a  proficient  in  it;  he  examined  the  charters  and  perused 
the  history  of  the  colony,  and  pored  over  the  translated  annals 
of  Greece  and  Rome.  Livy  became  his  favorite,  and  in  his  early 
life  he  read  it  at  least  once  in  every  year.  Such  a  taste  would 
hardly  have  developed  itself  in  one  who  had  wasted  his  school 
boy  days  in  the  torpor  of  indolence.  It  is  true  that  Mr.  Jeffer 
son  said  of  him  in  after  years,  "  He  was  the  hardest  man  to  get  to 
read  a  book  that  he  ever  knew."  Henry  himself  perhaps 
somewhat  aifected  a  distaste  for  book-learning,  in  compliance  with 
the  vulgar  prejudice;  but  he  probably  read  much  more  than 
he  got  credit  for.  He  did  not,  indeed,  read  a  large  number 
of  books,  as  very  few  in  Virginia  did  then;  but  he  appears  to 
have  read  solid  books,  and  to  have  read  them  thoroughly.  He  was 
fond  of  British  history.  Having  himself  a  native  touch  of  Cer- 
vantic  humor,  he  was  not  unacquainted  with  the  inimitable  ro 
mance  of  Don  Quixote.  But  he  did  not  read  books  to  talk 
about  them.  Soame  Jenyns  was  a  favorite.  He  often  read 
Puffendorf,  and  Butler's  Analogy  was  his  standard  volume 
through  life. 

His  second  mercantile  experiment  turned  out  more  unfortunate 
than  the  first,  and  left  him  again  stranded  on  the  shoals  of  bank 
ruptcy.  It  was  probably  an  adventure  which  no  attention  or 
energy  could  have  made  successful  under  the  circumstances. 
These  disappointments,  made  the  more  trying  by  an  early  mar 
riage,  did  not  visibly  depress  his  spirit :  his  mind  rose  superior  to 
the  vicissitudes  of  fortune.  The  golden  ore  was  passing  through 
the  alembic  of  adversity.  He  lived  now  for  some  years  with  his 
father-in-law,  who  was  then  keeping  the  tavern  at  Hanover 
Court-house.  When  Mr.  Shelton  was  occasionally  absent,  Mr. 
Henry  supplied  his  place  and  attended  to  the  guests. 

In  the  winter  of  the  year  1760  Thomas  Jefferson,  then  in  his 
seventeenth  year,  on  his  way  to  the  College  of  William  and  Mary, 
spent  the  Christmas  holidays  at  the  seat  of  Colonel  Dandridge, 
in  Hanover  County.  Patrick  Henry,  now  twenty-four  years  of 
age,  being  a  near  neighbor,  young  Jefferson  met  with  him  there 
for  the  first  time,  and  observed  that  his  manners  had  something 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  525 

of  coarseness  in  them ;  that  his  passion  was  music,  dancing,  and 
pleasantry;  and 'that  in  the  last  he  excelled,  and  it  attached 
everybody  to  him.  But  it  is  likely  that  the  music  of  his  voice 
was  more  attractive  than  even  that  of  his  violin.  Henry  dis 
played  on  that  occasion,  which  was  one  of  festivity,  no  uncommon 
calibre  of  intellect  or  extent  of  information;  but  his  misfortunes 
were  not  to  be  traced  in  his  countenance  or  his  conduct :  self-pos 
sessed  repose  is  the  characteristic  of  native  power;  complaint  is 
the  language  of  weakness.  A  secret  consciousness  of  superior 
genius  and  a  reliance  upon  Providence  buoyed  him  up  in  the  re 
verses  of  fortune.  While  young  Jefferson  and  Henry  were  en 
joying  together  the  Christmas  holidays  of  1760,  how  little  did 
either  anticipate  the  parts  which  they  were  destined  to  perform 
on  the  theatre  of  public  life !  Young  Henry  embraced  the 
study  of  the  law,  arid  after  a  short  course  of  reading,  was,  in 
consideration  of  his  genius  and  general  information,  and  in  spite 
of  his  meagre  knowledge  of  law,  and  his  ungainly  appearance, 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  the  spring  of  1760.  His  license  was  sub 
scribed  by  Peyton  and  John  Randolph  and  Robert  C.  Nicholas. 
Mr.  Wythe  refused  to  sign  it. 

In  the  " Parsons'  Cause"  Henry  emerged  from  the  horizon, 
and  thenceforth  became  the  star  of  the  ascendant. 


CHAPTER   LXVIL 

ires. 
Rev.  Jonathan  Boucher's  Opinions  on  Slavery — Remarks. 

THE  Rev.  Jonathan  Boucher,  a  minister  of  the  established 
church,  in  a  sermon  preached  at  Bray's,  in  Leedstown,  Hanover 
Parish,  on  occasion  of  the  general  peace  proclaimed  in  1763,  ex 
pressed  himself  on  the  subject  of  slavery  as  follows:  "The  united 
motives  of  interest  and  humanity  call  on  us  to  bestow  some  con 
sideration  on  the  case  of  those  sad  outcasts  of  society,  our  negro 
slaves ;  for  my  heart  would  smite  me  were  I  not  in  this  hour  of 
prosperity  to  entreat  you  (it  being  their  unparalleled  hard  lot  not 
to  have  the  power  of  entreating  for  themselves)  to  permit  them 
to  participate  in  the  general  joy.  Even  those  who  are  the  suf 
ferers  can  hardly  be  sorry  when  they  see  wrong  measures  carry 
ing  their  punishment  along  with  them.  Were  an  impartial  and 
competent  observer  of  the  state  of  society  in  these  middle  colonies 
asked  whence  it  happens  that  Virginia  and  Maryland — which  were 
the  first  planted,  and  which  are  superior  to  many  colonies,  and 
inferior  to  none  in  point  of  natural  advantages — are  still  so  ex 
ceedingly  behind  most  of  the  other  British  transatlantic  possessions 
in  all  those  improvements  which  bring  credit  and  consequence  to 
a  country,  he  would  answer,  '  They  are  so  because  they  are  culti 
vated  by  slaves.'  I  believe  it  is  capable  of  demonstration,  that  ex 
cept  the  immediate  interest  he  has  in  the  property  of  his  slaves,  it 
would  be  for  every  man's  interest  that  there  were  no  slaves,  and 
for  this  plain  reason,  because  the  free  labor  of  a  free  man,  who  is 
regularly  hired  and  paid  for  the  work  he  does,  and  only  for  what  he 
does,  is  in  the  end  cheaper  than  the  eye-service  of  a  slave.  Some 
loss  and  inconvenience  would  no  doubt  arise  from  the  general  aboli 
tion  of  slavery  in  these  colonies,  but  were  it  done  gradually,  with 
judgment  and  with  good  temper,  I  have  never  yet  seen  it  satis 
factorily  proved  that  such  inconvenience  would  be  either  great  or 
(526) 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  527 

lasting.  North  American  or  West  Indian  planters  might  pos 
sibly  for  a  few  years  make  less  tobacco,  or  less  rice,  or  less  sugar, 
the  raising  of  which  might  also  cost  them  more ;  but  that  disad 
vantage  would  probably  soon  be  amply  compensated  to  them  by 
an  advanced  price,  or  (what  is  the  same  thing)  by  the  reduced 
expense  of  cultivation.  *  *  *  *  * 

"I  do  you  no  more  than  justice  in  bearing  witness  that  in  no 
part  of  the  world  were  slaves  ever  better  treated  than,  in  general, 
they  are  in  these  colonies.  That  there  are  exceptions  needs  not 
to  be  concealed :  in  all  countries  there  are  bad  men.  And  shame 
be  to  those  men  who,  though  themselves  blessed  with  freedom, 
have  minds  less  liberal  than  the  poor  creatures  over  whom  they 
so  meanly  tyrannize !  Even  your  humanity,  however,  falls  short 
of  their  exigencies.  In  one  essential  point  I  fear  we  are  all  defi 
cient  :  they  are  nowhere  sufficiently  instructed.  I  am  far  from 
recommending  it  to  you  at  once  to  set  them  all  free,  because  to 
do  so  would  be  a  heavy  loss  to  you  and  probably  no  gain  to  them ; 
but  I  do  entreat  you  to  make  them  some  amends  for  the  drudgery 
of  their  bodies  by  cultivating  their  minds.  By  such  means  only 
can  we  hope  to  fulfil  the  ends  which  we  may  be  permitted  to  be 
lieve  Providence  had  in  view  in  suffering  them  to  be  brought 
among  us.  You  may  unfetter  them  from  the  chains  of  ignorance, 
you  may  emancipate  them  from  the  bondage  of  sin — the  worst 
slavery  to  which  they  can  be  subjected — and  by  thus  setting  at 
liberty  those  that  are  bruised,  though  they  still  continue  to  be 
your  slaves,  they  shall  be  delivered  from  the  bondage  of  cor 
ruption  into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of  God."* 

The  Rev.  Jonathan  Boucher,  was  born  in  Cumberland  County, 
England,  in  1738,  and  brought  up  at  Wigton  Grammar  School.  He 
came  over  to  Virginia  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  and  was  nominated  by 
the  vestry  of  Hanover  Parish,  in  the  County  of  King  George,  be 
fore  he  was  in  orders.  Returning  to  England  for  ordination,  he 
recrossed  the  Atlantic,  and  entered  upon  the  duties  of  that  parish 
on  the  banks  of  the  Rappahannock.  He  removed  soon  afterwards 
to  St.  Mary's  Parish,  in  Caroline  County,  upon  the  same  river. 
After  remaining  here  a  good  many  years  and  enjoying  the  esteem 

*  Anderson's  Hist,  of  Church  of  England  in  the  Colonies,  second  ed.,  iii.  159. 


528  HISTORY  or  THE  COLONY  AXD 

of  his  people,  lie  removed  to  Maryland,  and  was  there  ejected 
from  his  rectory  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution,  when  he 
returned  to  England.  His  Discourses,  preached  between  1763 
and  1775,  were  published  by  him  when  he  was  Vicar  of  Epsom, 
in  Surrey,  in  1797. 

Abraham,  the  father  of  the  faithful,  was  a  slaveholder;  upon 
his  death  his  servants  passed  by  descent  to  his  son  Isaac,  as  in 
like  manner  those  of  Isaac  descended  to  Jacob.  They  were 
hereditary  bondsmen,  and,  like  chattels,  bought  and  sold.  Job,  a 
pattern  of  piety,  was  a  slaveholder,  and,  like  Abraham,  Isaac,  and 
Jacob,  won  no  small  portion  of  his  claims  to  a  character  of  high 
and  exemplary  virtue  from  the  manner  in  which  he  discharged 
his  duty  to  his  slaves. 

The  master  who  faithfully  performs  his  duties  toward  his  slaves 
is  a  high  example  of  virtue,  and  the  slave  who  renders  his  service 
faithfully  is  worthy  of  equal  commendation.  If  the  rights  of  the 
slave  are  narrow,  his  duties  are  proportionally  limited. 

The  institution  of  slavery,  divinely  appointed,  was  maintained 
for  five  hundred  years  in  Abraham's  family.  When  the  patri 
archal  dispensation  came  to  an  end,  the  right  of  property  in  slaves 
was  recognized  in  the  decalogue.  The  system  was  incorporated 
into  the  Mosaic  law,  and  so  continued  to  the  end  of  the  Jewish 
dispensation,  and  was  nowhere  denounced  as  a  moral  evil,  nor 
was  any  reproof  uttered  by  the  prophets  against  the  system  on 
account  of  the  evils  connected  with  it. 

The  primitive  Christian  church  consisted  largely  of  slaveholders 
and  slaves,  and  the  slavery  of  the  Roman  empire,  in  which  the 
early  churches  were  planted,  corresponded  with  that  of  Virginia, 
and  where  it  differed,  it  was  worse.  The  relation  of  master  and 
servant  is  placed  by  the  apostles  upon  the  same  footing  as  that 
of  parent  and  child,  and  of  husband  and  wife.*  It  is  enjoined 
upon  servants  to  be  obedient  to  their  masters,  whether  "good 
and  gentle,  or  froward."  Christian  servants  were  commanded  to 
obey  their  masters,  whether  heathens  or  believers ;  and  Christians, 
to  withdraw  themselves  from  any,  who,  rejecting  divine  authority, 
should  teach  a  contrary  doctrine. f 

*  Ephesians,  vi. ;  Colossians,  iii.,  iv.  j-  1  Timothy,  vi. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  529 

In  the  New  Testament  no  censure  is  cast  upon  the  institution 
of  slavery,  no  master  is  denounced  for  holding  slaves,  nor  ad 
vised  to  emancipate  them.  The  evils  incidental  to  the  relation 
of  master  and  slave  are,  in  kind,  like  those  incidental  to  the  other 
domestic  relations,  and  do  not  render  the  one  unlawful  or  sinful 
any  more  than  the  others.  The  evils  of  slavery  are  not  in  the 
relation,  but  in  the  parties  to  it;  therefore  the  abolition  of  the 
.  relation  (the  whites  and  the  blacks  still  continuing  together)  would 
not  extinguish  the  evils,  but  only  change  them,  and  a  new  relation 
would  be  substituted,  fraught  with  still  greater  evils.  The  two 
races,  separated  by  a  barrier  of  natural  incompatibility,  cannot 
coalesce,  nor  can  they  coexist  on  equal  terms. 

The  evils  connected  with  slavery  are,  like  others,  to  be  remedied 
by  the  reforming  influence  of  Christianity.  Slavery  originated  in  a 
curse,  but  out  of  it  Providence  has  mysteriously  educed  a  blessing, 
as  from  poisonous  flowers  honey  is  extracted  by  the  bee.* 

The  religious  instruction  of  the  slaves  in  Virginia  was,  with 
some  honorable  exceptions,  too  generally  neglected  by  the  minis 
ters  of  the  established  church.  The  churches  afforded  but  little 
room  or  accommodation  for  the  negroes,  and  the  difficulties  in 
the  way  of  imparting  instruction  to  them  were  no  doubt  great, 
yet  by  no  means  insuperable.  The  Rev.  Samuel  Davies  appears 
to  have  labored  more  successfully  for  their  benefit  than  any  other 
minister  in  Virginia,  either  before  his  time  or  since.  The  Rev. 
Mr.  Wright,  co-operating  with  him  in  this  work,  established 
Sunday-schools,  for  the  instruction  of  negroes,  in  the  County  of 
Cumberland,  in  the  year  1756. f 


*  Brief  Examination  of  Scripture  Testimony  on  the  Institution  of  Slavery,  by 
the  Rev.  Thornton  Stringfellow;  Essay  on  Abolition  of  Slavery,  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
George  A.  Baxter;  Rights  and  Duties  of  Masters,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  H.  Thorn- 
well  ;  The  Christian  Doctrine  of  Slavery,  by  the  Rev.  George  D.  Armstrong,  D.D. 

f  Foote's  Sketches,  first  series,  291. 

34 


CHAPTER    LXVIII. 


Disputes  between  Colonies  and  Mother  Country — Stamp  Act — Patrick  Henry — • 
Contested  Election  —  Speaker  Robinson  —  Randolph  —  Bland —  Pendleton  — 
Wythe — Lee. 

THE  successful  termination  of  the  war  with  France  paved  the 
way  for  American  independence.  Hitherto,  from  the  first  settle 
ment  of  the  colonies,  Great  Britain,  without  seeking  a  direct 
revenue  from  them,  with  perhaps  some  inconsiderable  excep 
tions,  had  been  satisfied  with  the  appointment  of  their  principal 
officers,  and  a  monopoly  of  their  trade.  Now,  when  the  colonies 
had  grown  more  capable  of  resisting  impositions,  the  mother 
country  rose  in  her  demands.  Thus  it  was  that  disputes  between 
Great  Britain  and  the  colonies,  commencing  in  1764  and  lasting 
about  twelve  years,  brought  on  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  and 
ended  in  a  disruption  of  the  empire.  This  result,  inevitable  sooner 
or  later  in  the  natural  course  of  events,  was  only  precipitated  by 
the  impolitic  and  arbitrary  measures  of  the  British  government. 
In  the  general  loyalty  of  the  colonies,  new  commercial  restric 
tions,  although  involving  a  heavy  indirect  taxation,  would  proba 
bly  have  been  submitted  to  for  many  years  longer ;  but  the  novel 
scheme  of  direct  taxation,  without  their  consent,  was  repro 
bated  as  contrary  to  their  natural  and  chartered  rights ;  and  a 
flame  of  discontent,  bursting  forth  here  and  there,  finally  over 
spread  the  whole  country. 

There  appears,  indeed,  to  have  been  no  essential  difference 
between  internal  and  external  taxation;  for  it  was  still  taxation; 
and  taxation  without  representation.  But  the  internal  or  direct 
taxation  was  new,  obvious,  and  more  offensive.  The  restrictions 
of  the  navigation  act,  vehemently  resisted  at  their  first  enact 
ment,  and  not  less  so  in  Virginia  and  other  Southern  colonies  than 
in  the  North,  had  never  been  acquiesced  in,  but  only  submitted 
(530) 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  531 

to  from  necessity;  and  long  eluded  not  only  by  New  England, 
but  also  by  other  colonies,  by  a  trade  originally  contraband, 
indeed,  but  which  had  lost  much  of  its  illegitimate  character  by 
immemorial  usage,  and  had  acquired  a  sort  of  prescriptive  right 
by  that  consent  on  the  part  of  the  British  government  which  was 
to  be  inferred  from  its  apparent  acquiescence  in  the  violation. 
For  a  hundred  years  preceding  the  Revolution  the  commerce  of 
the  colonies  may  be  said  to  have  been  in  the  main  practically 
free,  as  Great  Britain  was  able  to  furnish  the  manufactures  which 
the  colony  needed.  But  now  the  mother  country  undertook  to 
enforce  the  obsolete  navigation  act  and  her  revenue  laws  with  a 
new  vigor,  which  was  not  confined  to  the  American  colonies, 
but  embraced  the  whole  British  empire.  As  applied  to  the  colo 
nies  the  measure  was  equally  impolitic  and  unjust:  impolitic,  be 
cause  by  breaking  up  the  colonial  trade  with  the  West  Indies, 
England  crippled  her  own  customer;  unjust,  because  this  trade 
had  grown  up  by  the  tacit  consent  of  the  government,  and  a  dis 
solution  of  it  would  be  ruinous  to  the  commercial  colonies.  Be 
sides  these  new  restraints  upon  commerce,  parliament  had  long 
endeavored  to  restrict  colonial  industry;  and  although  these 
restrictions  fell  most  heavily  on  the  Northern  colonies,  their  in 
jurious  effects  were  felt  by  all  of  them.  As  far  back  as  the  time 
of  Bacon's  rebellion,  a  patriotic  woman  of  the  colony  congratu 
lated  her  friends  that  now  "Virginia  can  build  ships,  and,  like 
New  England,  trade  to  any  part  of  the  world."  And  the  paren 
thesis  of  religious  liberty  and  free  trade  enjoyed  by  Virginia 
under  Cromwell  was  never  forgotten.  But,  inasmuch  as  these 
restrictions  fell  more  heavily  on  the  North  than  on  the  South,  so 
the  co-operation  of  the  South  was  the  more  meritorious  as  being 
more  disinterested.  And  the  oppressions  of  Great  Britain  must 
have  been  intolerable,  when,  notwithstanding  all  the  differences 
of  opinion  and  of  institutions,  the  thirteen  colonies  became 
united  in  a  compact  phalanx  of  resistance.* 

The  recent  war  had  inspired  the  provincial  troops  with  more 
confidence  in  themselves,  and  had  rendered  the  British  regulars 
less  formidable  in  their  eyes.  Everything  unknown  is  magnifi- 

*  Sabine's  Loyalists,  36. 


532  HISTOHY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

cent.  The  success  of  the  allied  arms  had  put  an  end  to  the  de 
pendency  of  the  colonies  upon  the  mother  country  for  protection 
against  the  French.  In  several  of  the  provinces  Germans, 
Dutch,  Swedes,  and  Frenchmen  were  found  commingled  with  the 
Anglican  population.  Great  Britain,  by  long  wars  ably  con 
ducted  during  Pitt's  administration,  had  acquired  glory  and  an 
extension  of  empire;  but,  in  the  mean  time,  she  had  incurred  an 
enormous  debt.  The  British  officers,  entertained  with  a  hospi 
tality  in  America,  carried  back  to  England  exaggerated  reports 
of  the  wealth  of  the  colonies.  The  colonial  governors  and  the 
British  ministry  had  often  been  thwarted  and  annoyed  by  the 
republican  and  independent,  and  sometimes  factious  spirit,  of  the 
colonial  assemblies,  and  longed  to  see  them  curbed.  The  British 
merchants  complained  to  the  government  of  the  heavy  losses  en 
tailed  upon  them  by  the  depreciated  colonial  paper  currency. 
The  Church  of  England  -was  indignant  at  the  violent  opposition 
to  the  introduction  of  bishops  into  the  colonies,  at  the  decision 
of  the  "Parsons'  Cause,"  and  other  provocations  and  indigni 
ties.  The  advice  of  many  governors  and  military  officers  had 
deeply  impressed  the  government  with  the  necessity  of  laying 
direct  taxes  as  the  only  m-eans  of  retaining  the  control  of  the 
colonies.  The  British  administration,  in  the  first  years  of  the 
reign  of  George  the  Third,  was  in  the  hands  of  a  corrupt  oli 
garchy,  and  the  ministers  determined  to  lessen  the  burden  at 
home  by  levying  a  direct  tax  upon  the  colonies.  The  loyalty  of 
the  Americans  had  never  been  warmer  than  at  the  close  of  the 
war.  They  had  expended  their  treasure  and  their  blood  freely; 
and  the  recollection  of  mutual  sufferings  and  a  common  glory 
strengthened  their  attachment  to  the  mother  country;  but  these 
loyal  sentiments  were  destined  soon  to  wither  and  expire.  The 
colonies,  too,  had  involved  themselves  in  a  heavy  debt.  Within 
three  years,  intervening  between  1756  and  1759,  parliament  had 
granted  them  a  large  amount  of  money  to  encourage  their  efforts ; 
yet,  notwithstanding  that  and  the  extraordinary  supplies  appro 
priated  by  the  assemblies,  a  heavy  debt  still  remained  unliqui 
dated.  When,  therefore,  parliament  in  a  few  years  thereafter 
undertook  to  extort  money  by  a  direct  tax  from  provinces  to 
which  she  had  recently  granted  incomparably  larger  sums,  it  was 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  533 

conceived  that  the  object  of  the  minister,  in  this  innovation,  was 
not  simply  to  raise  the  inconsiderable  amount  of  the  tax,  but  to 
establish  gradually  a  new  and  absolute  system  of  "taxation  with 
out  representation."  It  was  easy  to  foresee  that  it  would  be 
made  the  instrument  of  unlimited  extortions,  and  would  extin 
guish  the  practical  legislative  independence  of  the  Anglo-Ameri 
can  colonies.  Neither  the  English  parliament,  nor  those  who 
were  represented  by  the  lords  and  commons,  would  pay  a  farthing 
of  the  tax  which  they  imposed  on  the  colonies.  On  the  con 
trary,  their  property  would  have  been  exempted  in  exact  propor 
tion  to  the  burdens  laid  on  the  colonies.  Taxes  without  reason 
or  necessity,  and  oppressions  without  end,  would  have  ensued  from 
submitting  to  the  usurpation.* 

After  war  had  raged  for  nearly  eight  years,  peace  was  con 
cluded  at  Paris,  in  February,  1763,  by  which  France  ceded 
Canada,  and  Spain  the  Floridas,  to  Great  Britain.  On  this 
occasion  the  territory  of  Virginia  was  again  reduced  in  extent. 
The  conquests,  and  the  culminating  power,  and  the  arrogant 
pretensions  of  the  proud  island  of  Great  Britain  excited  the 
jealousy  and  the  fears  of  Europe;  while  in  England  the  admi 
nistration  had  engendered  a  formidable  opposition  at  home.  In 
the  year  1763  the  national  debt  had  accumulated  to  an  enormous 
amount  ;  for  which  an  annual  interest  of  twenty-two  millions  of 
dollars  was  paid.  The  minister  proposed  to  levy  upon  the  colo 
nies  part  of  this  sum,  alleging  that  as  the  recent  war  had  been 
wraged  partly  on  their  account,  it  was  but  fair  that  they  should 
contribute  a  share  of  the  expense  ;  and  the  right  was  claimed  for 
parliament,  according  to  the  British  constitution,  to  tax  every 
portion  of  the  empire.  The  absolute  right  of  legislating  for  the 
colonies  had  long,  if  not  always,  been  claimed,  theoretically,  by 
England;  but  she  had  never  exerted  it  in  practice  to  any  sensi 
ble  extent  in  the  essential  article  of  taxation.  The  inhabitants 
of  the  colonies  admitted  their  obligation  to  share  the  expense  of 
the  war,  but  insisted  that  the  necessary  revenue  could  be  legiti 
mately  levied  only  by  their  own  legislatures  ;  that  taxation  and 


*  Letter  from  R.  H.  Lee  to  his  sister,  Mrs.  Corbin,  written  in  1778.     Hist. 
Mag.,  i.  300. 


534  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

representation  were  inseparable;  and  that  remote  colonies  not 
represented  in  parliament  were  entitled  to  tax  themselves.  The 
justice  of  parliament  would  prove  a  feeble  barrier  against  the 
demands  of  avarice;  and  as  in  England  the  privilege  of  granting 
money  was  the  palladium  of  the  people's  liberty  against  the  en 
croachment  of  the  crown,  so  the  same  right  was  the  proper  safe 
guard  of  the  colonies  against  the  tyranny  of  the  imperial  govern 
ment.  Such  were  the  views  of  American  patriots ;  yet  it  was  a 
subject  on  which  wise  and  good  men  might  differ  in  Great  Britain 
and  in  America. 

Upon  the  death  of  the  Rev.  William  Yates,  in  1764,  the  Rev. 
James  Horrocks  succeeded  him  as  President  of  the  College  of 
William  and  Mary.  About  the  same  time  the  Rev.  William  Ro 
binson,  commissary,  dying,  Mr.  Horrocks  succeeded  him  in  that 
place.  Rev.  John  Camm,  who  aspired  to  the  office,  was  disap 
pointed  in  it  owing  to  some  difficulty  with  Governor  Dinwiddie. 

In  March,  1764,  parliament  passed  resolutions  declaratory  of 
an  intention  to  impose  a  stamp-duty  in  America,  and  avowing  the 
right  and  expediency  of  taxing  the  colonies.  This  was  the  im 
mediate  fountain-head  of  the  Revolution.  These  resolutions  gave 
great  dissatisfaction  in  America ;  but  were  popular  in  England, 
where  the  prospect  of  lightening  their  own  burdens  at  the  ex 
pense  of  the  colonists  recommended  them  to  the  English  tax 
payers.  The  resolutions  met  with  no  overt  opposition,  but  the 
public  discontents  were  increased  when  it  came  to  be  known  that 
large  bodies  of  British  soldiers  were  to  be  sent  over  and  quar 
tered  in  the  colonies. 

Patrick  Henry,  during  the  year,  removed  from  Hanover  to 
Louisa,  where  he  soon  endeared  himself  to  the  people,  although 
he  never  courted  their  favor  by  flattery.  He  sometimes  hunted 
deer  for  several  days  together,  carrying  his  provision  with  him, 
and  at  night  camping  out  in  the  woods.  He  was  known  to  enter 
Louisa  court  in  a  coarse  cloth  coat,  stained  with  the  blood  of  the 
deer,  greasy  leather  breeches,  with  leggings  for  boots,  and  a  pair 
of  saddle-bags  on  his  arm.* 

In  the  fall  of  1764  there  occurred  in  the  house  of  burgesses  a 

*  Wirt's  Life  of  Patrick  Henry,  37. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  535 

case  of  contested  election,  the  parties  being  James  Littlepage, 
the  member  returned  for  the  County  of  Hanover,  and  the  other 
candidate,  Nathaniel  West  Dandridge.  Mr.  Littlepage  was 
charged  with  bribery  and  corruption.  The  case  was  tried  before 
the  committee  of  privileges  and  elections,  and  Mr.  Henry  ap 
peared  as  attorney  for  Mr.  Dandridge.  Mr.  Henry  was  coarsely 
dressed  and  quite  unknown,  yet  retained  his  self-possession  in 
spite  of  the  supercilious  smiles  of  aristocracy.  The  right  of  suf 
frage  and  the  purity  of  the  elective  franchise  afforded  him  a 
theme  for  a  speech  which  astonished  the  audience;  and  Judge 
Winston  pronounced  the  argument  "  superior  to  anything  he  had 
ever  heard." 

The  speaker  of  the  house,  John  Robinson,  had  held  that  post 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  combining  with  it  the  office  of 
treasurer,  his  influence  was  wide  and  well  established.  His  per 
sonal  popularity  was  great,  and  embraced  men  of  all  classes. 
His  strong  and  cultivated  mind  was  set  off  by  polished  manners ; 
his  presence,  imposing  and  commanding. 

Peyton  Randolph,  the  king's  attorney-general,  in  influence  se 
cond  only  to  the  speaker,  was  discreet  and  dignified;  thoroughly 
versed  in  legislative  proceedings;  of  excellent  judgment,  yet 
without  extraordinary  genius ;  a  sound  lawyer ;  in  politics  conser 
vative;  intolerant  to  dissenters. 

Richard  Bland  was  enlightened  and  laborious,  a  profound 
reasoner,  an  ungraceful  speaker,  but  an  excellent  writer;  a  wise 
but  over-cautious  statesman,  like  Dickinson,  of  Pennsylvania, 
marching  up  with  fearless  logic  to  his  conclusions,  but  pausing 
there,  unwilling  to  carry  them  into  effect. 

Edmund  Pendleton  was  the  grandson  of  Philip  Pendleton,  a 
teacher,  who  came  over  to  Virginia  about  the  year  1674  with  his 
brother,  Nathaniel,  a  minister.  Philip  Pendleton's  eldest  son,  at 
the  age  of  eighteen,  married  Mary  Taylor,  aged  only  thirteen, 
and  Edmund  was  the  fourth  son  of  this  union.  From  a  sister  was 
descended  General  Edmund  Pendleton  Gaines,  of  the  United 
States  army.  Edmund  Pendleton  was  born  (his  father  dying  be 
fore  his  birth)  in  1721,  in  Caroline  County.  Left  poor  and 
without  any  classical  education,  it  is  said  that  after  ploughing  all 
day  he  pursued  his  studies  at  night.  Placed  in  his  fourteenth 


536  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

year  in  the  office  of  Colonel  Benjamin  Robinson,  (brother  of  the 
speaker,)  clerk  of  the  county  court  of  Caroline,  he  became 
acquainted  with  legal  forms.  He  could  hardly  have  spent  much 
time  in  ploughing  before  his  fourteenth  year.  At  the  age  of  six 
teen  he  was  appointed  clerk  to  the  vestry  of  St.  Mary's  Parish; 
and  the  salary  derived  from  that  petty  office  he  expended  in  the 
purchase  of  books,  which  he  diligently  read.  In  his  twentieth 
year  he  w^as  licensed  to  practise  the  law,  after  having  been 
strictly  examined  by  the  eminent  lawyer  Barradall.  About  the 
same  time  young  Pendleton  was  made  clerk  of  the  county  court 
martial.  Before  he  was  of  age  he  married,  in  opposition  to  the 
advice  of  his  friends,  Betty  Roy,  remarkable  for  her  beauty. 
Upon  being  licensed  he  soon  acquired  a  large  practice,  His  wife 
dying  in  less  than  two  years  after  the  marriage,  in  his  twenty- 
fourth  year  he  married  Sarah  Pollard.  He  now  began  to  prac 
tise  in  the  general  court.  In  the  year  1752  he  was  elected  one 
of  the  representatives  of  Caroline,  and  so  continued  down  to  the 
time  of  the  Revolution.  Mr.  Wirt  says  that  he  was  a  protdgd 
of  Speaker  Robinson,  who  introduced  him  into  the  circle  of  re 
fined  society.  Mr.  Grigsby  thinks  that  the  term  protcgd  was  in 
applicable  to  him,  as  he  was  the  architect  of  his  own  fortune. 
It  is  certain  that  Speaker  Robinson  found  in  him  his  ablest 
supporter  in  the  question  of  separating  the  offices  of  speaker 
and  treasurer.  Mr.  Pendleton  became  the  leader  of  the  conser 
vative  party,  who,  while  they  wished  to  effect  a  redress  of  griev 
ances,  were  opposed  to  a  revolution  of  the  government,  and  who 
stood  out  against  it  until  opposition  became  unavailing.  Never 
theless,  by  his  integrity,  the  charm  of  his  manners,  and  his  great 
abilities,  he  attained  and  filled  with  honor  several  of  the  highest 
posts.  As  a  lawyer,  debater,  statesman,  he  was  of  the  highest 
order  in  the  colony;  yet  he  read  little  besides  law,  and  was  with 
out  taste  for  literature.  The  report  of  a  law  case  had  for  him 
the  charm  which  a  novel  has  for  others.  As  a  writer  he  was  un 
skilled,  and  quite  devoid  of  the  graces  of  style  and  rhythm. 
His  voice  was  melodious,  and  his  articulation  distinct;  his  elocu 
tion  graceful  and  effective;  with  a  serene  self-possession  that 
nothing  could  disturb,  he  was  ever  ready  to  seize  every  advantage 
that  occurred  in  debate;  but  he  could  lay  no  claim  to  the  lofty 


ANCIENT    DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  537 

powers  which  "shake  the  human  soul."  Although  a  new  man, 
he  was,  as  often  happens,  behind  none  in  his  extreme  conservative 
views  in  church  and  state.  In  a  brief  autobiography,  he  says  of 
himself:  "Without  any  classical  education,  without  patrimony, 
without  what  is  called  the  influence  of  family  connection,  and 
without  solicitation,  I  have  attained  the  highest  offices  of  my 
country.  I  have  often  contemplated  it  as  a  rare  and  extraordi 
nary  instance,  and  pathetically  exclaimed,  'Not  unto  me,  not 
unto  me,  0  Lord,  but  unto  thy  name  be  the  praise!'  "* 

George  Wythe  was  born  in  Elizabeth  City,  (1726,)  his  father 
having  been  a  burgess  from  that  county.  George,  on  the  side  of 
his  mother's  family,  named  Keith,  inherited  a  taste  for  letters. 
After  studying  the  law,  having  come  into  possession  of  a  compe 
tent  estate,  he  wasted  several  years  in  indolence  and  dissipation; 
but  he  afterwards  became  a  close  student,  having  imbibed  a  taste 
for  learning  from  the  society  of  Governor  Fauquier  and  Profes 
sor  Small.  He  became  accomplished  in  classic  literature,  and 
profoundly  versed  in  the  law.  He  is  described  as  having  been 
simple  and  artless,  incapable  of  the  little  crooked  wisdom  of  cun 
ning,  and  his  integrity  was  incorruptible. 

Richard  Henry  Lee  was  distinguished  by  a  face  of  the  Roman 
order :  his  forehead  high  but  not  wide,  his  head  leaning  gracefully 
forward;  his  person  and  face  fine.  He  was  an  accomplished 
scholar,  of  wide  reading.  His  voice  was  musical.  He  had  lost 
the  use  of  one  hand  by  an  accident,  and  kept  it  covered  with  a 
bandage  of  black  silk;  but  his  gesture  was  graceful.  His  style 
of  eloquence  was  chaste,  classic,  electric,  and  delightful.  As 
Mr.  Jefferson  has  said  that  Patrick  Henry  spoke  as  Homer 
wrote,  so  Mr.  Lee  may  be,  perhaps,  compared  to  Virgil.  Henry 
and  Lee  coincided  in  political  views,  co-operated  in  public  life, 
and  were  confidential  correspondents  and  warm  and  constant 
friends. 


*  Wirt's  Life  of  Henry,  47;    Old  Churches,  Ministers,  etc.,  298;    Grigsby's 
Convention  of  '76,  p.  46. 


CHAPTER    LXIX. 


The  Stamp  Act — Virginia  opposes  it — Loan-office  Scheme — Members  of  Council 
and  Burgesses — Repeal  of  Stamp  Act — Treasurer  Robinson's  Defalcation — 
Offices  of  Speaker  and  Treasurer  separated — Lee's  Speech — Miscellaneous — 
Family  of  Robinson. 

ON  the  7th  day  of  February,  1765,  Grenville  introduced 
in  the  house  of  commons  the  stamp  act,  declaring  null  and 
void  instruments  of  writing  in  daily  use  in  the  colonies,  unless 
executed  on  stamped  paper  or  parchment,  charged  with  a  duty 
imposed  by  parliament.  The  bill,  warmly  debated  in  that 
house,  but  carried  by  a  vote  of  five  to  one,  met  with  no  oppo 
sition  in  the  house  of  lords,  and  on  the  twenty-second  of  March 
received  the  royal  sanction.  At  first  it  was  taken  for  granted 
that  the  act  would  be  enforced.  It  was  not  to  take  effect  till 
the  first  day  of  November,  more  than  seven  months  from  its 
passage.  The  Virginians  were  a  proud  race,  the  more  jealous  of 
their  liberties,  having,  like  the  Spartans,  the  degradation  of 
slavery  continually  in  their  view,  impatient  of  restraint,  and  un 
willing  to  succumb  to  the  control  of  any  superior  power,  "snuffing 
the  tainted  breeze  of  tyranny  afar."  Many  of  them  even  affected 
to  consider  the  colonies  as  independent  states,  only  linked  to 
Great  Britain  as  owing  allegiance  to  a  common  crown,  and  as 
bound  to  her  by  natural  affection. 

The  assembly  met  on  the  1st  day  of  May,  1765.  Patrick 
Henry  took  his  seat  in  it  on  the  twentieth.  Notwithstanding 
the  opposition  of  the  people  to  the  stamp  act,  yet  the  place-men, 
the  large  landed  proprietors,  who  were  the  professed  adherents 
of  government,  still  held  the  control  of  the  legislature.  Dis 
gusted  by  the  delays  and  sophistries  of  this  class  during  the  pre 
ceding  session,  one  of  the  Johnsons,  two  brothers  that  represented 
(538) 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  539 

Louisa  County,  declared  his  intention  to  bring  into  the  house 
Patrick  Henry,  who  was  equally  distinguished  by  his  eloquence 
and  by  an  opposition  to  the  claims  of  parliament,  verging  on 
sedition.  Johnson  accordingly,  by  accepting  the  office  of  coroner, 
vacated  his  seat  in  favor  of  He-nry,  who  thus  came  to  be  one  of 
the  representatives  of  that  frontier  county  in  the  assembly  of 
1765 — an  incident  connected  with  events  of  transcendent  im 
portance. 

On  the  twenty-fourth,  Peyton  Randolph  reported  to  the  house, 
from  the  committee  of  the  whole,  a  scheme  for  the  establishment 
of  a  loan-office  or  bank.  The  plan  was  to  borrow  <£240, 000  ster 
ling  from  British  merchants,  at  an  interest  of  five  per  cent. ;  a 
fund  for  paying  the  interest  and  sinking  the  principal  to  be  raised 
by  an  impost  duty  on  tobacco;  bills  of  exchange  to  be  drawn  for 
<£100,000,  with  which  the  paper  money  in  circulation  was  to  be 
redeemed,  the  remaining  <£140,000  to  be  imported  in  specie,  and 
deposited  here  for  a  stock  whereon  to  circulate  bank  notes,  to  be 
lent  out  on  permanent  security,  at  an  interest  of  five  per  cent.,  to 
be  paid  yearly,  a  proportion  of  the  principal  at  the  end  of  four 
years,  another  proportion  at  the  end  of  five  years,  and  afterwards 
by  equal  payments  once  in  four  years,  until  the  whole  should  be 
repaid. 

When  it  was  urged  in  favor  of  this  scheme,  that  from  the  dis 
tressed  condition  of  the  colony,  men  of  fortune  had  contracted 
debts,  which,  if  exacted  suddenly,  must  ruin  them,  but  which, 
with  a  little  indulgence,  might  be  liquidated,  Mr.  Henry  ex 
claimed:  "What,  sir!  is  it  proposed  then  to  reclaim  the  spend 
thrift  from  his  dissipation  and  extravagance  by  filling  his  pockets 
with  money?"  Thomas  Jefferson,  then  a  law-student  at  "VYil- 
liamsburg,  was  present  during  this  debate,  and  the  manner  in 
which  Henry  uttered  this  sentence  was  indelibly  impressed  on  his 
memory. 

The  resolutions  embodying  this  scheme  were  passed  by  the 
house,  and  a  committee  of  conference  was  appointed  at  the  same 
time,  and  before  the  vote  upon  them  was  taken  in  the  council. 
In  this  conference  the  managers  on  the  part  of  the  house  were 
Edmund  Pendleton,  Mr.  Archibald  Gary,  Mr.  Benjamin  liar- 


540  HISTORY   OF   THE   COLONY  AND 

rison,  Mr.  Burwell,  Mr.  Braxton,  and  Mr.  Fleming.  The  council* 
refused  to  concur  in  the  scheme.  Had  it  been  carried  into  effect, 
the  indebtedness  of  Virginia  at  the  eve  of  the  Revolution  would 
have  probably  been  greatly  augmented. 

Virginia  led  the  way  in  opposing  the  stamp  act.  On  the  30th 
of  May,  1765,  near  the  close  of  the  session,  Patrick  Henry 
offered  the  following  resolutions : — 

"  Resolved,  That  the  first  adventurers  and  settlers  of  this  his 
majesty's  colony  and  dominion,  brought  with  them,  and  trans 
mitted  to  their  posterity  and  all  other  his  majesty's  subjects  since 
inhabiting  in  this  his  majesty's  said  colony,  all  the  privileges, 
franchises,  and  immunities  that  have  at  any  time  been  held,  en 
joyed,  and  possessed  by  the  people  of  Great  Britain. 

"Resolved,  That  by  two  royal  charters  granted  by  King  James 
the  First,  the  colonists  aforesaid  are  declared  entitled  to  all  the 
privileges,  liberties,  and  immunities  of  denizens  and  natural-born 
subjects,  to  all  intents  and  purposes  as  if  they  had  been  abiding 
and  born  within  the  realm  of  England. 

"Resolved,  That  the  taxation  of  the  people  by  themselves,  or 
by  persons  chosen  by  themselves  to  represent  them,  who  can  only 
know  what  taxes  the  people  are  able  to  bear,  and  the  easiest 
mode  of  raising  them,  and  are  equally  affected  by  such  taxes 
themselves,  is  the  distinguishing  characteristic  of  British  freedom, 
and  without  which  the  ancient  constitution  cannot  subsist. 

"Resolved,  That  his  majesty's  liege  people  of  this  most  ancient 
colony  have  uninterruptedly  enjoyed  the  right  of  being  thus 
governed  by  their  own  assembly  in  the  article  of  their  taxes  and 
internal  police,  and  that  the  same  hath  never  been  forfeited,  or 


*  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  council  in  1764  : — 

The  Honorable  JOHN  BLAIR,  President. 
William  Nelson,  Philip  Ludwell  Lee, 


Thomas  Nelson, 
Peter  Randolph, 
Richard  Corbin, 
William  Byrd, 


John  Tayloe, 
Robert  Carter, 
Presley  Thornton, 
Robert  Barwell,  Esquires. 


Of  the  members  of  the  house  at  this  time  may  be  mentioned  the  names  of 
Cabell,  Gary,  Wythe,  Pendleton,  Harrison,  Marshall,  Washington,  Carter, 
Robinson,  Lee,  Bland,  Mercer,  Page,  Braxton,  Henry,  Nelson,  and  Randolph. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OE   VIRGINIA.  541 

any  other  way  given  up,  but  hath  been  constantly  recognized  by 
the  king  and  people  of  Great  Britain. 

"Resolved,  Therefore,  that  the  general  assembly  of  this  colony 
have  the  sole  right  and  power  to  lay  taxes  and  impositions  upon 
the  inhabitants  of  this  colony,  and  that  every  attempt  to  vest 
such  power  in  any  person  or  persons  whatsoever  other  than  the 
general  assembly  aforesaid,  has  a  manifest  tendency  to  destroy 
British  as  well  as  American  freedom."* 

Mr.  Henry  was  young,  being  about  twenty-eight  years  of  age, 
and  a  new  member;  but  finding  the  men  of  weight  in  the  house 
averse  to  opposition,  and  the  stamp  act  about  to  take  effect,  and 
no  person  likely  to  step  forth,  alone,  unadvised,  and  unassisted, 
he  wrote  these  resolutions  on  a  blank  leaf  of  an  old  law  book, 
"Coke  upon  Littleton."  Before  offering  them,  he  showed  them 
to  two  members,  John  Fleming,  of  Goochland,  and  George  John 
son,  of  Fairfax.  Mr.  Johnson  seconded  the  resolutions.  Speaker 
Robinson  objected  to  them  as  inflammatory.  The  first  three 
appear  to  have  passed  by  small  majorities,  without  alteration. 
The  fourth  was  passed  amended,  so  as  to  read  as  follows:  "Re 
solved,  That  his  majesty's  liege  people  of  this  his  most  ancient 
and  loyal  colony  have,  without  interruption,  enjoyed  the  inesti 
mable  right  of  being  governed  by  such  laws  respecting  their  in 
ternal  polity  and  taxation  as  are  derived  from  their  own  consent, 
with  the  approbation  of  their  sovereign  or  his  substitute,  and  that 
the  same  hath  never  been  forfeited  or  yielded  up,  but  hath  been 
constantly  recognized  by  the  king  and  people  of  Great  Britain." 

The  last  of  the  five  resolutions  was  carried  by  a  majority  of 
only  one  vote,  being  twenty  to  nineteen,  and  the  debate  on  it,  in 
the  language  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  was  "most  bloody."  Speaker 
Robinson,  Peyton  Randolph,  attorney-general,  Richard  Bland, 
Edmund  Pendleton,  George  Wythe,  and  all  the  old  leaders  of 
the  house  and  proprietors  of  large  estates,  made  a  strenuous  re 
sistance.  Mr.  Jefferson  says  the  resolutions  of  Henry  "were 


*  Two  other  resolutions  were  offered,  but  not  by  Henry,  to  the  effect  that  the 
people  of  Virginia  were  not  under  any  obligation  to  obey  any  laws  not  enacted 
by  their  own  assembly,  and  that  any  one  who  should  maintain  the  contrary 
should  be  deemed  an  enemy  to  the  colony.  These  two  did  not  pass. 


542  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

opposed  by  Robinson  and  all  the  cyphers  of  the  aristocracy.'* 
John  Randolph  resisted  them  with  all  his  might.  How  Washing 
ton  voted  is  not  known,  the  yeas  and  nays  never  being  recorded 
on  the  journal  in  that  age.  He  considered  the  stamp  act  ill- 
judged  and  unconstitutional,  and  was  of  opinion  that  it  could  not 
be  enforced.  Mr.  Henry  was  ably  supported  in  a  logical  argu 
ment  by  Mr.  George  Johnson,  a  lawyer  of  Alexandria. 

In  the  course  of  this  stormy  debate  many  threats  were  uttered 
by  the  party  for  submission,  and  much  abuse  heaped  upon  Mr. 
Henry,  but  he  carried  the  young  members  with  him.  Jefferson, 
then  a  student  of  William  and  Mary,  standing  at  the  door  of  the 
house,  overheard  the  debate.  After  Speaker  Robinson  had  de 
clared  the  result  of  the  vote,  Peyton  Randolph,  as  he  entered  the 
lobby  near  Jefferson,  exclaimed  with  an  oath,  "I  would  have 
given  five  hundred  guineas  for  a  single  vote!"  One  more  vote 
would  have  defeated  the  last  resolution.* 

Scarce  a  vestige  of  this  speech  of  Henry  survives.  Mr.  Jef 
ferson  declared  that  he  never  heard  such  eloquence  from  any 
other  man.  While  Mr.  Henry  was  inveighing  against  the  stamp 
act,  he  exclaimed:  "Tarquin  and  Caesar  had  each  his  Brutus, 
Charles  the  First  his  Cromwell,  and  George  the  Third"— ("Trea 
son!"  cried  the  speaker;  "Treason!  Treason!"  resounded  from 
every  part  of  the  house.  Henry,  rising  to  a  loftier  attitude,  with 
unfaltering  voice,  and  unwavering  eye  fixed  on  the  speaker, 
finished  the  sentence,) — "may  profit  by  the  example.  If  this  be 
treason,  make  the  most  of  it."  Henry  was  now  the  leading  man 
in  Virginia,  and  his  resolutions  gave  the  impulse  to  the  other 
colonies,  and  the  spirit  of  resistance  spread  rapidly  through  them, 
gathering  strength  as  it  proceeded.  On  the  afternoon  of  the 
same  day  Mr.  Henry  left  Williamsburg,  passing  along  Duke  of 
Gloucester  Street,  on  his  way  to  his  home  in  Louisa,  wearing 
buckskin  breeches,  his  saddle-bags  on  his  arm,  leading  a  lean 
horse,  and  chatting  with  Paul  Carrington,  who  walked  by  his  side. 

Young  Jefferson  happened  on  the  following  morning  to  be  in 
the  hall  of  the  burgesses  before  the  meeting  of  the  house,  and  he 


*  Paul  Carrington,  in  after  years,  distinctly  remembered  seeing  Thomas  Jef 
ferson  among  the  auditors  in  this  debate. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  543 

observed  Colonel  Peter  Randolph,  one  of  the  council,  sitting  at 
the  clerk's  table  examining  the  journals,  to  find  a  precedent  for 
expunging  a  vote  of  the  house.  Part  of  the  burgesses  having  gone 
home,  and  some  of  the  more  timid  of  those  who  had  voted  for  the 
strongest  resolution  having  become  alarmed,  as  soon  as  the  house 
met,  a  motion  was  made  and  carried  to  expunge  the  last  resolution 
from  the  journals.  The  manuscript  journal  of  that  day  disap 
peared  shortly  after  and  has  never  been  found.*  The  four  re 
maining  on  the  journal  and  the  two  additional  ones  offered  in 
committee,  but  not  reported,  were  published  in  the  G-azette.  On 
the  first  of  June  the  governor  dissolved  the  assembly. 

At  the  instance  of  Massachusetts,  guided  by  the  advice  of 
James  Otis,  a  congress  met  in  October,  1765,  at  New  York. 
The  assemblies  of  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and  Georgia  were 
prevented  by  their  governors  from  sending  deputies.  The  con 
gress  made  a  declaration  denying  the  right  of  parliament  to  tax 
the  colonies,  and  concurred  in  petitions  to  the  king  and  the 
commons  and  a  memorial  to  the  lords.  Virginia  and  the  other 
two  colonies  not  represented  forwarded  petitions  accordant  with 
those  adopted  by  the  congress.  The  committee  appointed  by  the 
Virginia  assembly  to  draught  the  petitions  consisted  of  Peyton 
Randolph,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  Landon  Carter,  George  Wythe, 
Edmund  Pendleton,  Benjamin  Harrison,  Richard  Bland,  Archi 
bald  Gary,  and  Mr.  Fleming.  The  address  to  the  king  was 
written  by  Peyton  Randolph,  the  address  to  the  commons  by 
George  Wythe,  and  the  memorial  to  the  lords  was  attributed  to 
Richard  Bland. 

Opposition  to  the  stamp  act  now  blazed  forth  everywhere ;  and 
it  was  disregarded  and  defied.  In  the  last  week  of  October, 
George  Mercer,  distributor  of  stamps  for  Virginia,  landed  at 
Hampton,  and  was  rudely  treated  by  the  mob,  who,  by  the  inter 
position  of  some  influential  gentlemen,  were  prevailed  on  to  dis 
perse  without  offering  him  any  personal  injury.  At  Williams- 
burg,  as  he  was  walking  toward  the  capitol,  on  his  way  to  the 
governor's  palace,  he  was  required  by  several  gentlemen  from 
different  counties,  the  general  court  being  in  session,  to  say 

*  Wirt's  Henry,  56 — 61. 


544  HISTORY    OP    THE    COLONY   AND 

whether  he  intended  to  enter  on  the  duties  of  the  office.  At  his 
request  he  was  allowed  to  wait  on  the  governor  before  replying, 
and  he  was  accompanied  to  the  coffee-house  where  the  governor, 
most  of  the  council,  and  many  gentlemen  were  assembled.  The 
crowd  increasing  and  growing  impatient  in  their  demands,  Mr. 
Mercer  came  forward  and  promised  to  give  a  categorical  answer 
at  five  o'clock  the  next  evening.  At  that  time  he  met  a  large 
concourse  of  people,  including  the  principal  merchants  of  the  co 
lony.  He  then  engaged  not  to  undertake  the  execution  of  the 
stamp  act  until  he  received  further  orders  from  England,  nor 
then,  without  the  assent  of  the  assembly  of  Virginia.  lie  was 
immediately  borne  out  of  the  capitol  gate,  amid  loud  acclama 
tions,  and  carried  to  the  coffee-house,  where  an  elegant  entertain 
ment  was  prepared  for  him,  and  was  welcomed  there  by  renewed 
acclamations,  drums  beating,  and  French-horns  and  other  musi 
cal  instruments  sounding.  At  night  the  bells  were  set  a-ringing, 
and  the  town  was  illuminated.  Mr.  Mercer  was,  in  1760,  ap 
pointed  lieutenant-governor  of  North  Carolina.* 

The  colonists  began  to  betake  themselves  to  domestic  manufac 
tures;  and  foreign  luxuries  were  laid  aside.  In  the  mean  while 
a  change  had  taken  place  in  the  British  ministry;  the  stamp  act 
was  reconsidered  in  parliament;  Dr.  Franklin  was  examined  at 
the  bar  of  the  house  of  commons.  Lord  Caniden,  in  the  house 
of  lords,  and  Mr.  Pitt,  in  the  commons,  favored  a  repeal  of  the 
act;  and,  after  providing  for  the  dependence  of  America  on  Great 
Britain,  parliament  repealed  the  stamp  act  in  March,  1766.  On 
the  second  day  of  May  news  of  the  repeal  reached  Williamsburg 
by  the  ship  Lord  Baltimore,  arrived  in  York  River,  from  Lon 
don.  The  joyful  intelligence  was  celebrated  at  Norfolk;  and  at 
Williamsburg  by  a  ball  and  illumination. 

At  the  session  of  November,  1766,  Mr.  John  Robinson,  who 
had  for  many  years  held  the  offices  of  speaker  and  treasurer, 
being  now  dead,  an  investigation  of  his  accounts  exposed  an 
enormous  defalcation.  A  motion  to  separate  the  offices,  brought 
forward  by  Richard  Henry  Lee,  and  supported  by  Mr.  Henry, 


*  Martin's  Hist,  of  N.  C.,  ii.  203,  250. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  545 

proved  successful.  Edmund  Pendleton  was  at  the  head  of  the 
party  that  resisted  it.* 

Mr.  Lee  on  this  occasion  pursued  his  course  in  opposition  to 
the  confederacy  of  the  great  in  place,  the  influence  of  family 
connections,  and  that  still  more  dangerous  foe  to  public  virtue, 
private  friendship.  The  contest  appears  to  have  been  bitter,  and 
it  engendered  animosities  which  survived  the  lapse  of  years  and 
the  absorbing  scenes  of  the  outbreaking  Revolution. 

A  fragment  of  the  speech  delivered  by  Mr.  Lee  on  this  occa 
sion  has  been  preserved. f  After  supporting  his  views  by  histori 
cal  examples,  he  remarks:  "If,  then,  wise  and  good  men  in  all 
ages  have  deemed  it  for  the  security  of  liberty  to  divide  places 
of  power  and  profit;  if  this  maxim  has  not  been  departed  from 
without  either  injury  or  destroying  freedom  —  as  happened  to 
Rome  with  her  decemvirs  and  her  dictator — why  should  Virgi 
nia  so  early  quit  the  paths  of  wisdom,  and  seal  her  own  ruin,  as 
far  as  she  can  do  it,  by  uniting  in  one  person  the  only  two  great 
places  in  the  power  of  her  assembly  to  bestow?"  The  fragment 
of  this  speech  ends  just  where  Mr.  Lee  was  about  to  combat  the 
arguments  in  support  of  the  union  of  the  two  offices.  Among 

*  This  affair  formed  the  subject  of  some  crude  verses,  entitled  "The  Contest." 
The  following  is  an  extract :  — 

"And  Curtius,  too,  who,  from  clear  Chellowe's  height, 
Secrets  deep  lying  in  the  dark  recess 
Of  -  — 's  clouded  brain,  can  well  explore, 
Demands  my  thanks  sincere ;  freed  from  the  froth 
Of  Metriotes'*  hyperbolic  style, 
Or  wine  burgessian,  potent  to  deceive, 
And  to  produce  a  vote  of  huge  expense. 
The  tribute  due  to  genius  and  to  sense 
Is  yours,  judicious  Burke  !  without  compeer ; 
The  reverend  priest  the  bayic  crown  presents ; 
Accept  it,  then ;  nor  Grymes  of  mighty  bone, 
And  fist,  sledge-hammer  like;  nor  grimful  face 
Of  Ampthill's  rustic  chief, f  nor  the  abuse 
By  him  in  senatorian  consult  used, 
Eulogies  to  true  merit  shall  prevent." 

}•  Lee  Papers  in  S.  Lit.  Messenger,  1858,  p.  119. 


;  John  Randolph,  afterwards  attorney-general.  f  Archibald  Gary 

35 


546  HISTORY    OF    THE   COLONY  AND 

these  arguments  were,  that  innovation  is  dangerous;  that  the  ad 
ditional  office  of  treasurer  was  necessary  to  give  the  speaker  that 
pre-eminence  that  is  befitting  his  station;  that  the  parliamentary 
powers  of  the  speaker  give  the  chair  no  influence,  as  in  the  exer 
cise  thereof  in  pleasing  one  he  may  oifend  a  dozen;  that  a 
separation  of  the  offices  might  induce  the  government  at  home  to 
take  the  appointment  out  of  their  hands  altogether;  and  that  the 
support  of  the  dignity  of  the  chair  necessarily  involved  a  great 
expense. 

It  could  not  have  been  difficult  to  refute  these  arguments. 
The  combination  of  the  offices  of  speaker  and  treasurer  was  itself 
an  innovation  of  as  recent  date  as  1738.  The  speaker  of  the 
English  house  of  commons  did  not  find  the  office  of  treasurer 
necessary  to  maintain  his  dignity.  If  the  office  of  speaker  of 
itself  gave  no  influence,  why  had  it  been  always  sought  for? 
Nor  could  the  separation  of  the  offices  induce  the  home  govern 
ment  to  take  the  appointments  from  the  assembly,  for  that  separa 
tion  was  itself  virtually  a  government  measure.  Chalmers,  who 
was  well  versed  in  the  documentary  history  of  the  colonies,  says : 
"Too  attentive  to  overlook  the  dangerous  pre-eminence  of  Ro 
binson,  the  board  of  trade  took  this  opportunity  to  enjoin  [1758] 
the  new  governor*  to  use  every  rational  endeavor  to  procure  a 
separation  of  the  conjoined  offices  which  he  improperly  hcld."f 
Lee,  Henry,  and  others,  who  voted  for  the  separation,  were  in 
effect  carrying  out  the  wishes  of  the  English  government.  Nor 
does  it  appear  probable  that  the  government  was  any  more  favor 
able  to  the  loan-office  scheme  than  to  the  union  of  the  offices  of 
speaker  and  treasurer. 

Upon  the  death  of  Speaker  Robinson,  Richard  Bland  was  a 
candidate  for  the  chair,  and  was  in  favor  of  a  separation  of  the 
offices  of  speaker  and  treasurer.  He,  in  the  latter  part  of  May, 
entertained  no  suspicion  of  any  malversation  in  office  on  the  part 
of  the  late  treasurer,  although  he  was  aware  that  such  suspicions 
prevailed  much  among  the  people.  He  was  at  this  time  maturing 
a  scheme  for  a  loan-office,  or  government  bank,  which  he  thought 
would  be  of  signal  advantage,  and  would  in  a  few  years  enable 

*  Fauquier.  f  Hist,  of  Amer.  Colonies,  ii.  354. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  547 

Virginia  to  discharge  her  debts  without  any  tax  for  the  future. 
It  is  singular  that  he  should  have  been  preparing  to  renew  a 
scheme  so  recently  defeated.  Whether  he  ever  again  revived  it 
in  the  assembly,  does  not  appear.  Robert  Carter  Nicholas,  at 
the  same  time  a  candidate  for  the  place  of  treasurer,  was  likewise 
in  favor  of  a  disjunction  of  the  two  offices.  To  this  position  he 
and  Bland  were  brought,  as  well  by  the  inducements  of  personal 
promotion  as  by  a  regard  for  the  public  good. 

Peyton  Randolph  was  made  speaker;  and  Mr.  Nicholas,  who 
had  been  already  appointed  in  May  treasurer  ad  interim,  by 
Governor  Fauquicr,  was  elected  to  that  post  by  the  assembly. 

Lewis  Burwell,  George  Wythe,  John  Blair,  Jr.,  John  Ran 
dolph,  and  Benjamin  Waller  were  appointed  to  examine  the  state 
of  the  treasury.  The  deficit  of  the  late  treasurer  exceeded 
one  hundred  thousand  pounds.  Mr.  Robinson,  amiable,  liberal, 
and  wealthy,  had  long  been  at  the  head  of  the  aristocracy,  and 
exerted  an  extraordinary  influence  in  political  affairs.  He  had 
lent  large  sums  of  the  public  money  to  friends  involved  in  debt, 
especially  to  members  of  the  assembly,  confiding  for  its  replace 
ment  upon  his  own  ample  fortune,  and  the  securities  taken  on  the 
loans.  Mr.  Wirt  says  that  at  length,  apprehensive  of  a  discovery 
of  the  deficit,  he,  with  his  friends  in  the  assembly,  devised  the 
scheme  of  the  loan-office  the  better  to  conceal  it.  The  entire 
amount  of  the  defalcation  was  eventually  recovered  from  the 
estate  of  Robinson,  which  was  sold  in  1770  by  Edmund  Pendle- 
ton  and  Peter  Lyons,  surviving  administrators.*  Burk  attributes 
Robinson's  death  to  the  mortification  that  he  suffered  on  account 
of  his  defalcation.  Bland  and  Nicholas,  in  their  letters  addressed 
to  Richard  Henry  Lee,  allude  to  it  in  terms  of  exquisite  delicacy. 

The  first  of  the  family  of  Speaker  Robinson  of  whom  we  have 
any  account  was  John  Robinson,  of  Cleasby,  Yorkshire,  England. 
His  son  John  was  Bishop  of  Bristol,  and  British  envoy  at  the 
court  of  Sweden;  he  was  also  British  plenipotentiary  at  the 
treaty  of  Utrecht,  being,  it  is  said,  the  last  divine  employed  in  a 
service  of  that  kind.  He  was  afterwards  Bishop  of  London,  in 
which  office  he  continued  until  his  death  in  1723.  Leaving  no 

*  Heuing,  viii.  349. 


548  ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA. 

issue  lie  devised  his  real  estate  to  Ms  nephew,  Christopher  Robin 
son,  "who  had  settled  on  the  Rappahannock.  His  eldest  son,  John 
Robinson,  born  in  1682,  was  president  of  the  council.  He  married 
Catherine,  daughter  of  Robert  Beverley,  the  historian.  John 
Robinson,  Jr.,  their  eldest  son,  was  treasurer  and  speaker,  and  is 
commonly  known  as  "Speaker  Robinson."*  He  resided  at 
Mount  Pleasant,  on  the  Matapony,  in  King  and  Queen,  the  house 
there  having  been  built  for  him,  it  is  said,  by  Augustine  Moore, 
of  Chelsea,  in  King  William,  father  of  Lucy  Moore,  one  of  his 
wives.  Her  portrait  is  preserved  at  Chelsea ;  his  is  preserved  by 
his  descendants.  His  other  wife  was  Lucy  Chiswell.  He  lies 
buried  in  the  garden  at  Mount  Pleasant. 

*  Old  Churches  of  Virginia,  i.  878,  in  note. 


CHAPTER    LXX. 


Eland's  Inquiry  —  Duties  imposed  by  Parliament  —  Death  of  Fauquier  —  Succeeded 
by  Blair  —  Baptists  persecuted  —  Blair's  Letter. 

IN  the  year  1766  there  was  published  at  Williamsburg  "An 
Inquiry  into  the  Rights  of  the  British  Colonies,"  from  the  pen 
of  Richard  Bland.*  In  discussing  the  question,  "Whether  the 
colonies  are  represented  in  the  British  Parliament?"  he  traces 
the  English  constitution  to  its  Saxon  origin,  when  every  free 
holder  was  a  member  of  the  Wittenagemote  or  Parliament.  This 
appears  from  the  statutes  1st  Henry  the  Fifth,  and  8th  Henry 
the  Sixth,  limiting  the  elective  franchise,  that  is,  depriving  many 
of  the  right  of  representation  in  parliament.  How  could  they 
have  been  thus  deprived,  if,  as  was  contended,  all  the  people  of 
England  were  still  virtually  represented?  He  acknowledged  that 
a  very  large  portion  of  the  people  of  Great  Britain  were  not  en 
titled  to  representation,  and  were,  nevertheless,  bound  to  obey 
the  laws  of  the  realm,  but  then  the  obligation  of  these  laws  does 
not  arise  from  their  being  virtually  represented.  The  American 
colonies,  excepting  the  few  planted  in  the  eighteenth  century, 
were  founded  by  private  adventurers,  who  established  themselves, 
without  any  expense  to  the  nation,  in  this  uncultivated  and  almost 
uninhabited  country,  so  that  they  stand  on  a  different  foot  from 
the  Roman  or  any  ancient  colonies.  Men  have  a  natural  right 
to  quit  their  own  country  and  retire  to  another,  and  set  up  there 
an  independent  government  for  themselves.  But  if  they  have 


*  The  title-page  is  as  follows:  "An  Inquiry  into  the  Rights  of  the  British 
Colonies,  intended  as  an  Answer  to  '  The  Regulations  lately  made  concerning 
the  Colonies,  and  the  Taxes  imposed  upon  them,  considered.'  In  a  Letter  ad 
dressed  to  the  Author  of  that  Pamphlet,  by  Richard  Bland,  of  Virginia.  Dedit 
omnibus  Deus  pro  virili  portione  sapientiam,  ut  et  inaudita  investigare  possent 
et  audita  perpendere.  Lactantius."  Williamsburg:  printed  by  Alexander  Pur- 
die  &  Co.,  MDCCLXVL 

(549) 


550  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

this  so  absolute  a  right,  they  must  have  the  lesser  right  to  remove, 
by  compact  with  their  sovereign,  to  a  new  country,  and  to  form  a 
civil  establishment  upon  the  terms  of  the  compact.  The  first 
Virginia  charter  was  granted  to  Raleigh  by  Queen  Elizabeth,  in 
1584,  and  by  it  the  new  country  was  granted  to  him,  his  heirs 
and  assigns,  in  perpetual  sovereignty,  as  fully  as  the  crown  could 
grant,  with  full  power  of  legislation  and  the  establishment  of  a 
government.  The  country  was  to  be  united  to  the  realm  of  Eng 
land  in  perfect  league  and  amity ;  was  to  be  within  the  allegiance 
of  the  crown,  and  to  be  held  by  homage  and  the  payment  of  one- 
fifth  of  all  gold  and  silver  ore.  In  the  thirty-first  year  of 
Elizabeth's  reign,  Raleigh  assigned  the  plantation  of  Virginia  to 
a  company,  who  afterwards  associating  other  adventurers  with 
them,  procured  new  charters  from  James  the  First,  in  whom 
Raleigh's  rights  became  vested  upon  his  attainder.  The  charter 
of  James  was  of  the  same  character  with  that  of  Elizabeth,  with 
an  express  clause  of  exemption  forever  from  all  taxation  or  im 
post  upon  their  imports  or  exports.  Under  this  charter,  and  the 
auspices  of  the  company,  the  colony  of  Virginia  was  settled,  after 
struggling  through  immense  difficulties,  and  without  receiving  the 
least  aid  from  the  British  government.  In  1621  a  government 
was  established,  consisting  of  a  governor,  council,  and  house  of 
burgesses,  elected  by  the  freeholders.  In  1624  James  the  First 
dissolved  the  company,  and  assumed  the  control  of  the  colony, 
which,  upon  his  demise,  devolved  upon  Charles  the  First,  who,  in 
1625,  asserted  his  royal  claim  of  authority  over  it.  To  quiet  the 
dissatisfaction  of  the  colonists  at  the  loss  of  their  chartered  rights, 
the  privy  council  afterwards,  in  the  year  1634,  communicated 
the  king's  assurance  that  "all  their  estates  and  trade,  freedom 
and  privileges,  should  be  enjoyed  by  them  in  as  extensive  a 
manner  as  they  enjoyed  them  before  the  recalling  of  the  com 
pany's  patent."  Moreover,  Charles  the  First,  in  1644,  assured 
the  Virginians  that  they  should  always  be  immediately  dependent 
upon  the  crown.  After  the  king's  death  Virginia  displayed  her 
loyalty  by  resisting  the  parliamentary  forces  sent  out  to  reduce 
the  colony,  and  by  exacting  the  most  honorable  terms  of  sur 
render.  Here  the  author  of  "the  Inquiry,"  although  exceed 
ingly  well  informed  in  general  as  to  the  history  of  the  colony, 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  551 

falls  into  the  common  error  that  Charles  the  Second  was  proclaimed 
in  Virginia  some  time  before  he  was  restored  to  the  throne  in 
England. 

Thus  Virginia  was,  as  to  her  internal  affairs,  a  distinct,  inde 
pendent  state,  but  united  with  the  parent  state  by  the  closest 
league  and  amity,  and  under  the  same  allegiance.  If  the  crown 
had  indeed  no  prerogative  to  form  such  a  compact,  then  the  royal 
engagements  wherein  "the  freedom  and  other  benefits  of  the 
British  constitution"  were  secured  to  them,  could  not  be  made 
good:  and  a  people  who  are  liable  to  taxation  without  representa 
tion,  cannot  be  held  to  enjoy  "the  freedom  and  benefits  of  the 
British  constitution."  Even  in  the  arbitrary  reign  of  Charles 
the  First,  when  it  was  thought  necessary  to  establish  a  permanent 
revenue-  for  the  support  of  the  government  in  Virginia,  the  king 
did  not  apply  to  the  British  parliament,  but  to  the  assembly  of 
Virginia,  and  sent  over  an  act  under  the  great  seal,  by  which  it 
was  enacted,  k'By  the  king's  most  excellent  majesty,  by  and  with 
the  consent  of  the  general  assembly,"  etc.  After  the  restoration, 
indeed,  the  colonies  lost  the  freedom  of  trade  which  they  had  be 
fore  enjoyed,  and  the  navigation  act  of  125th  Charles  the  Second 
not  only  circumscribed  the  trade  of  the  colonies  with  foreign 
nations  within  very  narrow  limits,  but  imposed  duties  on  goods 
manufactured  in  the  colonies  and  exported  from  one  to  another. 
The  right  to  impose  these  duties  was  disputed  by  Virginia;  and 
her  agents,  in  April,  1676,  procured  from  Charles  the  Second  a 
declaration,  under  his  privy  seal,  that  "taxes  ought  not  to  be 
laid  upon  the  inhabitants  and  proprietors  of  the  colony  but  by 
the  common  consent  of  the  general  assembly,  except  such  impo 
sitions  as  the  parliament  should  lay  on  the  commodities  imported 
into  England  from  the  colony."  But  if  no  protest  had  been 
made  against  the  navigation  act,  that  forbearance  could  in  no 
way  justify  an  additional  act  of  injustice.  If  the  people  of  the 
colonies  had  in  patience  endured  the  oppressions  of  the  English 
commercial  restrictions,  could  that  endurance  afford  any  ground 
for  new  oppressions  in  the  shape  of  direct  taxes?  If  the  people 
of  England  and  of  the  colonies  stood,  as  was  contended,  on  the 
same  foot,  being  both  equally  and  alike  subjects  of  the  British 
government,  why  was  the  trade  of  the  colonies  subject  to  restric- 


552  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY  AND 

tions  not  imposed  on  the  mother  country  ?  If  parliament  had  a 
right  to  lay  taxes  of  every  kind  on  the  colonies,  the  commerce  of 
the  colonies  ought  to  be  as  free  as  that  of  England,  "otherwise  it 
will  be  loading  them  with  burdens,  at  the  same  time  that  they 
are  deprived  of  strength  to  sustain  them;  it  will  be  forcing  them 
to  make  bricks  without  straw."  When  colonies  are  deprived  of 
their  natural  rights,  resistance  is  at  once  justifiable  ;  but  when  de 
prived  of  their  civil  rights,  when  great  oppressions  are  imposed 
upon  them,  their  remedy  is  "to  lay  their  complaints  at  the  foot 
of  the  throne,  and  to  suffer  patiently  rather  than  disturb  the  pub 
lic  peace,  which  nothing  but  a  denial  of  justice  can  excuse  them 
in  breaking."  But  a  colony  "treated  with  injury  and  violence 
is  become  an  alien.  They  were  not  sent  out  to  be  slaves,  but  to 
be  the  equals  of  those  that  remain  behind."  It  was  a  great  error 
in  the  supporters  of  the  British  ministry  to  count  upon  the  sec 
tional  jealousies  and  clashing  interests  of  the  colonies.  Their 
real  interests  were  the  same,  and  they  would  not  allow  minor  dif 
ferences  to  divide  them,  when  union  was  become  necessary  to 
maintain  in  a  constitutional  way  their  rights.  How  was  England 
to  prevent  this  union?  Was  it  by  quartering  armed  soldiers  in 
their  families?  by  depriving  the  colonists  of  legal  trials  in  the 
courts  of  common  law?  or  by  harassing  them  by  tax-gatherers, 
and  prerogative  judges,  and  inquisitorial  courts?  A  petty  people 
united  in  the  cause  of  liberty  is  capable  of  glorious  actions  —  such 
as  adorn  the  annals  of  Switzerland  and  Holland. 

The  news  of  the  repeal  of  the  stamp  act  was  joyfully  welcomed  in 
America,  but  the  joy  was  premature;  for,  simultaneously  with  the 
repeal,  parliament  had  declared  that  "it  had,  and  of  right  ought 
to  have,  power  to  bind  the  colonies  in  all  cases  whatsoever." 
Townshend,*  afterwards  chancellor  of  the  exchequer,  brought 
into  parliament  a  bill  to  levy  duties  in  the  colonies  on  glass, 
paper,  painters'  colors,  and  tea,  and  it  became  a  law.  The  duties 
were  external,  and  did  not  exceed  in  amount  twenty  thousand 
pounds;  but  the  colonies  suspected  the  mildness  of  the  measure 
to  be  only  a  lure  to  inveigle  them  into  the  net.  The  new  act 
was  to  take  effect  in  November,  1T67.  The  flame  of  resistance, 


1767. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  553 

smothered  for  awhile  by  the  repeal  of  the  stamp  act,  now  burst 
forth  afresh:  associations  were  everywhere  organized  to  defeat 
the  duties;  altercations  between  the  people  and  the  king's  officers 
grew  frequent ;  the  passions  of  the  conflicting  parties  were  ex 
asperated.  Two  British  regiments  and  some  armed  vessels 
arrived  at  Boston. 

In  Virginia,  the  assembly,  encountering  no  opposition  from  the 
mild  and  patriotic  Blair,  remonstrated  loudly  against  the  new 
oppressions.  Opposition  to  the  arbitrary  measures  of  the  British 
administration  broke  forth  in  England,  and  in  London  the  fury 
of  civil  discord  shook  the  pillars  of  the  government. 

Francis  Fauquier,  lieutenant-governor,  died  early  in  1768,  at 
the  age  of  sixty-five  years,  ten  of  which  he  had  passed  in  Vir 
ginia.  He  brought  with  him  the  frivolous  tastes  and  dissipated 
habits  of  a  man  of  fashion  and  a  courtier;  he  was  addicted  to 
gaming,  and  by  his  example  diffused  a  rage  for  play.  He  was 
generous  and  elegant,  an  accomplished  scholar,  and,  in  Mr.  Jef 
ferson's  opinion,  the  ablest  of  the  governors  of  Virginia.  A 
county  is  named  after  him.  His  death  devolved  the  duties  of 
government  upon  John  Blair,  president  of  the  council.  He  was 
a  nephew  of  Commissary  Blair,  whom  he  had  succeeded  in  the 
council.  He  had  long  represented  Williamsburg  in  the  house  of 
burgesses,  having  been  a  member  as  early  as  1736.  During  the 
trying  period  of  his  presidency,  his  vigilance  and  discretion  were 
displayed  in  protecting  the  frontier  from  Indian  invasion.* 

In  1714  some  English  emigrant  Baptists  settled  in  southeast 
Virginia,  and  in  1743  another  party  settled  in  the  northwest;  but 
the  most  important  accession  came  from  New  England,  about  the 
period  of  "the  New  Light  stir."  Those  who  had  left  the  esta 
blished  church  were  called  Separates,  the  rest  Regulars.  Their 
preachers,  not  unfrequently  illiterate,  were  characterized  by  an 
impassioned  manner,  vehement  gesticulation,  and  a  singular  tone 
of  voice.  The  hearers  often  gave  way  to  tears,  trembling, 
screams,  and  acclamations.  The  number  of  converts  increased 
rapidly  in  some  counties.  The  preachers  were  imprisoned  and 

*  Hugh  Blair  Grigsby's  Discourse  on  Convention  of  1776,  pp.  G9,  70;  Old 
Churches,  i.  160. 


554  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

maltreated  by  magistrates  and  mobs;  but  persecution  stimulated 
their  zeal  and  redoubled  their  influence :  they  sang  hymns  while 
on  the  way  to  the  prison,  and  addressed  crowds  congregated  be 
fore  the  windows  of  the  jails.  At  this  time  Deputy-Governor 
Blair  addressed  the  following  letter  to  the  king's  attorney  in 
Spotsylvania : — 

"SiR: — I  lately  received  a  letter,  signed  by  a  good  number  of 
worthy  gentlemen,  who  are  not  here,  complaining  of  the  Baptists ; 
the  particulars  of  their  misbehavior  are  not  told,  any  further  than 
their  running  into  private  houses  and  making  dissensions.  Mr. 
Craig  and  Mr.  Benjamin  Waller  are  now  with  me,  and  deny  the 
charge;  they  tell  me  they  are  willing  to  take  the  oaths  as  others 
have:  I  told  them  I  had  consulted  the  attorney-general,  who  is 
of  opinion  that  the  general  court  only  have  a  right  to  grant 
licenses,  and  therefore  I  referred  them  to  the  court ;  but  on  their 
application  to  the  attorney-general,*  they  brought  me  his  letter, 
advising  me  to  write  to  you  that  their  petition  was  a  matter  of 
right,  and  that  you  may  not  molest  these  conscientious  people,  so 
long  as  they  behave  themselves  in  a  manner  becoming  pious 
Christians  and  in  obedience  to  the  laws,  till  the  court,  when  they 
intend  to  apply  for  license,  and  when  the  gentlemen  who  complain 
may  make  their  objections  and  be  heard.  The  act  of  toleration 
(it  being  found  by  experience  that  persecuting  dissenters  increases 
their  numbers)  has  given  them  a  right  to  apply  in  a  proper 
manner  for  licensed  houses  for  the  worship  of  God,  according  to 
their  consciences,  and  I  persuade  myself  the  gentlemen  will 
quietly  overlook  their  meetings  till  the  court.  I  am  told  they 
administer  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  near  the  manner 
we  do,  and  diifer  in  nothing  from  our  church  but  in  that  of  bap 
tism  and  their  renewing  the  ancient  discipline,  by  which  they 
have  reformed  some  sinners  and  brought  them  to  be  truly  peni 
tent;  nay,  if  a  man  of  theirs  is  idle  and  neglects  to  labor  and 
provide  for  his  family  as  he  ought,  he  incurs  their  censures,  which 
have  had  good  effects.  If  this  be  their  behavior,  it  were  to  be 
wished  we  had  some  of  it  among  us ;  but  at  least  I  hope  all  may 

*  John  Randolph. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION   OF    VIRGINIA.  555 

remain  quiet  till  the  court."  This  letter  was  dated  at  Williams- 
burg,  July  the  16th,  1T68. 

The  persecution  of  the  Baptists  commenced  in  Chesterfield,  in 
1770,  and  in  no  county  was  it  carried  farther.  According  to 
tradition,  Colonel  Archibald  Gary,  of  Ampthill,  was  the  arch- 
persecutor.  In  few  counties  have  the  Baptists  been  more 
numerous  than  in  Chesterfield. 

While  many  of  the  preachers  were  men  of  exemplary  character, 
yet  by  the  facility  of  admission  into  their  pulpits  impostors  some 
times  brought  scandal  upon  the  name  of  religion.  Schisms,  too, 
interrupted  the  harmony  of  their  associations.  Nevertheless,  by 
the  striking  earnestness  and  the  pious  example  of  many  of  them, 
the  Baptists  gained  ground  rapidly  in  Virginia.  In  their  efforts 
to  avail  themselves  of  the  toleration  act,  they  found  Patrick  Henry 
ever  ready  to  step  forward  in  their  behalf,  and  he  remained 
through  life  their  unwavering  friend.  They  still  cherish  his 
memory  with  grateful  affection. 

The  Baptists,  having  suffered  persecution  under  the  establish 
ment,  were,  of  all  others,  the  most  inimical  to  it,  and  the  most 
active  in  its  subversion.* 

*  Semple's  Hist,  of  Va.  Baptists,  16,  24;   Hawks,  120. 


CHAPTER    LXXL 


Botetourt,  Governor  —  Resolutions  against  tlie  encroachments  of  Parliament  — 
Assembly  dissolved  —  Non-importation  Agreement  —  The  Moderates  —  Assembly 
called  —  Botetourt's  Address  —  Association  —  Death  of  Botetourt  —  His  Character 
—  William  Nelson,  President  —  Great  Fresh  —  American  Episcopate  —  Assembly 
opposes  it  —  Controversy  —  Methodists. 

IN  November,  1768,  Norborne  Berkeley,  Baron  cle  Botetourt, 
arrived  in  Virginia  as  governor-in-chief.  The  season  was  delight 
ful,  with  its  tinted  foliage,  serene  sky,  and  bracing  air.  Botetourt, 
just  relieved  from  the  confinement  of  a  sea-voyage,  was  charmed 
with  his  new  place  of  abode;  the  palace  appeared  commodious; 
the  grounds  well  planted  and  watered.  While  his  new  residence 
was  fitting  up  for  him  he  daily  enjoyed  the  hospitalities  of  the 
people.  He  found  that  while  they  would  never  willingly  submit 
to  be  taxed  by  the  mother  country,  yet  they  were  ardently  de 
sirous  of  giving  assistance,  as  formerly,  upon  requisition.  In  the 
mean  time  the  duties  complained  of  were  collected  without  any 
resistance  whatever.  Botetourt,  solicitous  to  gratify  the  Virgi 
nians,  pledged  "his  life  and  fortune"  to  extend  the  boundary  of 
the  State  on  the  west  to  the  Tennessee  River,  on  the  parallel  of 
thirty-six  and  a  half  degrees.  This  boundary,  Andrew  Lewis  and 
Thomas  Walker  wrote,  would  give  some  room  to  extend  the  set 
tlements  for  ten  or  twelve  years.* 

On  the  llth  day  of  May,  1769,  when  the  assembly  was  con 
vened,  the  governor  rode  from  the  palace  to  the  capitol  in  a  state- 
coach  drawn  by  six  milk-white  horses,  a  present  from  George  the 
Third,  and  the  insignia  of  royalty  were  displayed  with  unusual 
pomp.  The  pageant,  supposed  to  be  intended  to  dazzle,  served 
rather  to  offend.  On  that  day  and  the  following  he  entertained 
fifty-two  guests  at  dinner. 

*  Bancroft,  vi.  228. 

(556) 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  557 

When,  in  Massachusetts,  the  custom-house  officers  had  de 
manded*  from  the  courts  writs  of  assistance  for  enforcing  the  re 
venue  act,  the  eloquent  James  Otis  had  resisted  the  application  in 
a  speech  •which  gave  a  mighty  impulse  to  the  popular  sentiment. 
The  same  question  was  now  argued  before  Botetourt  and  the 
council,  forming  the  general  court,  and  he  concurred  in  declaring 
them  illegal.  During  this  session,  Mr.  Jefferson  made  an  unsuc 
cessful  effort  for  the  enactment  of  a  law  authorizing  owners  to 
manumit  their  slaves. 

In  February,  parliament,  refusing  to  consider  a  redress  of 
American  grievances,  had  advised  his  majesty  to  take  vigorous 
measures  against  Massachusetts,  and  to  make  inquisition  there 
for  treason,  and,  if  sufficient  ground  should  appear,  to  transport 
the  accused  to  England  for  trial  before  a  special  commission; 
and  George  the  Third,  a  king  of  exemplary  character,  but  obsti 
nate  temper,  heartily  concurred  in  those  views.  Upon  receiving 
intelligence  of  this  fact,  the  burgesses  of  Virginia  againf  passed 
resolutions  unanimously,  vindicating  the  rights  of  the  colonies, 
claiming  the  sole  right  to  levy  taxes,  and  asserting  the  right  of 
bringing  about  a  concert  of  the  colonies  in  defence  against  the 
encroachments  of  parliament ;  exposing  the  injustice  and  tyranny 
of  applying  to  America  an  obsolete  act  of  the  reign  of  Henry 
the  Eighth,  warning  the  king  of  the  dangers  that  would  ensue  if 
any  American  should  be  transported  to  England  for  trial,  and 
finally  ordering  the  resolutions  to  be  communicated  to  the  legis 
latures  of  the  other  colonies,  and  requesting  their  concurrence. 
Even  the  merchants  of  peaceable  Pennsylvania  approved  these 
resolutions;  Delaware  adopted  them  word  for  word;  and  the  co 
lonies  south  of  Virginia  eventually  imitated  her  example.  An 
address  was  also  prepared  to  be  laid  before  the  king.  Botetourt 
took  alarm  at  what  he  termed,  in  his  correspondence  with  the 
government,  "the  abominable  measure,"  and  having  convoked 
the  assembly,  addressed  them  thus:  "Mr.  Speaker  and  Gentle 
men  of  the  house  of  burgesses, — I  have  heard  of  your  resolves, 
and  augur  ill  of  their  effects.  You  have  made  it  my  duty  to  dis 
solve  you,  and  you  are  dissolved  accordingly." 

*  1769.  fMaylGtli. 


558  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY  AND 

The  burgesses  immediately  repaired  in  a  body  to  the  Raleigh, 
and  unanimously  adopted  a  non-importation  agreement,  drawn  by 
George  Mason,  and  presented  by  George  Washington.  The 
resolutions  included  one  not  to  import,  or  purchase  any  imported 
slaves,  after  the  first  day  of  November,  until  the  objectionable 
acts  of  parliament  should  be  repealed.  Mr.  Mason,  not  yet  a 
member  of  the  assembly,  was  not  present  at  this  meeting.  The 
moderate  party  in  the  assembly,  while  they  had  opposed  measures 
which  appeared  to  them  injudicious  and  premature,  nevertheless 
avowed  themselves  as  firmly  riveted  to  the  main  principle  in  dis 
pute.  Their  views,  they  averred,  had  been  made  public  in  the 
several  memorials  to  government;  and  from  the  position  so 
assumed  they  were  resolved  never  to  recede.  They  had  not, 
indeed,  expected  that  parliament  would  ever  explicitly  acknow 
ledge  itself  in  the  wrong;  but  it  had  been  their  hope  that  the 
dispute  would  have  been  left  to  rest  upon  reciprocal  protestations, 
and  finally  have  died  away.  The  late  measures  of  the  British 
government  had  extinguished  such  delusive  hopes.  That  govern 
ment  claimed  the  right  of  subjecting  America  to  every  act  of 
parliament  as  being  part  of  the  British  dominions;  and  at  the 
same  time  that  Americans  should  be  liable  to  punishment  under 
an  act  of  Henry  the  Eighth,  made  to  punish  offences  committed 
out  of  the  realm.  The  deportation  of  Americans  for  trial,  de 
priving  them  of  the  right  of  trial  by  a  jury  of  the  vicinage,  ap 
peared  to  be  fraught  with  worse  mischiefs  than  the  stamp  act,  in 
as  much  as  life  is  more  precious  than  property.* 

On  the  9th  of  May,  1769,  the  king  had,  in  his  speech  to  par 
liament,  re-echoed  their  determination  to  enforce  the  laws  in 
every  part  of  his  dominions.  Nevertheless,  on  the  thirteenth  the 
Earl  of  Hillsborough,  secretary  of  state  for  the  colonies,  wrote 
to  Botetourt,  assuring  him  that  it  was  not  the  intention  of  minis 
ters  to  propose  any  further  taxes,  and  that  they  intended  to  pro 
pose  a  repeal  of  the  duties  on  glass,  paper,  and  paints,  not  on  the 
question  of  right,  but  upon  the  ground  that  those  duties  had  been 
imposed  contrary  to  the  true  principles  of  commerce.  Botetourt, 
calling  the  assembly  together,  communicated  these  assurances, 
adding:  "It  is  my  firm  opinion  that  the  plan  I  have  stated  to 

*  Letter  of  R.  C.  Nicholas  to  Arthur  Lee,  S.  Lit.  Messenger,  18-58,  p.  181. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  559 

you  will  certainly  take  place,  and  that  it  will  never  be  departed 
from;  and  so  determined  am  I  to  abide  by  it,  that  I  will  be  con 
tent  to  be  declared  infamous,  if  I  do  not  to  the  last  hour  of  my 
life,  at  all  times,  in  all  places,  and  upon  all  occasions,  exert  every 
power  with  which  I  am,  or  ever  shall  be,  legally  invested,  in 
order  to  obtain  and  maintain  for  the  continent  of  America,  that 
satisfaction  which  I  have  been  authorized  to  promise  this  day  by 
the  confidential  servant  of  our  gracious  sovereign,  who,  to  my 
certain  knowledge,  rates  his  honor  so  high  that  he  would  rather 
part  with  his  crown  than  preserve  it  by  deceit."  The  council, 
in  reply,  advised  the  repeal  of  the  existing  parliamentary 
taxes;  the  burgesses  expressed  their  gratitude  for  "information 
sanctified  by  the  royal  word,"  and  considered  the  king's  influence 
as  pledged  "toward  protecting  the  happiness  of  all  his  people." 
Botctourt,  pleased  with  the  address,  wished  them  "freedom  and 
happiness  till  time  should  be  no  more."  William  Lee  regarded 
this  as  mere  bombastic  rant.  During  this  year  appeared  a 
pamphlet,  asserting  the  rights  of  the  colonies,  entitled  "The 
Monitor's  Letters,"  by  Arthur  Lee. 

Lord  North  succeeded  the  Duke  of  Grafton  as  prime  minister, 
in  January,  1770,  and  in  the  ensuing  March  all  the  duties  on  the 
American  imports  were  repealed,  except  that  on  tea.  Lord 
North,  at  the  same  time,  however,  avowed  the  absolute  determi 
nation  of  the  government  not  to  yield  the  right  of  taxing  the 
colonies. 

The  first  association  appears  not  to  have  been  adhered  to,  and 
the  English  merchants  declared  that  the  exports  to  Virginia  of 
the  prohibited  articles  were  never  greater. 

On  the  22d  day  of  June,  1770,  a  second  association  was  en 
tered  into  at  Williamsburg,  by  the  burgesses  and  the  merchants 
of  the  colony  appointing  committees,  to  be  chosen  by  the  asso- 
ciators  of  each  county,  to  enforce  the  non-importation  agreement; 
resolving  to  promote  industry  and  frugality;  enumerating  the 
articles  not  to  be  imported  or  purchased  after  a  certain  day, 
specially  mentioning  slaves  and  wine;  engaging  not  to  advance 
the  price  of  goods,  wares,  and  merchandise;  binding  themselves 
not  to  import  or  purchase  any  article  which  should  be  taxed  by 
parliament  for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  revenue  in  America. 

The  estimable  Botetourt  died  in  October,  1770,  in  his  fifty-third 


560  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

year,  and  after  an  administration  of  two  years.  Promoted  to 
the  peerage  in  1764,  he  had  succeeded  Sir  Jeffrey  Amhcrst  as 
governor-in-chief  in  1768,  and  was  the  first  of  that  title  since 
Lord  Culpepper,  who  had  condescended  to  come  over  to  the 
colony.  On  his  arrival  it  was  his  purpose  to  reduce  the  Virgi 
nians  to  submission,  either  by  persuasion  or  by  force ;  but  when  he 
became  better  acquainted  with  the  people  he  changed  his  views, 
and  entreated  the  ministry  to  repeal  the  offensive  acts.  Such  a 
promise  was,  indeed,  held  out  to  him;  but  finding  himself  deceived, 
he  demanded  his  recall,  and  died  shortly  afterwards  of  a  bilious 
fever,  exacerbated  by  chagrin  and  disappointment.  He  was  a 
patron  of  learning  and  the  arts,  giving  out  of  his  own  purse 
silver  and  gold  medals  as  prizes  to  the  students  of  "William  and 
Mary  College.  His  death  was  deeply  lamented  by  the  colony, 
and  the  assembly  erected  a  statue  in  honor  of  him,  which  is  still 
standing,  somewhat  mutilated,  in  front  of  the  college.  At  his 
death  the  administration  devolved  upon  William  Nelson,  president 
of  the  council. 

In  May,  1771,  a  great  fresh  occurred  in  Virginia,  the  James  in 
three  days  rising  twenty  feet  higher  than  ever  was  known  before. 
The  low  grounds  were  inundated,  standing  crops  destroyed,  corn, 
fences,  chattels,  merchandise,  cattle,  and  houses  carried  off,  and 
ships  forced  from  their  moorings.  Many  of  the  inhabitants, 
masters  and  slaves,  in  endeavoring  to  rescue  property,  or  to 
escape  from  danger,  were  drowned.  Houses  were  seen  drifting 
down  the  current,  and  people  clinging  to  them,  uttering  fruitless 
cries  for  succor.  Fertile  fields  were  covered  with  a  thick  deposit 
of  sand;  islands  were  torn  to  pieces,  bars  accumulated,  the  chan 
nel  diverted,  and  the  face  of  nature  altered.  At  Turkey  Island, 
on  the  James  River,  there  is  a  monument  bearing  the  following 
inscription:  "The  foundations  of  this  pillar  were  laid  in  the 
calamitous  year  1771,  when  all  the  great  rivers  of  this  country 
were  swept  by  inundations  never  before  experienced,  which 
changed  the  face  of  nature  and  left  traces  of  their  violence  that 
will  remain  for  ages."  One  hundred  and  fifty  persons  were 
drowned  by  this  rise  in  the  rivers. 

The  assembly  met  in  July,  1771.  About  this  time  the  ques 
tion  of  an  American  episcopate  was  agitated;  and  in  some  of  the 
Northern  colonies  the  measure  was  warmly  contended  for  in  the 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  561 

public  papers.  New  York  and  New  Jersey  desired  to  secure  the 
co-operation  of  Virginia  in  petitioning  the  king  on  this  subject, 
and  deputed  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cooper,  President  of  King's  College, 
New  York,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  McKean,  deputies  to  visit  the 
South  in  this  behalf;  and  at  their  urgent  solicitation,  Commis 
sary  Horrocks,  himself  aspiring  to  the  mitre,  as  was  supposed, 
called  a  convocation  of  the  clergy  to  take  the  matter  into  consi 
deration.  Only  a  few  attended;  but  after  some  vacillation  they 
determined  to  join  in.  the  petition  to  the  crown,  the  Rev.  John 
Camm  taking  the  lead  in  this  proceeding.  Four  of  the  clergy  in 
attendance,  Henley  and  Gwatkin,  professors  in  the  College  of 
William  and  Mary,  and  Hewitt  and  Bland,  entered  a  protest 
against  the  scheme  of  introducing  a  bishop,  as  endangering  the 
very  existence  of  the  British  empire  in  America.  The  assembly 
having  expressed  its  disapprobation  of  the  project,  and  it  being 
urged  but  by  few,  and  resisted  by  some  of  the  clergy,  it  fell  to 
the  ground;  and  the  thanks  of  the  house  were  presented,  through 
Richard  Henry  Lee  and  Richard  Bland,  to  the  protesting  clergy 
men  for  their  "wise  and  well-timed  opposition."  Churchmen 
naturally  sided  with  the  English  government,  and  the  bench  of 
bishops  were  arrayed  in  opposition  to  the  rights  of  the  colonies. 
The  protest  of  the  four  ministers  gave  rise  to  a  controversy 
between  them  and  the  United  Episcopal  Conventions  of  New 
York  and  New  Jersey;  and  a  war  of  pamphlets  arid  newspapers 
ensued  in  the  Northern  and  Middle  States;  and  the  stamp  act 
itself,  according  to  some  writers,  did  not  evoke  more  bitter  de 
nunciations,  nor  more  violent  threats,  than  the  project  of  an 
episcopate :  New  England  was  in  a  flame  against  it.  It  was  be 
lieved,  that  if  bishops  should  be  sent  over  they  would  unite  with 
the  governors  in  opposition  to  the  rights  of  America.  The  laity 
of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  America  were,  excepting  a  small 
minority,  opposed  to  the  measure.  Neither  the  people  of  Virgi 
nia,  nor  any  of  the  American  colonies,  were  at  any  time  willing 
to  receive  a  bishop  appointed  by  the  English  government. 
Among  the  advocates  of  the  scheme  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Boucher 
took  a  prominent  part,  and  he  sustained  it  ably  from  the  pulpit. 
He  held  that  the  refusal  of  Virginia  to  consent  to  the  appoint 
ment  of  a  bishop,  was  uto  unchurch  the  church;"  and  his  views 

36 


562  ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA. 

on  this  subject  were  re-echoed  by  Lowth,  Bishop  of  Oxford,  in 
an  anniversary  sermon  delivered  before  the  Society  for  the  Pro 
pagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts.  On  this  point  of  eccle 
siastical  government  the  members  of  the  establishment  in  Virginia 
appear  to  have  been  looked  upon  as  themselves  dissenters.  In  one 
sense  they  were  so ;  but  their  repugnance  was  to  prelacy,  not  to  the 
episcopate ;  a  prelatical  bishop  was  in  their  minds  associated  with 
ideas  of  expense  beyond  their  means,  and  of  opposition  to  tho 
principles  of  civil  liberty.  Boucher,  in  a  sermon  that  he 
preached  in  this  year  at  St.  Mary's  Church,  in  Caroline  County, 
of  which  he  was  then  rector,  says  of  the  dissenters  in  Virginia: 
"I  might  almost  as  well  pretend  to  count  the  gnats  that  buzz 
around  us  in  a  summer's  evening." 

The  scheme  of  sending  over  a  bishop  had  been  entertained 
more  than  a  hundred  years  before ;  and  Dean  Swift  at  one  time 
entertained  hopes  of  being  made  Bishop  of  Virginia,  with  power, 
as  is  said,  to  ordain  priests  and  deacons  for  all  the  colonies,  and 
to  parcel  them  out  into  deaneries,  parishes,  chapels,  etc.,  and  to 
recommend  and  present  thereto.  The  favorite  sermons  of  many 
of  the  Virginia  clergy  were  Sterne's.* 

During  this  year  died  the  Rev.  James  Horrocks,  President  of 
the  College  and  Commissary.  He  had  been  at  the  head  of  William 
and  Mary  since  the  death  of  Rev.  William  Yates,  in  17G4.  Mr. 
Horrocks  was  succeeded  in  both  places  by  the  Rev.  John  Camrn. 

John  Murray,  Earl  of  Dunmore,  was  transferred"}"  from  the 
government  of  New  York  to  that  of  Virginia.  The  town  of 
Fincastle,  the  title  of  one  of  his  sons,  in  Botetourt  County,  was 
now  incorporated.  The  Honorable  William  Nelson,  president, 
died  in  this  year.  About  this  time  the  Methodists  appeared  in 
Virginia;  they  still  avowed  that  attachment  to  the  Church  of 
England  which  Wesley  and  Whitefield  both,  in  the  early  years  of 
their  career,  had  uniformly  professed.  Although  they  allowed 
laymen  to  preach,  the  communion  was  received  by  them  at  the 
hands  of  the  clergy  only;  and  they  even  affirmed  that  "whoso 
ever  left  the  church  left  the  Methodists."  They,  therefore,  now 
were  visited  with  a  share  of  the  odium  which  fell  upon  the 
established  church. 

*  Old  Churches,  i.  25.  f  1772. 


CHAPTER    LXXIL 

THE  REV.  DEVEREUX  JARRATT. 

THE  REV.  DEVEREUX  JARRATT  was  born  in  the  County  of 
New  Kent,  Virginia,  in  January,  1733,  of  obscure  parentage. 
His  grandfather,  an  Englishman,  had  served  during  the  civil 
wars  under  Robert  Devereux,  Earl  of  Essex,  and  hence  probably 
was  derived  the  Christian  name  of  the  grandson.  His  grand 
mother  was  a  native  of  Ireland.  His  father  was  a  carpenter,  and 
from  the  manner  in  which  he  and  his  family  lived,  some  idea  may 
be  formed  of  the  condition  of  the  common  people  in  that  day. 
Their  food  consisted  of  the  produce  of  the  soil,  except  a  little 
sugar,  which  was  used  only  on  rare  occasions.  Their  clothes 
were  all  of  maternal  manufacture,  except  hats  and  shoes,  and 
these  last  were  worn  only  in  the  winter.  They  not  only  used  no 
tea  or  coffee  themselves,  but  they  knew  no  family  that  did  use 
them.  Meat  and  bread  and  milk  constituted  the  diet  of  that 
class.  They  looked  upon  the  gentry  as  a  superior  caste.  Jar- 
rat  t,  in  his  autobiography,  describing  his  early  days,  says:  "For 
my  part,  I  was  quite  shy  of  them,  and  kept  off  at  an  humble  dis 
tance.  A  periwig  in  those  days  was  a  distinguishing  badge  of 
gentle-folk,  and  when  I  saw  a  man  riding  the  road  near  our 
house  with  a  wig  on,  it  would  so  alarm  my  fears  and  give  me 
such  a  disagreeable  feeling,  that  I  dare  say  I  would  run  off  as 
for  my  life."  He  lived  to  see  society  reduced  to  the  opposite,  and, 
in  his  opinion,  worse  extreme  of  republican  levelling,  insubordi 
nation,  and  irreverence.  His  early  education  was  confined  to 
reading,  writing,  and  elementary  arithmetic,  some  short  prayers, 
and  the  church  catechism.  Upon  his  father's  death,  Robert,  the 
eldest  son,  inherited  the  land,  and  Devereux's  share  of  the  per 
sonal  property  was  twenty-five  pounds,  Virginia  currency,  which 
he  was  to  receive  when  he  should  reach  the  age  of  twenty-one. 
The  relative  value  of  money  was  four  times  greater  then  than 

(563) 


564  HISTORY  OF  THE  COLONY  AND 

it  was  fifty  years  afterwards.  A  good  horse  could  be  bought  for 
five  pounds,  and  a  good  cow  and  calf  for  a  pistole,  or  three  dol 
lars  and  sixty  cents.  At  eight  or  nine  years  of  age  young  Jar- 
ratt  was  sent  to  school,  and  so  continued,  with  great  interruptions, 
for  three  or  four  years.  By  this  time  he  had  learned  to  read  the 
Bible  indifferently,  to  write  a  sorry  hand,  and  had  acquired  some 
knowledge  of  arithmetic,  and  this  closed  his  educational  curricu 
lum.  Being  placed  now  under  the  guardianship  of  his  elder 
brother,  his  employments  for  some  years  were  threefold:  1st, 
taking  care  of  and  training  race-horses ;  2d,  taking  care  of  game 
cocks  and  preparing  them  for  a  match  and  main;  3d,  ploughing, 
harrowing,  and  other  plantation  work.  At  the  age  of  seventeen 
he  undertook  the  business  of  a  carpenter,  under  another  brother, 
who  often  had  recourse  to  "hard  words  and  severe  blows,"  which 
he  "did  not  at  all  relish;"  but  he  continued  to  labor  in  this  way 
until  about  1750.  During  the  five  or  six  years  while  he  lived 
with  his  brothers,  he  never  heard  or  saw  anything  of  a  religious 
nature,  nor  did  he  go  to  the  parish  church  once  a  year.  The 
parish  minister  was  a  poor  preacher,  very  near-sighted,  and,  read 
ing  his  sermons  closely,  he  kept  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  paper,  and 
so  near  that  what  he  said  "seemed  rather  addressed  to  the 
cushion  than  to  the  congregation."  This  parson  was  rarely  ob 
served  to  stand  erect  and  face  the  audience,  except  when  he  de 
nounced  some  individual  in  the  congregation  with  whom  he  hap 
pened  to  have  a  quarrel.  Cards,  dancing,  racing,  etc.,  were  then 
the  favorite  pastimes,  and  young  Jarratt  participated  in  them  as 
far  as  his  leisure  and  circumstances  would  permit,  and  this  as 
well  on  Sundays  as  on  other  days.  Not  being  content  with  his 
stock  of  learning,  and  skill  in  arithmetic  being  the  chief  desidera 
tum  among  the  common  people,  he  borrowed  a  book,  and  while 
his  plough-horse  was  grazing  at  noon  applied  himself  to  that 
study,  and  made  rapid  progress.  He  felt  conscious  at  this  time 
that  the  plough  and  the  axe  were  not  his  element ;  and  his  skill 
in  the  division  of  crops,  in  the  rule  of  three,  and  in  practice,  soon 
became  so  widely  known  that  he  was,  unexpectedly,  when  at  the 
age  of  nineteen,  invited  to  set  up  a  school  in  Albemarle  County, 
one  hundred  miles  distant  from  New  Kent.  His  baggage  appears 
to  have  constituted  no  considerable  impediment  to  his  journey, 


ANCIENT    DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  565 

for  he  says:  "I  think  I  carried  the  whole  on  my  back  except 
one  shirt."  His  entire  wardrobe  at  this  time  consisted  of  a  pair 
of  coarse  breeches,  one  or  two  Oznaburg  shirts,  a  pair  of  shoes 
and  stockings,  an  old  felt  hat,  and  a  bear-skin  coat,  the  first  gar 
ment  of  that  kind  that  had  ever  been  made  for  him.  To  improve 
the  gentility  of  his  appearance  he  put  on  a  cast-off  wig,  which  he 
procured  from  a  servant.  On  setting  out  for  Albemarle,  young 
Jarratt  had  not  a  farthing  of  money,  and  never  had  been  master 
of  as  much  as  five  shillings  cash.  The  income  of  the  school  scarce 
afforded  him  clothing  of  the  coarsest  kind,  but  he  gained  the  con 
fidence  of  his  employer,  who  was  an  overseer  for  a  lowland  gen 
tleman,  so  far,  that  he  trusted  him  with  "as  much  checks  as  made 
him  two  new  shirts."  Albemarle  was  then  a  frontier  county; 
there  was  no  minister  or  public  worship  within  many  miles,  and 
the  Sabbath  was  spent  in  sports  and  amusements.  Here  he  met 
with  Whiteficld's  Eight  Sermons,  delivered  at  Glasgow,  the  first 
book  of  sermons  that  he  ever  saw.  Jarratt  went  next  to  live  with 
a  wealthy  gentleman,  whose  wife  was  a  pious  Presbyterian,  spoken 
of  as  a  New  Light.  It  was  while  he  was  under  Presbyterian  in 
fluences  that  his  conversion  took  place.  When  upwards  of 
twenty-five  years  old  he  commenced  the  study  of  Latin  under 
Alexander  Martin,  sent  from  Princeton  College,  a  private  tutor 
in  the  family  of  a  gentleman  in  Cumberland.  Martin  was  after 
wards  governor  of  North  Carolina.  Mr.  Jarratt  intended  to  be 
come  a  Presbyterian  minister,  but  in  1762  changed  his  mind,  and 
began  to  prepare  to  take  orders  in  the  established  church.  Upon 
a  further  acquaintance  with  the  subject  his  prejudices  against  that 
church  and  its  liturgy  were  removed,  and  he  came  to  be  of  opinion 
that  the  Prayer  Book  contained,  at  the  least,  as  good  a  system 
of  doctrine  and  public  worship  as  the  Presbyterian ;  the  doctrinal 
articles  he  considered  the  same,  in  substance,  in  both  churches, 
and  the  different  modes  of  worship  he  held  to  be  not  essential. 
His  mind  hung  in  equilibrium  between  the  Church  of  England 
and  the  Presbyterian  Church  as  regarded  their  theory,  and 
balancing  the  secular  advantages,  he  decided  in  favor  of  the  esta 
blished  church,  mainly  because  "he  saw  the  Presbyterian  minis 
ters  dependent  on  annual  subscriptions — a  mode  of  support  very 
precarious  in  itself,  and  which  subjects  the  minister  to  the  caprice 


566  HISTORY  or  THE  COLONY  AND 

of  so  many  people,  and  tends  to  bind  his  hands  and  hinder  his 
usefulness."  To  this  he  adds:  "The  general  prejudice  of  the 
people  at  that  time  against  dissenters  and  in  favor  of  the  church, 
gave  me  a  full  persuasion  that  I  could  do  more  good  in  the 
church  than  anywhere  else."  The  fact  is,  however,  that  at  that 
time  the  popular  feeling  was  growing  less  friendly  to  the  clergy 
of  the  established  church  and  more  friendly  to  dissenters.  Em 
barking  for  England,  in  October,  1762,  and  being  ordained  deacon 
by  the  Bishop  of  London,  and  priest  by  the  Bishop  of  Chester, 
he  preached  several  times  in  London,  and  was  "suspected  of 
being  a  Methodist."  While  in  that  city  he  heard  Whitefield  and 
Wesley.  He  returned  to  Virginia  in  July.  Shortly  afterwards 
he  was  received  as  minister  of  Bath  Parish,  in  Dinwiddie,  he 
being  then  in  his  thirty-first  year.  He  found  his  people  as  igno 
rant  of  true  religion  as  if  they  had  never  frequented  a  church  or 
heard  a  sermon.  As  regarded  other  Episcopal  clergymen,  he 
did  not  know  of  one  in  Virginia  like-minded  with  himself.  He 
was  indeed  opposed  and  reproached  by  them  as  a  fanatic,  a  dis 
senter,  a  Presbyterian.  His  preaching,  although  at  first  unac 
ceptable,  proved,  ere  long,  effective,  and  crowded  congregations 
attended  his  ministrations.  The  interest  extending  widely  be 
yond  his  parish,  he  spent  part  of  his  time  in  itinerant  preaching, 
going  several  hundred  miles  and  in  every  direction.  The  clergy 
in  general  being  unwilling  to  open  their  churches  for  him,  and 
they  being  not  large  enough  to  contain  the  crowds  which  he  at 
tracted,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  preaching  in  the  open  air,  under 
trees,  arbors,  or  booths,  and  he  had  the  advantage  of  a  voice 
which  was  audible  to  his  large  congregations.  The  clergy  fre 
quently  threatened  him  with  writs  and  prosecutions  for  the  viola 
tion  of  canonical  order,  but  he  retorted  upon  them  successfully, 
and  maintained  his  ground.  At  length  he  met  with  sympathy 
and  co-operation  from  the  Rev.  Mr.  McRoberts,  and  an  intimacy 
continued  between  them  for  many  years.  But  as  Mr.  Jarratt, 
who  was  at  first  in  effect  a  Presbyterian,  became  a  minister  of 
the  established  church,  so  eventually,  many  years  afterwards, 
during  the  revolutionary  war,  his  friend  and  coadjutor,  Mr. 
McRoberts,  became  a  Presbyterian  minister.  Their  friendship 
remained  uninterrupted. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  567 

About  the  year  1769  the  increase  of  the  number  of  Baptists 
produced  some  divisions  among  Mr.  Jarratt's  people.  The  Me 
thodists  appearing  in  Virginia  about  the  same  time,  and  profess 
ing  to  be  virtually  members  of  the  Church  of  England,  Mr. 
Jarratt  (in  order  to  resist  the  encroachments  of  the  Baptists)  co 
operated  with  them  in  building  up  their  societies ;  but  he  found 
reason  subsequently  to  repent  of  this  step,  and  although  often 
styled  a  Methodist  himself,  yet  he  finally  broke  off  entirely  from 
that  denomination.* 


*  Life  of  Rev.  Devereux  Jarratt,  5,  107.     His  sermons  were  published  in 
several  volumes 


CHAPTER    LXXIII. 


Duty  on  Tea  —  Dunmore,  Governor  —  Proceedings  of  Assembly  —  Private  Meeting 
of  Patriots  —  Committees  of  Correspondence  —  Washington  —  Dunmore  visits 
the  Frontier. 

IN  the  year  1770,  all  the  duties  on  articles  imported  into 
America  having  been  repealed,  save  that  on  tea,  the  American 
merchants  refused  to  import  that  commodity  from  England. 
Consequently  a  large  stock  of  it  was  accumulated  in  the  ware 
houses  of  the  East  India  Company;  and  the  government  in 
1773  authorized  the  company  to  ship  it  to  America  free  from  any 
export  duty.  The  light  import  duty  payable  in  America  being 
far  less  than  that  from  which  it  was  exempted  in  England,  it  was 
taken  for  granted  that  it  would  sell  more  readily  in  the  colony 
than  before  it  had  been  made  a  subject  of  taxation.  It  was, 
indeed,  by  some  looked  upon  as  now  rather  a  question  of  com 
merce  than  of  taxation;  the  main  object  of  the  British  govern 
ment  appears  to  have  been  to  put  an  end  to  the  trade  between 
the  colonies  and  Holland.,  (a  trade  contraband  according  to  the 
letter  of  the  law,  but  the  law  had  been  practically  long  obsolete,) 
and  to  give  to  the  East  India  Company  a  monopoly  of  the  colo 
nial  markets.  But  it  was  in  general  regarded  in  America  as  a 
test  question  of  revenue. 

The  tea-ships  arrived  in  America,  and  measures  were  taken  to 
prevent  the  landing  of  the  tea;  at  Boston  several  cargoes  were 
thrown  overboard  in  the  night  of  December  the  eighteenth,  into 
the  sea,  by  a  party  of  men  disguised  as  Indians,  acting  under  the 
advice  of  Samuel  Adams,  and  other  leading  patriots.  Other 
colonies  either  compelled  the  masters  of  the  tea-ships  to  return 
with  their  cargoes,  or  excluded  them  from  sale;  and  thus  not  a 
chest  of  it  was  sold  for  the  benefit  of  the  company.  Tea  had 
hitherto  been  imported  by  Pennsylvania,  New  York,  and  Massa- 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  569 

chusetts  into  the  colonies  to  the  value  of  three  hundred  thousand 
pounds  annually  from  Holland  and  her  dependencies.  In  Virgi 
nia  the  use  of  this  beverage  was  now  generally  abandoned.* 

Intelligence  of  the  occurrences  at  Boston  having  reached  Eng 
land,  parliament  ordered  the  port  of  that  town  to  be  closed  on 
the  fourth  day  of  June ;  and  other  strong  measures  were  adopted 
in  order  to  reduce  Massachusetts  to  submission.  The  colonies, 
like  the  captives  in  the  cave  of  Polyphemus,  were  conscious  of 
being  involved  in  a  common  danger ;  and  that  if  one  should  fall 
a  victim,  the  destruction  of  the  rest  would  be  only  a  question  of 
time. 

When  John  Murray,  Earl  of  Dunmore,  the  newly-appointed 
governor  of  Virginia,  reached  Williamsburg,  early  in  1772,  he 
found  that  he  had  already  incurred  suspicion  on  account  of  the 
appointment  of  Captain  Foy  as  his  clerkr  or  private  secretary, 
with  a  salary  of  five  hundred  pounds,  to  be  derived  from  new- 
created  fees.  Foy  had  distinguished  himself  at  the  battle  of 
Minden,  and  had  been  afterwards  governor  of  New  Hampshire. 
Dunmore  summoned  the  assembly  which  met  in  February;  and 
his  apparent  haughtiness  at  the  first  rather  heightened  the  preju 
dice  against  him.  He,  however,  relinquished  the  objectionable 
fees,  and  thus  conciliated  so  good  a  feeling  that  the  assembly 
expressed  their  gratitude  in  warm  and  affectionate  terms.  Some 
important  acts  were  passed  during  this  session,  including  several 
for  the  promotion  of  internal  improvement — for  improving  the 
navigation  of  the  Potomac;  for  making  a  road  from  the  Warm 
Spring  to  Jenning's  Gap;  for  clearing  the  Matapony;  for  cir 
cumventing  the  falls  of  James  River  by  a  canal  from  Westham; 
and  for  cutting  a  canal  across  from  Archer's  Hope  Creek  to 
Queen's  Creek,  through  Williamsburg,  to  connect  the  James 
River  with  the  York.  The  Counties  of  Berkley  and  Dunmore 
were  carved  out  from  Frederick,  f 

The  assembly  was  prorogued  to  the  tenth  of  June.     Dunmore, 

*  Some  of  the  loyal  ladies  adhered  to  the  use  of  it.  The  wife  of  Bernard 
Moore,  of  Chelsea,  in  King  William,  daughter  of  a  British  governor,  Spotswood, 
according  to  family  tradition,  continued  to  sip  her  tea  in  her  closet  after  it  was 
"banished  from  the  table. 

f  The  name  of  Dunmore  was,  in  1777,  changed  to  Shenandoah. 


570  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLONY  AND 

notwithstanding  his  recent  complaisance,  evinced  his  distaste  for 
assemblies  by  proroguing  them  from  time  to  time,  until  at  length 
a  forgery  of  the  paper-currency  of  the  colony  compelled  him  to 
call  the  legislature  together  again,  by  proclamation,  March  4th, 
1773 — the  thirteenth  year  of  the  reign  of  George  the  Third. 
His  lordship's  measures  in  apprehending  the  counterfeiters  had 
been  more  energetic  than  legal,  and  the  assembly,  not  diverted 
by  their  care  for  the  treasury  from  a  regard  to  personal  rights, 
requested  that  his  proceedings  might  not  be  drawn  into  a  precedent. 

The  horizon  was  again  darkened  by  gathering  clouds.  A 
British  armed  revenue  vessel  having  been  burnt  in  Narraganset 
Bay,  an  act  of  parliament  was  passed  making  such  offences 
punishable  by  death,  and  authorizing  the  accused  to  be  trans 
ported  to  England  for  trial.  Virginia  had  already,  in  1769,  re 
monstrated  against  this  last  measure.  The  conservatives,  the 
statu  quo  party  in  the  assembly,  as  usual,  differed  with  the 
movement  party  as  to  the  proper  measure  to  be  adopted.  Patrick 
Henry,  Mr.  Jefferson,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  Francis  L.  Lee, 
Dabney  Carr,  and  perhaps  one  or  two  others  were  at  this  gloomy 
period  in  the  habit  of  meeting  together  in  the  evening  in  a  pri 
vate  room  of  the  Raleigh,  to  consult  on  the  state  of  affairs.  In 
conformity  with  their  agreement,  Dabney  Carr,  on  the  twelfth 
of  March,  moved  a  series  of  resolutions,  recommending  a  com 
mittee  of  correspondence,  and  instructing  them  to  inquire  in 
regard  to  the  newly-constituted  court  in  Rhode  Island. 
Richard  Henry  Lee  and  Patrick  Henry  made  speeches  of  me 
morable  eloquence  on  this  occasion.  Mr.  Lee  was  the  author 
of  the  plan  of  intercolonial  committees  of  correspondence; 
and  Virginia  was  the  first  colony  that  adopted  it.  The  reso 
lutions  passed  without  opposition,  and  Dunmore  immediately 
dissolved  the  house.  These  resolutions  "struck  a  greater  panic 
into  the  ministers"  than  anything  that  had  taken  place  since  the 
passage  of  the  stamp  act.* 

The  committee  of  correspondence  appointed  were  Peyton  Ran 
dolph,  Robert  C.  Nicholas,  Richard  Bland,  Richard  Henry  Lee, 
Benjamin  Harrison,  Edmund  Pendleton,  Patrick  Henry,  Dudley 

*  MS.  letter  of  William  Lee,  dated  at  London,  January  1st,  177-1. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  571 

Digges,  Dabney  Carr,  Archibald  Gary,  and  Thomas  Jefferson. 
On  the  day  after  the  dissolution,  this  committee  addressed  a  cir 
cular  to  the  other  colonies.  Robert  Carter  Nicholas  published, 
during  this  year,  a  pamphlet  in  defence  of  colonial  rights. 

Dabney  Carr,  although  young,  was,  according  to  Mr.  Jefferson, 
a  formidable  rival  at  the  bar  to  Patrick  Henry,  and  promised  to 
become  a  distinguished  statesman;  but  he  died  shortly  after,  in 
the  thirtieth  year  of  his  age,  greatly  lamented.  The  judge  of  the 
same  name  was  his  son.  Washington  wTas  a  member  of  this 
assembly,  and  supported  the  patriotic  measures,  perhaps,  however, 
as  yet  little  dreaming  that  the  colonies  were  on  the  verge  of  revo 
lution  and  war.  He  was  still  on  friendly  terms  with  Governor 
Dunmore,  who  appreciated  his  abilities  and  character.  He, 
indeed,  intended  about  this  time,  in  compliance  with  the  gover 
nor's  invitation,  to  accompany  him  in  a  tour  of  observation  to  the 
western  frontier  of  Virginia,  where  both  of  them  had  an  interest 
in  lands ;  but  this  was  prevented  by  the  illness  and  death  of  Miss 
Custis,  the  daughter  of  Mrs.  Washington  by  a  former  marriage. 

Dunmore  visited  the  frontier  and  remained  some  time  at  Pitts- 
burg,  and  endeavored,  by  the  help  of  Dr.  Conolly,  to  extend  the 
bounds  of  Virginia  in  that  quarter;  and  this  was  attributed  to  a 
design  to  foment  a  quarrel  between  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania; 
but  the  suspicion  was  probably  without  sufficient  foundation. 


CHAPTER    LXXIV. 

IT'7'4. 

Lady  Dunmore  and  Children — Gayety  of  Williamsburg — Boston  Port  Bill — Fast- 
day  appointed — Governor  dissolves  the  Assembly — Resolutions  of  Burgesses — 
Convention  called — The  Raleigh — Mason's  Opinion  of  Henry — Patriotic  Mea 
sures — Convention — Jefferson's  "Summary  View." 

LATE  in  April  there  arrived  at  the  palace  in  Williamsburg, 
the  Right  Honorable  the  Countess  of  Dunmore,  with  George, 
Lord  Fincastle,  the  Honorable  Alexander  and  John  Murray,  and 
the  Ladies  Catherine,  Augusta,  and  Susan  Murray,  accompanied 
by  Captain  Foy  and  his  lady.  On  this  occasion  there  was  an 
illumination,  and  the  people  with  acclamations  welcomed  her  lady 
ship  and  family  to  Virginia.  The  three  sons  of  Lord  Dunmore 
were  students  in  the  College  of  William  and  Mary  in  that  year. 

When  the  assembly  met  in  May,  Williamsburg  presented  a  scene 
of  unwonted  gayety,  and  a  court-herald  published  a  code  of 
etiquette  for  the  regulation  of  the  society  of  the  little  metropolis. 
Washington,  arriving  there  on  the  sixteenth,  dined  with  Lord 
Dunmore.  At  the  beginning  of  the  session  the  burgesses  made 
an  address  congratulating  the  governor  on  the  arrival  of  his 
lady,  and  the  members  agreed  to  give  a  ball  in  her  honor  on  the 
twenty-seventh;  but  the  sky  was  again  suddenly  overcast  by  in 
telligence  of  the  act  of  parliament  shutting  up  the  port  of  Boston. 
The  assembly  made  an  indignant  protest  against  this  act,  and,* 
imitating  the  example  of  the  Puritans  in  the  civil  wars  of  Eng 
land,  set  apart  the  first  of  June,  appointed  for  closing  the  port, 
as  a  day  of  fasting,  prayer,  and  humiliation,  in  which  the  Divine 
interposition  was  to  be  implored  to  protect  the  rights  of  the  colo 
nies,  and  avert  the  horrors  of  civil  war,  and  to  unite  the  people 
of  America  in  the  common  cause. 

On  the  next  day  Dunmore,  summoning  the  burgesses  to  attend 

*  May  twenty-fourth. 

(5T2) 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  573 

him  in  the  council  chamber,  dissolved  them  in  the  following 
words:  "Mr.  Speaker  and  Gentlemen  of  the  house  of  burgesses, 
I  have  in  my  hand  a  paper  published  by  order  of  your  house, 
conceived  in  such  terms  as  reflect  highly  upon  his  majesty  and 
the  parliament  of  Great  Britain,  which  makes  it  necessary  for 
me  to  dissolve  you,  and  you  are  dissolved  accordingly." 

The  burgesses  repaired  immediately  to  the  Raleigh,*  and  in  the 
room  called  "the  Apollo"  adopted  resolutions  against  the  use  of 
tea  and  other  East  India  commodities,  and  recommended  the 
annual  convening  of  a  congress.  In  this  measure,  as  in  the 
appointment  of  committees  of  correspondence,  Virginia  took  the 
lead.  North  Carolina  promptly  followed  her  example.  Not 
withstanding  the  untoward  turn  of  events,  Washington  dined 
with  the  governor  on  the  twenty-fifth,  and  passed  the  evening 
with  him,  rode  with  him  to  his  farm,  and  breakfasted  there  on 
the  following  day,  and  attended  the  ball  given  on  the  twenty- 
seventh  in  honor  of  Lady  Dunmore. 

Further  news  being  received  from  Boston,  the  members  who 
remained  in  Williamsburg  held  a  meeting  on  the  twenty-ninth,  at 
which  Peyton  Randolph  presided,  and  they  issued  a  circular, 
recommending  a  meeting  of  deputies  in  a  convention  to  assemble 
there  on  the  first  of  August. 

A  dissolution  of  the  assembly  had  been  expected,  but  it  had 
been  supposed  that  it  would  be  deferred  until  the  public  business 
should  be  despatched — toward  the  latter  part  of  June.  Consult 
ations  and  measures  for  the  preservation  of  the  public  rights  and 
liberties  were  conducted  and  matured  very  privately,  and  by  very 
few  members,  of  whom  Patrick  Henry  was  the  leader.  George 
Mason,  who  arrived  in  Williamsburg  in  the  latter  part  of  May, 
says,  in  a  letter  to  a  friend:  "At  the  request  of  the  gentlemen 
concerned,  I  have  spent  an  evening  with  them  upon  the  subject, 
where  I  had  an  opportunity  of  conversing  with  Mr.  Henry  and 
knowing  his  sentiments,  as  well  as  hearing  him  speak  in  the 


*  The  Raleigh  tavern,  a  wooden  house,  is  upwards  of  a  hundred  years  old. 
There  was  formerly  a  bust  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  in  front  of  the  house.  The 
ball-room  in  the  Raleigh  was  styled  %'The  Apollo."  There  was  a  tavern  in 
London  called  "The  Apollo"  in  1690. 


574  HISTOKY   OF   THE    COLONY  AND 

house  since  on  different  occasions.  He  is  by  far  the  most  power 
ful  speaker  I  ever  heard.  Every  word  he  says  not  only  engages, 
but  commands  the  attention,  and  your  passions  are  no  longer 
your  own  when  he  addresses  them.  But  his  eloquence  is  the 
least  part  of  his  merit.  He  is,  in  my  opinion,  the  first  man  upon 
this  continent  as  well  in  abilities  as  public  virtues,  and  had  he 
live'd  in  Rome  about  the  time  of  the  first  Punic  war,  when  the 
Roman  people  had  arrived  at  their  meridian  glory,  and  their  vir 
tue  not  tarnished,  Mr.  Henry's  talents  must  have  put  him  at  the 
head  of  that  glorious  commonwealth." 

Mr.  Mason  found  the  minds  of  all  at  Williamsburg  entirely 
absorbed  in  the  news  from  Massachusetts.  The  burgesses,  at 
their  own  expense,  sent  to  their  counties  copies  of  the  resolution 
adopted  against  the  Boston  port  bill,  in  order  that  it  should  be 
ratified  by  the  people.  Mr.  Mason,  as  other  members  probably 
did,  directed  that  his  elder  children  should  attend  church  on  the 
day  of  fasting,  humiliation,  and  prayer,  in  mourning.  The  first 
of  June  was  observed  as  set  apart  by  the  house  of  burgesses. 
The  same  day  being  the  time  fixed  for  the  discontinuance  of  the 
use  of  tea,  the  ladies,  before  that  day,  sealed  up  their  stock,  with 
a  determination  not  to  use  it  until  the  duty  should  be  repealed, 
and  resolutions  of  sympathy  and  encouragement,  and  contribu 
tions  of  money  and  provisions,  were  sent  from  Virginia  for  the 
relief  of  "our  distressed  fellow-subjects  of  Boston." 

In  the  midst  of  these  excitements  John  Page,  of  Rosewcll,  was 
elected  president  of  the  Society  for  the  Advancement  of  Useful 
Knowledge. 

In  the  latter  part  of  June,  Washington  presided  as  moderator 
at  a  meeting  held  in  his  own  county,  Fairfax,  and  he  was  made 
chairman  of  a  committee  appointed  to  draught  resolutions  on  the 
alarming  state  of  public  affairs,  to  be  reported  at  a  future  meet 
ing.  He  about  this  time  warmly  supported  the  patriotic  mea 
sures,  in  a  correspondence  with  his  neighbor  and  friend,  Bryan 
Fairfax,  who  adhered  to  the  Anglican  side  in  the  dispute.  On 
the  twenty-fourth  of  August  he  wrote  to  him:  "I  could  wish,  I 
own,  that  the  dispute  had  been  left  to  posterity  to  determine ;  but 
the  crisis  is  arrived  when  we  must  assert  our  rights,  or  submit  to 
every  imposition  that  can  be  heaped  upon  us,  till  custom  and  use 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  575 

will  make  us  as  tame  and  abject  slaves  as  the  blacks  we  rule  over 
with  such  arbitrary  sway." 

The  Fairfax  committee  framed  resolutions,  intimating  that  a 
persistence  of  the  government  in  its  measures  of  coercion  would 
result  of  necessity  only  in  a  resort  to  the  arbitrament  of  arms. 
These  resolutions  were  adopted  by  a  county  meeting  held  on  the 
eighteenth  of  July,  and  Washington  was  elected  a  delegate  to 
the  convention  which  was  about  to  convene.  This  body  met  on 
the  first  day  of  August,  (although  Dunmore  had  issued  writs  for 
a  new  assembly,)  its  object  being  to  consider  the  state  and  condi 
tion  of  the  colony,  and  to  appoint  delegates  to  congress.  A  new 
and  more  thorough  non-importation  association  was  organized. 
Peyton  Randolph,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  Washington,  Henry, 
Bland,  Benjamin  Harrison,  Jr.,  of  Berkley,  and  Pendleton,  were 
appointed*  delegates  to  congress.  Patrick  Henry  and  Richard 
Henry  Lee  were  listened  to  with  delight,  and  Washington  said, 
"I  will  raise  one  thousand  men,  subsist  them  at  my  own  expense, 
and  march  myself  at  their  head  for  the  relief  of  Boston,  "f 

Mr.  Jefferson  was  elected  a  member  of  this  convention,  but 
was  prevented  from  attending  by  the  state  of  his  health.  In 
the  interval  before  the  meeting  he  prepared  instructions  for 
the  Virginia  delegates  in  congress,  in  which  he  assumed  the 
ground  that  the  British  parliament  had  no  right  whatever  to  ex 
ercise  any  authority  over  the  colony  of  Virginia.  These  instruc 
tions  being  communicated  through  the  president  of  the  convention, 
Peyton  Randolph,  were  generally  read  and  approved  of  by  many, 
though  considered  too  bold  for  the  present.  But  they  printed 
them  in  a  pamphlet,  under  the  title  of  "A  Summary  View  of  the 
Rights  of  British  America."!  The  following  excerpts  are  taken 
from  it:  "History  has  informed  us  that  bodies  of  men  as  well 
as  individuals  are  susceptible  of  the  spirit  of  tyranny."  "  Scarcely 
have  our  minds  been  able  to  emerge  from  the  astonishment  into 
which  one  stroke  of  parliamentary  thunder  has  involved  us  before 
another  more  heavy  and  more  alarming  is  fallen  on  us."  "The 

*  August  eleventh.  f  Life  and  Works  of  John  Adams,  ii.  SCO. 

J  To  be  found  in  Amer.  Archives,  published  by  Congress,  fourth  series,  i.  690, 
and  in  the  Congress  edition  of  Mr.  Jefferson's  works.  See  also  Memoir  and 
Correspondence  of  Jefferson,  100,  116. 


576  ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA. 

great  principles  of  right  and  wrong  are  legible  to  every  reader; 
to  pursue  them  requires  not  the  aid  of  many  counsellors.  The 
whole  art  of  government  consists  in  the  art  of  being  honest ;  only 
aim  to  do  your  duty,  and  mankind  will  give  you  credit  where  you 
fail.  No  longer  persevere  in  sacrificing  the  rights  of  one  part 
of  the  empire  to  the  inordinate  desires  of  another,  but  deal  out  to 
all  equal  and  impartial  right.  Let  no  act  be  passed  by  any  one 
legislature  which  may  infringe  on  the  rights  and  liberties  of 
another."  "  Accept  of  every  commercial  preference  it  is  in  em 
power  to  give  for  such  things  as  we  can  raise  for  their  use,  or  they 
make  for  ours.  But  let  them  not  think  to  exclude  us  from  going 
to  other  markets  to  dispose  of  those  commodities  which  they  can 
not  use,  or  to  supply  those  wants  which  they  cannot  supply." 

On  the  subject  of  slavery  Mr.  Jefferson  used  the  following  lan 
guage:  "The  abolition  of  domestic  slavery  is  the  great  object  of 
desire  in  these  colonies,  where  it  was  unhappily  introduced  in 
their  infant  state.  But  previous  to  the  enfranchisement  of  the 
slaves  we  have,  it  is  necessary  to  exclude  all  further  importations 
from  Africa,  yet  our  repeated  attempts  to  effect  this,  by  prohibi 
tions,  and  by  imposing  duties  which  might  amount  to  a  prohibition, 
have  been  hitherto  defeated  by  his  majesty's  negative;  thus  pre 
ferring  the  immediate  advantage  of  a  few  British  corsairs  to  the 
lasting  interests  of  the  American  States  and  to  the  rights  of 
human  nature  deeply  wounded  by  this  infamous  practice." 

In  consonance  with  these  opinions,  the  convention  adopted  the 
following  resolution:  "After  the  first  day  of  November  next  wo 
will  neither  ourselves  import,  nor  purchase  any  slave  or  slaves 
imported  by  any  other  person,  either  from  Africa,  the  West 
Indies,  or  any  other  place." 

Mr.  Jefferson's  pamphlet  displays  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
history  and  constitutional  rights  of  the  colony;  it  breathes  a 
fiery  spirit  of  defiance  and  revolution,  and  the  rhythmical  splendor 
of  elevated  declamation  in  some  of  its  passages  is  hardly  inferior 
to  Junius.  If  some  of  its  statements  and  views  are  extravagant 
or  erroneous,  yet  it  is  bold,  acute,  comprehensive,  luminous,  and 
impressive.  This  pamphlet,  it  is  said,  found  its  way  to  England, 
was  taken  hold  of  by  the  opposition,  interpolated  a  little  by  Ed 
mund  Burke,  so  as  to  make  it  answer  opposition  purposes,  and 
in  that  form  it  ran  through  several  editions. 


CHAPTER    LXXV. 

Richard  Henry  Lee — Congress  at  Philadelphia — Henry — Proceedings  of  Con 
gress — Washington — Military  Spirit  in  Virginia. 

RICHARD  HENRY  LEE  was  born  at  Stratford,  on  the  Potomac, 
January  20th,  1732,  his  father  being  Thomas  Lee,  and  his 
mother,  Hannah,  daughter  of  Colonel  Ludwell,  of  Greenspring, 
near  Jamestown.  Richard,  second  son  of  Richard  Lee,  was  of  the 
council,  and  an  adherent  of  Sir  William  Berkley;  and  Thomas 
Lee,  third  son,  was  some  time  president  of  the  council.  He  was 
one  of  the  majority  of  that  body  who  persecuted  the  dissenters. 
Richard  Henry  Lee's  maternal  relations  were  conspicuous  for 
their  wealth,  influence,  and  public  stations.  Colonel  Ludwell, 
the  father  of  Mrs.  Lee,  was  of  the  council,  as  also  was  a  son  of 
his.  Her  grandfather  was  a  collector  of  the  customs,  (having  suc 
ceeded  in  that  office  Giles  Bland,  who  was  executed  during  Bacon's 
rebellion,)  and  afterwards  governor  of  North  Carolina.  The  Lud- 
wells  were  staunch  supporters  of  Sir  William  Berkley  and  the 
Stuart  dynasty.  Richard  Henry  Lee's  mother,  one  of  the  high- 
toned  aristocracy  of  the  colony,  confined  her  care  chiefly  to  her 
daughters  and  her  eldest  son,  and  left  her  younger  sons  pretty 
much  to  shift  for  themselves.  After  a  course  of  private  tuition  in 
his  father's  house,  Richard  Henry  was  sent  to  Wakefield  Academy, 
Yorkshire,  England,  where  he  distinguished  himself  by  his  profi 
ciency  in  his  studies,  particularly  in  the  Latin  and  Greek.  Having 
completed  his  course  at  this  school,  he  travelled  through  England, 
and  visited  London.  He  returned  when  about  nineteen  years  of 
age  to  his  native  country,  two  years  after  his  father's  death, 
which  occurred  in  1750.  Young  Lee's  patrimony  rendering  it 
unnecessary  for  him  to  devote  himself  to  a  profession,  he  now 
passed  a  life  of  ease,  but  not  of  idleness;  for  he  indulged  his 
taste  for  letters,  and  diligently  stored  his  mind  with  knowledge. 
In  1755,  being  chosen  captain  of  a  company  of  volunteers  raised 

37  (577) 


5<8  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

in  Westmoreland,  he  marched  with  them  to  Alexandria,  and 
offered  their  services  to  General  Braddock ;  but  the  offer  was  de 
clined.  In  his  twenty-fifth  year  Mr.  Lee  was  appointed  a  justice 
of  the  peace,  and  shortly  afterwards  elected  a  burgess  for  his 
county.  Naturally  diffident,  and  finding  himself  surrounded  by 
able  men,  for  one  or  two  sessions  he  took  no  part  in  the  debates. 
One  of  his  early  efforts  was  in  support  of  a  resolution  "to  lay 
so  heavy  a  tax  on  the  importation  of  slaves  as  effectually  to  put 
an  end  to  that  iniquitous  and  disgraceful  traffick  within  the  colony 
of  Virginia."  On  this  question  he  argued  against  the  institution 
of  slavery  as  a  portentous  evil,  moral  and  political.*  When  the 
defalcations  of  Treasurer  Robinson  came  to  be  suspected,  Mr. 
Lee  insisted  with  firmness,  in  the  face  of  a  proud  and  embittered 
opposition,  on  an  investigation  of  the  treasury.  In  November, 
1784,  when  the  stamp  act  was  first  heard  of  in  America,  Mr. 
Lee,  at  the  instance  of  a  friend,  wrote  to  England,  making  ap 
plication  for  a  collector's  office  under  that  act.  He  alleged  that 
at  that  time  neither  he,  nor,  as  he  believed,  his  countrymen,  had 
duly  reflected  on  the  real  nature  of  that  act.  Observing  soon, 
however,  the  growing  dissatisfaction  with  that  measure,  and  be 
stowing  more  deliberate  reflection  upon  it,  he  became  convinced 
of  its  pernicious  character,  and  of  the  impropriety  of  his  appli 
cation;  and  from  that  time  he  became  one  of  the  most  strenuous 
opponents  of  the  stamp  act.  In  the  year  17G6  he  brought  to  the 
consideration  of  the  assembly  the  act  of  parliament  claiming  a 
right  to  tax  America;  and  he  draughted  the  address  to  the  king, 
and  the  memorial  to  the  commons.  His  accomplishments,  learn 
ing,  courtesy,  patriotism,  republican  principles,  decision  of  cha 
racter  and  eloquence,  commanded  the  attention  of  the  legislature. 
Although  a  member  at  the  time  of  the  introduction  of  Henry's 
resolutions,  in  1765,  Mr.  Lee  happened  not  to  be  present  at  the 
discussion;  but  he  heartily  concurred  in  their  adoption.  Shortly 
afterwards  he  organized  an  association  in  furtherance  of  them  in 
Westmoreland.  lie  vigorously  opposed  the  act  laying  a  duty  on 
tea,  and  that  for  quartering  British  troops  in  the  colonies.  He 
was  now  residing  at  Chantilly,  his  seat  on  the  Potomac,  a  few 

*  Life  of  Richard  Henry  Lee,  17. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  579 

miles  below  Stratford,  in  Westmoreland.  The  house  at  Chantilly 
is  no  longer  standing.  On  the  25th  of  July,  1768,  in  a  letter  to 
John  Dickinson,  of  Pennsylvania,  Mr.  Lee  suggested  "that  not 
only  select  committees  should  be  appointed  by  all  the  colonies, 
but  that  a  private  correspondence  should  be  conducted  between 
the  lovers  of  liberty  in  every  province."  In  the  year  1773  the 
Virginia  assembly,  at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Lee,  appointed  the 
first  committee  of  intercolonial  correspondence,  consisting  of  six 
members,  of  whom  he  was  one. 

Washington  was  joined  at  Mount  Vernon  by  Henry  and  Pen- 
dleton,  and  they  proceeded  together  to  Philadelphia.  Here  the 
old  Continental  Congress,  consisting  of  fifty-five  delegates,  re 
presenting  all  the  colonies  except  Georgia,  assembled  on  the  5th 
day  of  September,  1774.* 

L^pon  the  motion  of  Mr.  Lynch,  of  South  Carolina,  Peyton 
Randolph,  of  Virginia,  was  unanimously  elected  president,  and 
Charles  Thomson,  secretary.  At  the  opening  of  the  session,  on 
the  second  day,  the  prolonged  silence  wTas  at  length  broken  by 
Patrick  Henry.  Reciting  the  grievances  of  the  colonies,  he  de 
clared  that  all  government  was  dissolved,  and  that  they  were 
reduced  to  a  state  of  nature ;  that  the  congress  which  he  was  ad 
dressing  was  the  first  in  a  perpetual  series  of  congresses.  A  few 
sentences  roughly  jotted  down  in  John  Adams'  diary f  are  all 
that  survive  of  this  celebrated  speech. 

Patrick  Henry  and  Richard  Henry  Lee  towered  supereminent 
in  debate ;  yet  it  soon  came  to  be  remarked  that  in  composition 
and  the  routine  of  actual  business  they  were  surpassed  by  many.  J 
But  "the  egotism  of  human  nature  will  seldom  allow  us  to  credit 
a  man  for  one  excellence,  without  detracting  from  him  in  other 
respects ;  if  he  has  genius,  we  imagine  he  has  not  common  sense ; 


*  Carpenter's  Hall,  instituted  in  1721  by  the  Company  of  Carpenters,  is  in  a 
court  a  little  back  from  Chestnut  Street.  There  is  in  the  Hall  the  following 
inscription :  "Within  these  walls  Henry,  Hancock,  and  Adams  inspired  the  dele 
gates  of  the  colonies  with  nerve  and  sinew  for  the  toils  of  war  resulting  in  our 
national  independence."  Two  high-backed  arm-chairs  are  preserved,  marked 
"Continental  Congress,  1774." 

f  See  his  Life  and  Works,  ii.  366. 

+  Wirt's  Life  of  Patrick  Henry. 


580  HISTOKY   OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

if  he  is  a  poet,  we  suppose  that  he  is  not  a  logician."*  It  has 
been  seen  that  George  Mason  considered  Henry  "the  first  man 
on  this  continent  in  ability  as  in  public  virtues."  A  great  man 
only  can  adequately  appreciate  a  great  man.  Henry  was  capa 
ble  of  being  no  less  efficient  in  the  committee-room  than  on  the 
floor  of  debate. f  There  was  no  test  of  intellectual  excellence 
too  severe  for  him.  The  state-papers  of  Richard  Henry  Lee  are 
sufficient  proofs  of  his  capacity. 

The  proceedings  were  conducted  in  secret  session.  Intelligence 
which  was  received  from  Boston  riveted  more  closely  the  union 
of  the  North  and  South;  minor  differences  were  lost  sight  of  in 
view  of  the  portentous  common  danger.  The  congress  made  a 
declaration  of  rights.  Dickinson  composed  the  petition  to  the 
king,  and  the  address  to  the  inhabitants  of  Quebec;  Jay  an 
address  to  the  people  of  Great  Britain;  and  Richard  Henry 
Lee  a  memorial  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  British  colonies. 
The  congress,  after  a  session  of  fifty-one  days,  adjourned  in 
October. 

Mr.  Henry,  on  his  return  home,  being  asked,  "Who  is  the 
greatest  man  in  congress  ?"  replied,  "If  you  speak  of  eloquence, 
Mr.  Rutledge,  of  South  Carolina,  is  by  far  the  greatest  orator; 
but  if  you  speak  of  solid  information  and  sound  judgment,  Colo 
nel  Washington  is  unquestionably  the  greatest  man  on  that  floor." 
John  Adams,  the  eloquent  and  indomitable  advocate  of  inde 
pendence,  mentions  Lee,  Henry,  and  Hooper  as  the  orators  of 
that  body.  Washington,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  Captain  Mac 
kenzie,  who  had  formerly  served  under  him,  and  was  now  among 
the  British  troops  at  Boston,  gave  it  as  his  opinion,  that  it  was 
neither  the  wish  nor  the  interest  of  Massachusetts,  nor  of  any  of 
the  colonies,  to  set  up  for  independence ;  yet  they  never  would 
submit  to  the  loss  of  their  constitutional  rights.  The  same  opi 
nion  was  avowed  by  Jefferson,  Franklin,  and  other  leading  men ; 
yet  there  was  undoubtedly  then,  and  long  had  been,  a  strong  un 
dercurrent,  a  heavy  ground-swell  in  the  direction  of  independence, 
it  being  evident  that  England  would  never  restore  the  colonies  to 
their  condition  previous  to  1763.  A  declaration  of  war  is  usually 

*  Lord  Brougham,  •}•  Grigsby's  Va.  Convention  of  177G,  p.  150. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  581 

preceded  by  a  hypothetical  denial  of  hostile  designs :  it  is  the  lull 
whose  mysterious  silence  heralds  in  the  approaching  storm. 

Patrick  Henry  stood  foremost  among  the  statesmen  of  Virginia, 
from  the  beginning  of  the  contest,  in  favor  of  independence ;  he 
was  on  this  point  ten  years  in  advance  of  them;*  standing  out 
in  bold  relief  the  prominent  and  pre-eminent  figure  on  the  can 
vas.  Samuel  Adams,  in  Massachusetts,  was  a  patriot  of  the  same 
stamp. 

The  danger  of  an  outbreak  of  hostilities  between  the  people  of 
Boston  and  the  British  troops  growing  daily  more  imminent,  the 
spirit  of  warlike  preparation,  by  a  sort  of  contagion,  pervaded 
the  colonies.  It  had  long  been  a  custom  in  Virginia  to  form 
independent  military  companies;  and  several  of  these  now  soli 
cited  Colonel  Washington  to  review  them  and  take  command; 
and  he  consented;  and  in  the  apprehension  of  war,  all  eyes 
involuntarily  turned  to  him  as  the  first  military  character  in  the 
colony.  At  Mount  Vernon  he  occasionally  saw  his  former  compa 
nions  in  arms,  Dr.  James  Craik,  and  Captain  Hugh  Mercer,  also 
a  physician,  both  natives  of  Scotland,  and  with  them  talked  over 
the  recollections  of  former  years,  and  discussed  the  prospects  of 
the  future.  Washington  was  visited  during  the  year  also  by 
General  Charles  Lee  and  Major  Horatio  Gates,  natives  of  Eng 
land,  who  had  distinguished  themselves  in  the  British  army,  and 
destined  to  become  conspicuous  in  the  American  war  of  revolu 
tion.  They  had  recently  purchased  estates  in  Berkley  County, 
Virginia. 

*  Grigsby's  Va.  Convention  of  1776,  p.  148. 


CHAPTER    LXXVI. 

17V4. 

Indian  Hostilities — Battle  of  Point  Pleasant — General  Andrew  Lewis — Death  of 
Colonel  Charles  Lewis — Cornstalk — Indignation  against  Dunmore — General 
Lewis  and  his  Brothers. 

IN  April,  1774,  some  extraordinary  hostilities  occurred  be 
tween  the  Indians  and  the  whites  on  the  frontier  of  Virginia. 
On  which  side  these  outrages  commenced  was  a  matter  of  dispute, 
but  the  whites  appear  to  have  been  probably  the  aggressors.  An 
Indian  war  being  apprehended,  Dunmore  appointed  General 
Andrew  Lewis,  of  Botetourt  County,  then  a  member  of  the 
assembly,  to  the  command  of  the  southern  division  of  the  forces 
raised  in  Botetourt,  Augusta,  and  the  adjoining  counties  east  of 
the  Blue  Ridge,  while  his  lordship  in  person  took  command  of 
those  levied  in  the  northern  counties,  Frederick,  Dunmore,  and 
those  adjacent.  According  to  the  plan  of  campaign,  as  arranged 
at  Williamsburg,  Lewis  was  to  march  down  the  valley  of  the  Ka- 
nawha*  to  Point  Pleasant,  where  that  river  empties  into  the 
Ohio,  there  to  be  joined  by  the  governor,  who  was  to  march  by 
way  of  Fort  Pitt,  and  thence  descend  the  Ohio. 

Late  in  August  the  Virginia  Crazette  announced  news  from 
the  frontier  that  Lord  Dunmore  was  to  march  in  a  few  days  for 
the  mouth  of  New  River,  where  he  was  to  be  joined  by  Lewis. 

Early  in  September  the  troops  under  his  command  made  their 
rendezvous  at  Camp  Union, f  now  Lewisburg,  in  the  County  of 
Greenbrier.  They  consisted  of  two  regiments,  under  Colonel 
William  Fleming,  of  Botetourt,  and  Colonel  Charles  Lewis,  of 
Augusta,  comprising  about  four  hundred  men.  At  Camp  Union 
they  were  joined  by  a  company  under  Colonel  Field,  of  Culpepper, 
one  from  Bedford,  under  Colonel  Buford,  and  two  from  the  Hols- 
ton  settlement,  (now  Washington  County,)  under  Captains  Shelby 

*  Or  "River  of  the  Woods,"  as  the  word  signifies,  or  New  River,  as  it  was 
also  sometimes  called. 

f  Styled  by  Stuart,  in  his  "  Memoir  of  Indian  Wars,"  Fort  Savannah. 

(582) 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  583 

and  Harbert.  These  were  part  of  the  forces  to  "be  led  on  by 
Colonel  Christian,  who  was  to  join  the  troops  at  Point  Pleasant 
as  soon  as  his  regiment  should  be  completed. 

On  the  eleventh  of  September  General  Lewis,  with  eleven  hun 
dred  men,  commenced  his  march  through  the  wilderness,  piloted 
by  Captain  Matthew  Arbuckle;  flour,  ammunition,  and  camp 
equipage  being  transported  on  pack-horses  and  bullocks  driven 
in  the  rear  of  the  little  army.  After  a  march  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty  miles,  they  reached,  on  the  thirtieth  of  September,  Point 
Pleasant,  at  the  junction  of  the  Great  Kanawha  with  the  beautiful 
Ohio.  "This  promontory  was  elevated  considerably  above  the 
high-water  mark,  and  afforded  an  extensive  and  variegated  pros 
pect  of  the  surrounding  country.  Here  were  seen  hills,  moun 
tains,  valleys,  cliffs,  plains,  and  promontories,  all  covered  with 
gigantic  forests,  the  growth  of  centuries,  standing  in  their  native 
grandeur  and  integrity,  unsubdued,  unmutilated  by  the  hand  of 
man,  wearing  the  livery  of  the  season,  and  raising  aloft  in  mid 
air  their  venerable  trunks  and  branches  as  if  to  defy  the  lightning 
of  the  sky  and  the  fury  of  the  whirlwind.  This  widely-extended 
prospect,  though  rudely  magnificent  and  picturesque,  wanted, 
nevertheless,  some  of  those  softer  features  which  might  embellish 
and  beautify,  or,  if  the  expression  were  permitted,  might  civilize 
the  savage  wilderness  of  some  of  nature's  noblest  efforts.  Here 
were  to  be  seen  no  villages  nor  hamlets,  not  a  farm-house  nor 
cottage,  no  fields  nor  meadows  with  their  appropriate  furniture, 
shocks  of  corn,  nor  herds  of  domestic  animals.  In  its  widest 
range  the  eye  would  in  vain  seek  to  discover  a  cultivated  spot  of 
earth  on  which  to  repose.  Here  were  no  marks  of  industry,  nor 
of  the  exercise  of  those  arts  which  minister  to  the  comfort  and 
convenience  of  man;  here  nature  had  for  ages  on  ages  held  un 
disputed  empire.  In  the  deep  and  dismal  solitude  of  these  wood 
lands  the  lone  wanderer  would  have  been  startled  by  the  barking 
of  the  watch-dog,  or  the  shrill  clarion  of  a  chanticleer.  Here 
the  whistling  of  the  plough-boy,  or  the  milk-maid's  song,  sounds 
elsewhere  heard  with  pleasing  emotions,  would  have  been  incon 
gruous  and  out  of  place."* 

*  Memoir  of  Battle  of  Point  Pleasant,  by  Samuel  L.  Campbell,  M.D. 


584  HISTORY  or  THE  COLONY  AND 

Dunmore,  who  had  marched  across  the  country  to  the  Shaw- 
nee  towns,  failing  to  join  Lewis,  runners  were  sent  out  by  him 
toward  Fort  Pitt  in  quest  of  his  lordship.  October  the  sixth  the 
Williamslurg  Gazette  announced  advices  from  the  frontier  that 
the  Earl  of  Dunmore  had  concluded  a  treaty  of  peace  with  the 
Delaware  Indians.  And  before  the  return  of  the  runners  des 
patched  from  Point  Pleasant,  an  express  from  the  governor 
reached  Point  Pleasant  on  Sunday,  the  nineteenth  of  October, 
ordering  General  Lewis  to  march  for  the  Chilicothe  towns  and 
there  join  him.  Preparations  were  immediately  made  for  crossing 
the  Ohio. 

In  the  mean  time  the  Indians,  headed  by  Cornstalk,  had  deter 
mined  to  cross  the  Ohio,  some  miles  above  Point  Pleasant,  and 
to  march  down  during  the  night,  so  as  to  surprise  the  camp  at 
daybreak.  "Accordingly,  on  the  evening  of  the  ninth  of  Octo 
ber,  soon  after  dark,  they  began  to  cross  the  river  on  rafts  pre 
viously  prepared.  To  ferry  so  many  men  over  this  wide  river 
and  on  these  clumsy  transports  must  have  required  considerable 
time.  But  before  morning  they  were  all  on  the  eastern  bank, 
ready  to  proceed.  Their  route  now  lay  down  the  margin  of  the 
river,  through  an  extensive  bottom.  On  this  bottom  was  a  heavy 
growth  of  timber,  with  a  foliage  so  dense  as  in  many  places  to  in 
tercept,  in  a  great  measure,  the  light  of  the  moon  and  the  stars. 
Beneath  lay  many  trunks  of  fallen  trees,  strewed  in  different 
directions,  and  in  various  stages  of  decay.  The  whole  surface  of 
the  ground  was  covered  with  a  luxuriant  growth  of  weeds,  inter 
spersed  with  entangling  vines  and  creepers,  and  in  some  places 
with  close-set  thickets  of  spice-wood  or  other  undergrowth.  A 
journey  through  this  in  the  night  must  have  been  tedious,  tiresome, 
dark,  and  dreary.  The  Indians,  however,  entered  on  it  promptly, 
and  persevered  until  break  of  day,  when,  about  a  mile  distant 
from  the  camp,  one  of  those  unforeseen  incidents  occurred  which 
so  often  totally  defeat  or  greatly  mar  the  best  concerted  military 
enterprises."^ 

Two  soldiers  setting  out  very  early  from  the  camp  on  a  hunt 
ing  excursion,  proceeded  up  the  bank  of  the  Ohio,  and  when  they 

*  Dr.  Campbell's  Memoir  of  the  Battle  of  Point  Pleasant. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  585 

had  gone  about  two  miles  they  came  suddenly  upon  a  large  body 
of  Indians,  who  had  crossed  the  river  the  evening  before,  and 
were  now  just  rising  from  their  encampment  and  preparing  for 
battle.  Espying  the  hunters  they  fired  and  killed  one  of  them; 
the  other  escaping  unhurt,  ran  back  to  the  camp,  where  he 
arrived  just  before  sunrise,  and  reported  that  "he  had  seen  about 
five  acres  of  ground  covered  with  Indians  as  thick  as  they  could 
stand  one  beside  another."  It  was  Cornstalk  at  the  head  of  an 
army  of  Delawares,  Mingoes,  Cayugas,  lowas,  Wyandots,  and 
Shawnees,  and  but  for  the  hunter's  intelligence  they  would  have 
surprised  the  camp.  In  a  few  moments  two  other  men  came  in  and 
confirmed  the  report,  and  then  General  Lewis  lit  his  pipe,  and 
sent  forward  the  first  division  under  his  brother,  Colonel  Charles 
Lewis,  and  the  second  under  Colonel  Fleming;  the  first  marching 
to  the  right  at  some  distance  from  the  Ohio,  the  bottom  being  a 
mile  wide  there;  the  second  marching  to  the  left  along  the  bank 
of  the  river.  General  Andrew  Lewis  remained  with  the  reserve 
to  defend  the  camp.  Colonel  Lewis's  division  had  not  advanced 
along  the  river  bottom  quite  half  a  mile  from  the  camp  when  he 
was  vigorously  attacked  in  front,  a  little  after  sunrise,  by  the 
enemy,  numbering  between  eight  hundred  and  a  thousand. 
Fleming's  division  was  likewise  attacked  on  the  bank  of  the 
river.  In  a  short  time  Colonel  Charles  Lewis  was  mortally 
wounded;  this  gallant  and  estimable  officer,  when  struck  by  the 
bullet,  fell  at  the  foot  of  a  tree,  when  he  was,  against  his  own 
wish,  carried  back  to  his  tent  by  Captain  Morrow  and  a  private, 
and  he  died  in  a  few  hours,  deeply  lamented.  Colonel  Fleming 
also  was  severely  wounded,  two  balls  passing  through  his  arm 
and  one  through  his  breast.  After  cheering  on  the  officers  and 
soldiers,  he  retired  to  the  camp.  The  Augusta  troops,  upon  the 
fall  of  their  leader,  Colonel  Lewis,  and  several  of  the  men,  gave 
way,  and  retreated  toward  the  camp,  but  being  met  by  a  re-en 
forcement  of  about  two  hundred  and  fifty,  under  Colonel  Field, 
they  rallied  and  drove  back  the  enemy,  and  at  this  juncture  this 
officer  was  killed.  His  place  was  taken  by  Captain  Shelby.  At 
length  the  Indians  formed  a  line  behind  logs  and  trees,  at  right 
angles  to  the  Ohio,  through  the  woods  to  Crooked  Creek,  which 
empties  into  the  Great  Kanawha  a  little  above  its  mouth.  The 


586  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

engagement  now  became  general,  and  was  obstinately  sustained 
in  the  bush-fighting  manner  on  both  sides.  The  Virginia  troops 
being  hemmed  in  between  the  two  rivers,  with  the  Indians  in 
front,  General  Lewis  employed  the  troops  from  the  more  eastern 
part  of  the  colony  (who  were  less  experienced  in  Indian  fighting) 
in  throwing  up  a  breastwork  of  the  boughs  and  trunks  of  trees, 
across  the  delta  between  the  Kanawha  and  Ohio.  About  twelve 
o'clock  the  Indian  fire  began  to  slacken,  and  the  enemy  slowly 
and  reluctantly  gave  way,  being  driven  back  less  than  two  miles 
during  six  or  seven  hours.  A  desultory  fire  was  still  kept  up 
from  behind  trees,  and  the  whites  as  they  pressed  on  the  savages 
were  repeatedly  ambuscaded.  At  length  General  Lewis  detached 
three  companies,  commanded  by  Captains  Shelby,  Matthews,  and 
Stuart,  with  orders  to  move  secretly  along  the  banks  of  the  Ka 
nawha  and  Crooked  Creek,  so  as  to  gain  the  enemy's  rear.  This 
manoeuvre  being  successfully  executed,  the  Indians,  as  some  re 
port,  at  four  o'clock  P.M.,  fled;  according  to  other  accounts,  the 
firing  continued  until  sunset.  During  the  night  they  recrossed 
the  Ohio.  The  loss  of  the  Virginians  in  this  action  has  been 
variously  estimated  at  from  forty  to  seventy-five  killed  and  one 
hundred  and  forty  wounded — a  large  proportion  of  the  number 
of  the  troops  actually  engaged,  who  did  not  exceed  five  hundred 
and  fifty,  as  one  hundred  of  General  Lewis's  men,  including  his 
best  marksmen,  were  absent  in  the  woods  hunting,  and  knew 
nothing  of  the  battle  until  it  was  all  over.  Among  the  killed 
were  Colonel  Charles  Lewis,  Colonel  Field,  who  had  served  in 
Braddock's  war,  Captains  Buford,  Morrow,  Murray,  Ward,  Cun- 
diff,  Wilson,  and  McClenachan,  Lieutenants  Allen,  Goldsby,  and 
Dillon.  Of  the  officers  present  at  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant 
many  became  afterwards  distinguished  men.* 


*  There  may  be  mentioned  General  Isaac  Shelby,  a  native  of  Maryland,  who 
distinguished  himself  at  King's  Mountain,  and  was  subsequently  the  first  gover 
nor  of  Kentucky ;  General  William  Campbell,  the  hero  of  King's  Mountain,  and 
Colonel  John  Campbell,  who  distinguished  himself  at  Long  Island  ;  General 
Evan  Shelby,  who  became  an  eminent  citizen  of  Tennessee  ;  Colonel  William 
Fleming,  a  revolutionary  patriot ;  Colonel  John  Stewart,  of  Greenbrier ;  Colo 
nel  William  McKee,  of  Kentucky;  Colonel  John  Steele,  governor  of  the  Missis 
sippi  Territory,  and  General  George  Matthews,  who  distinguished  himself  at 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF    VIRGINIA.  587 

The  loss  of  the  savages  was  never  ascertained;  the  bodies  of 
thirty-three  slain  were  found,  but  many  had  been  thrown  into  the 
Ohio  during  the  engagement.  The  number  of  the  Indian  army 
was  not  known  certainly,  but  it  comprised  the  flower  of  the 
northern  confederated  tribes,  led  on  by  Red  Hawk,  a  Delaware 
chief;  Scoppathus,  a  Mingo;  Chiyawee,  a  Wyandot;  Logan,  a 
Cayuga;  and  Ellinipsico,  and  his  father,  Cornstalk,  Shawnees. 
But  some  say  that  Logan  was  not  present  in  the  battle.  The  Shaw 
nees  were  a  formidable  tribe,  who  had  played  a  prominent  part  on 
many  a  bloody  field.  Cornstalk  displayed  great  skill  and  courage 
at  Point  Pleasant.  It  is  said  that  on  the  day  before  the  battle 
he  had  proposed  to  his  people  to  send  messengers  to  General 
Lewis  to  see  whether  a  treaty  of  peace  could  be  effected,  but  his 
followers  rejected  the  proposal.  During  the  battle,  when  one  of 
his  warriors  evinced  a  want  of  firmness,  he  slew  him  with  one 
blow  of  his  tomahawk;  and  during  the  day  his  sonorous  voice  was 
heard  amid  the  din  of  arms  exclaiming,  in  his  native  tongue,  "Be 
strong,  be  strong." 

On  the  morning  after  the  battle  General  Lewis  buried  his  dead. 
They  were  interred  without  the  pomp  of  war,  but  the  cheeks  of 
hardy  mountaineers  were  bedewed  with  tears  at  the  fate  of  their 
brave  comrades.  "The  dead  bodies  of  the  Indians  who  fell  in 
battle  were  left  to  decay  on  the  ground  where  they  expired,  or 
to  be  devoured  by  birds  or  beasts  of  prey.  The  mountain  eagle, 
lord  of  the  feathered  race,  while  from  his  lofty  cairn  with  piercing 
eye  he  surveyed  the  varied  realms  around  and  far  beneath,  would 
not  fail  to  descry  the  sumptuous  feast  prepared  for  his  use. 
Here  he  might  whet  his  beak,  and  feast,  and  fatten,  and  exult. 
Over  these  the  gaunt  wolf,  grim  tyrant  of  the  forest,  might  pro 
long  his  midnight  revelry  and  howl  their  funeral  dirge.  "While 
far  remote  in  the  deepest  gloom  of  the  wilderness,  whither  they 
had  fled  for  safety,  the  surviving  warriors  might  wail  their  fate, 
or  chant  a  requiem  to  their  departed  spirits."* 

General  Lewis,  after  caring  for  the  wounded,  erected  a  small 


Brandy  wine,  Gerraantown,  and  Guilford,  and  was  governor  of  Georgia,  and  United 
States  senator  from  that  State. — Howe's  Hist.  Collections  of  Va.,  303. 
*  Dr.  Campbell's  Memoir  of  Battle  of  Point  Pleasant. 


588  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

fort  at  Point  Pleasant,  and  leaving  a  garrison  there,  marched  to 
overtake  Dunmore,  who,  with  a  thousand  men,  lay  entrenched  at 
Camp  Charlotte,  called  after  the  queen,  near  the  Shawnee  town, 
(Chilicothe,)  on  the  banks  of  the  Scioto.  The  Indians  having 
sued  to  him  for  peace,  his  lordship  determined  to  make  a  treaty 
with  them,  and  sent  orders  to  Lewis  to  halt,  or,  according  to 
others,  to  return  to  Point  Pleasant.  Lewis,  suspecting  the  gover 
nor's  good  faith,  and  finding  himself  threatened  by  a  superior 
force  of  Indians,  who  hovered  in  his  rear,  disregarded  the  order, 
and  advanced  to  within  three  miles  of  his  camp.  His  lordship, 
accompanied  by  the  Indian  chief,  White  Eyes,  visited  the  camp 
of  Lewis,  who  (as  some  report)  with  difficulty  restrained  his  men 
from  killing  the  governor  and  his  Indian  companion.  Lewis,  to 
his  great  chagrin,  received  orders  to  return  home  with  his  troops, 
and  he  obeyed  reluctantly,  as  it  seemed  a  golden  opportunity  to 
give  the  savage  enemy  a  fatal  blow. 

General  Andrew  Lewis  lived  on  the  Roanoke,  in  the  County 
of  Botetourt.  He  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  being  one  of  five  sons 
of  John  Lewis,  who  slew  the  Irish  lord,  settled  Augusta  County, 
founded  the  town  of  Staunton,  and  furnished  several  sons  to  fight 
the  battles  of  their  country.  He  was  the  son  of  Andrew  Lewis 
and  Mary  Calhoun,  his  wife,  and  was  born  in  Donegal  County, 
Ireland,  (1678,)  and  died  in  Virginia,  (1762,)  aged  eighty-four: 
a  brave  man,  and  a  firm  friend  of  liberty.  All  his  sons  were 
born  in  Ireland  except  Charles,  the  youngest.  Andrew  Lewis 
was  twice  wounded  at  Fort  Necessity;  was  appointed  by  Wash 
ington  major  of  his  regiment  during  the  French  and  Indian  war, 
and  no  officer  more  fully  enjoyed  his  confidence.  Major  Lewis 
commanded  the  Sandy  Creek  expedition  in  1756,  and  was  made 
prisoner  at  Grant's  defeat,  where  he  exhibited  signal  prudence 
and  bravery.  His  fortitude  while  a  prisoner  was  equal  to  his 
courage  in  battle,  and  commanded  the  respect  of  the  French 
officers.  He  was  upwards  of  six  feet  in  stature,  of  uncommon 
activity  and  strength,  and  of  a  form  of  exact  symmetry.  His 
countenance  was  stern  and  invincible,  his  deportment  reserved 
and  distant.  When  he  was  a  commissioner  on  behalf  of  Virginia 
at  the  treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix,  in  New  York,  in  1768,  the  gover 
nor  of  that  colony  remarked  of  him,  that  "the  earth  seemed  to 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  589 

tremble  under  him  as  lie  walked  along."  At  the  commencement 
of  the  revolutionary  war  Washington  considered  him  the  fore 
most  military  man  in  America,  and  the  one  most  worthy  of  the 
post  of  cominander-in-chief  of  the  American  army.  And  it  was 
to  the  country  beyond  the  mountains  that  Washington  looked  as 
a  place  of  refuge,  in  case  he  should  be  overpowered  in  the  struggle, 
and  there,  defended  by  mountains  and  mountaineers,  he  hoped 
to  defy  the  enemy.  The  statue  of  General  Andrew  Lewis  is  one 
of  those  to  be  placed  on  the  monument  in  the  capitol  square,  in 
Richmond.* 

Dunmore  remaining  after  the  departure  of  Lewis,  concluded  a 
treaty  with  the  Indians.  Upon  this  occasion  Cornstalk,  in  a 
long  speech,  charged  the  whites  with  having  provoked  the  war, 
his  tones  of  thunder  resounding  over  a  camp  of  twelve  acres. 
The  truth  is  that  during  the  years  which  elapsed  between  Bou 
quet's  treaty  of  1764  and  open  war  in  1774,  a  period  of  nominal 
peace  was  one  of  frequent  actual  collision  and  hostilities,  and 
more  lives  were  sacrificed  on  the  frontier  by  the  murderous  In 
dians  than  during  the  whole  of  the  year  1774,  including  the  battle 
of  Point  Pleas  ant.  f 

*  Thomas  Lewis,  eldest  son  of  John  Lewis,  owing  to  a  defective  vision,  was 
not  actively  engaged  in  the  Indian  wars.  He  was  a  man  of  learning,  and  repre 
sentative  of  Augusta  in  the  house  of  burgesses,  and  voted  for  Henry's  resolutions 
of  1705 ;  was  a  member  of  the  conventions  of  1776  and  1788.  He  married  a  Miss 
Strother,  of  Stafford.  The  second  son,  Samuel,  died  without  issue.  Andrew 
commanded  at  Point  Pleasant.  William,  of  the  Sweet  Springs,  was  distinguished 
in  the  frontier  wars,  and  was  an  officer  in  the  revolutionary  army.  He  married 
first,  Anne  Montgomery,  of  Delaware,  secondly,  a  Miss  Thomson,  a  relative  of 
the  poet  of  "The  Seasons."  The  fifth  son,  Colonel  Charles  Lewis,  fell  at  Point 
Pleasant. 

f  Lyman  C.  Draper,  in  Va.  Hist.  Register. 


CHAPTER    LXXVIL 

Logan — Kenton — Girty — Dunmore's  ambiguous  Conduct — His  grandson,  Murray. 

LOGAN,  the  Cayuga  chief,  assented  to  the  treaty,  but,  still 
indignant  at  the  murder  of  his  family,  refused  to  attend  with  the 
other  chiefs  at  the  camp,  and  sent  his  speech  in  a  wampum-belt 
by  an  interpreter:  "I  appeal  to  any  white  man  to  say,  if  ever  he 
entered  Logan's  cabin  hungry  and  he  gave  him  not  meat ;  if  ever 
he  came  cold  and  naked,  and  he  clothed  him  not?  During  the 
course  of  the  last  long  and  bloody  war  Logan  remained  idle  in 
his  cabin,  an  advocate  for  peace.  Such  was  my  love  for  the 
whites  that  my  countrymen  pointed  as  they  passed,  and  said, 
'Logan  is  the  friend  of  white  men.'  I  have  even  thought  to  have 
lived  with  you,  but  for  the  injuries  of  one  man.  Colonel  Cresap, 
the  last  spring,  in  cold  blood,  and  unprovoked,  murdered  all  the 
relations  of  Logan,  not  sparing  even  my  women  and  children. 
There  runs  not  a  drop  of  my  blood  in  the  veins  of  any  living 
creature.  This  called  on  me  for  revenge.  I  have  sought  it:  I 
have  killed  many:  I  have  fully  glutted  my  vengeance.  For  my 
country  I  rejoice  at  the  beams  of  peace.  But  do  not  harbor  a 
thought  that  mine  is  the  joy  of  fear.  Logan  never  felt  fear. 
He  will  not  turn  on  his  heel  to  save  his  life.  Who  is  there  to 
mourn  for  Logan?  Not  one."  Tah-gah-jute,  or  Logan,  so  named 
after  James  Logan,  the  secretary  of  Pennsylvania,  was  the  son 
of  Shikellamy,  a  celebrated  Cayuga  chief,  who  dwelt  at  Shamo- 
'kin,  on  the  picturesque  banks  of  the  Susquehanna.  When 
Logan  grew  to  man's  estate,  living  in  the  vicinity  of  the  white 
settlers,  he  appears,  about  the  year  1767,  to  have  found  the 
means  of  his  livelihood  in  hunting  deer,  dressing  their  skins,  and 
selling  them.  When  the  daughter  of  a  neighboring  gentleman 
was  just  beginning  to  walk,  her  mother  one  day  happening  to  say 
that  she  was  sorry  that  she  could  not  get  a  pair  of  shoes  for  her, 
Logan,  who  stood  by,  said  nothing  then,  but  soon  after  requested 
that  the  little  girl  might  be  allowed  to  go  and  spend  the  day  at 
his  cabin,  which  stood  on  a  sequestered  spot  near  a  beautiful 
(590) 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  591 

spring  (yet  known  as  "  Logan's  Spring,")  The  mother's  heart 
was  at  the  first  a  little  disconcerted  at  the  singular  proposal;  but 
such  was  her  confidence  in  the  Indian  that  she  consented.  The 
day  wore  away;  the  sun  had  gone  down  behind  the  mountains  in 
parting  splendor,  and  evening  was  folding  her  thoughtful  wing, — 
and  the  little  one  had  not  yet  returned.  Just  at  this  moment  the 
Indian  was  seen  descending  the  path  with  his  charge,  and  quickly 
she  was  in  her  mother's  arms,  and  pointing  proudly  to  a  beautiful 
pair  of  moccasins  on  her  tiny  feet,  the  product  of  Logan's  skil 
ful  manufacture. 

Not  long  afterwards  he  removed  to  the  far  West,  and  he  was 
remembered  by  an  old  pioneer  as  "the  best  specimen  of  humanity, 
white  or  red,  that  he  had  ever  seen."*  In  1772  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Heckwelder,  Moravian  missionary,  met  with  Logan  on  the  Beaver 
River,  and  took  him  to  be  an  Indian  of  extraordinary  capacity. 
He  exclaimed  against  the  whites  for  the  introduction  of  ardent 
spirits  among  his  people,  and  regretted  that  they  had  so  few  gen 
tlemen  among  their  neighbors ;  and  declared  his  intention  to  set 
tle  on  the  Ohio,  where  he  might  live  forever  in  peace  with  the 
whites;  but  confessed  that  he  himself  was  too  fond  of  the  fire 
water.  In  the  following  year  Heckwelder  visited  Logan's  settle 
ment,  below  the  Big  Beaver,  and  was  kindly  entertained  by  such 
members  of  his  family  as  were  at  home.  About  the  same  time 
another  missionary,  the  Rev.  Dr.  David  McClure,  met  with  Logan 
at  Fort  Pitt.  " Tah-gah-jute,  or  'Short-dress,'  for  such  was  his 
Indian  name,  stood  several  inches  more  than  six  feet  in  height ; 
he  was  straight  as  an  arrow;  lithe,  athletic,  and  symmetrical  in 
figure;  firm,  resolute,  and  commanding  in  feature;  but  the  brave, 
open,  manly  countenance  he  possessed  in  his  earlier  years  was 
now  changed  for  one  of  martial  ferocity."  He  spoke  the 
English  language  with  fluency  and  correctness.  The  victim 
of  intemperance,  pointing  to  his  breast,  he  exclaimed  to  the 
missionary,  "I  feel  bad  here.  Wherever  I  go  the  evil  Mane- 
thocs  pursue  me;"  and  he  earnestly  enquired,  "What  shall 
I  do?"  Logan's  family  were  massacred  by  a  party  of  whites 
in  the  spring  of  1774,  perhaps  under  the  pretext  of  retaliation 

*  Tah-gah-jute,  or  Logan,  and  Captain  Michael  Cresap:  a  Discourse  by  Brantz 
Mayer.  (Bait.,  1851.) 


592  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

for  some  Indian  murders.  But  the  charge  against  Cresap 
appears  to  have  been  unfounded.  Logan's  family  being  on  a 
visit  to  a  family  of  the  name  of  Great-house,  were  murdered 
by  them  and  their  associates,  under  circumstances  of  extraordi 
nary  cowardice  and  brutality.  The  mistake  is  one  into  which 
Logan  might,  in  view  of  some  recent  transactions  that  had  hap 
pened  under  the  command  of  Captain  Cresap,  naturally  fall,  and 
which  does  not  at  all  impair  the  force  of  his  speech.  Mr.  Jeffer 
son  meeting  with  a  copy  of  it  at  Governor  Dunmore's,  in  Wil- 
liamsburg,  transcribed  it  in  his  pocket-book,  and  afterwards  im 
mortalized  it  in  his  "Notes  on  Virginia."  He  gave  implicit 
confidence  to  its  authenticity.  Doddridge  is  of  the  same  opinion. 
Jacob,  in  his  Life  of  Cresap,*  insinuates  that  the  speech  was  a 
counterfeit,  and  declares  that  Cresap  was  as  humane  as  brave, 
and  had  no  participation  in  the  massacre.  General  George 
Rogers  Clarke,  who  was  well  acquainted  with  Logan  and  Cresap 
both,  vouches  for  the  substantial  truth  of  Mr.  Jefferson's  story  of 
Logan.  Devoting  himself  to  the  work  of  revenge,  he,  with  others, 
butchered  men,  women,  and  children;  knives,  tomahawks,  and 
axes  were  left  in  the  breasts  which  had  been  cleft  asunder; 
females  were  stripped,  and  outraged,  too  horrible  to  mention; 
brains  of  infants  beaten  out  and  the  dead  bodies  left  a  prey  to 
the  beasts  of  the  forest.  The  family  of  a  settler  on  the  north 
fork  of  the  Holston  was  massacred,  and  a  war-club  was  left  in  the 
house,  and  attached  to  it  the  following  note,  which  had  been  pre 
viously,  at  Logan's  dictation,  written  for  him  by  one  Robinson,  a 
prisoner : — 

"CAPTAIN  CRESAP: 

"What  did  you  kill  my  people  on  Yellow  Creek  for?  The 
white  people  killed  my  kin  at  Conestoga  a  great  while  ago,  and  I 
thought  nothing  of  that.  But  you  killed  my  kin  again  on  Yellow 
Creek,  and  took  my  cousin  prisoner.  Then  I  thought  I  must  kill 
too ;  and  I  have  been  three  times  to  war  since ;  but  the  Indians 
are  not  angry — only  myself. 

"CAPTAIN  JOHN  LOGAN. 

"July  21st,  1774." 

*  Kerclieval's  Hist,  of  Valley  of  Va. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF    VIRGINIA.  593 

Thirty  scalps  it  was  known  that  he  took  in  these  murderous 
raids,  but  he  joined  not  in  open  battle 

Simon  Kenton,  a  native  of  Fauquier  County,  a  voyager  of  the 
woods,  was  employed  by  Dunmore  as  a  spy  (together  with  Simon 
Girty)  during  this  campaign,  in  the  course  of  which  he  traversed 
the  country  around  Fort  Pitt,  and  a  large  part  of  the  present 
State  of  Ohio.  His  history  is  full  of  daring  adventure,  cruel 
sufferings,  and  extraordinary  turns  of  fortune.  He  was  eight 
times  made  to  run  the  Indian  gauntlet ;  three  times  bound  to  the 
stake.  He  was  with  Clarke  in  his  expedition  against  Yincennes 
and  Kaskaskia;  and  with  Wayne  in  the  campaign  of  1794.  He 
died  in  Ohio,  in  poverty  and  neglect,  his  once  giant  frame  bowed 
clown  with  age.*  Girty,  after  playing  for  a  time  the  spy  on  both 
sides  in  the  revolutionary  contest,  became  at  length  an  adherent 
of  the  enemy,  and  proved,  toward  his  countrymen,  a  cruel  and 
barbarous  miscreant,  in  whom  every  sentiment  of  humanity  ap 
pears  to  have  been  extinct.  Kenton  and  Girty  are  both  good 
subjects  for  a  novelist. 

Suspicions  were  not  wanting  in  the  minds  of  many  Virginians, 
especially  the  inhabitants  of  the  west,  that  the  frontier  had  been 
embroiled  in  the  Indian  war  by  Dunmore's  machinations;  and 
that  his  ultimate  object  was  to  secure  an  alliance  with  the  savages 
to  aid  England  in  the  expected  contest  with  the  colonies;  and 
these  suspicions  were  strengthened  by  his  equivocal  conduct 
during  the  campaign.  He  was  also  accused  of  fomenting,  with  the 
same  sinister  views,  the  boundary  altercations  between  Pennsyl 
vania  and  Virginia  on  the  northwestern  frontier.  These  charges 
and  suspicions  do  not  appear  to  be  sustained  by  sufficient  proof. 
It  is  probable  that  in  these  proceedings  his  lordship  was 
prompted  rather  by  motives  of  personal  interest  than  of  political 
manoeuvre.  His  agent,  Dr.  Conolly,  was  locating  large  tracts  of 
land  on  the  borders  of  the  Ohio. 

By  the  Quebec  Act  of  1774  Great  Britain,  with  a  view  of 
holding  the  colonies  in  check,  established  the  Roman  Catholic  re 
ligion  in  Canada,  and  enlarged  its  bounds  so  as  to  comprise  all 
the  territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio  to  the  head  of  Lake  Superior 

*  McClung's  Sketches  of  Western  Adventure,  92. 

38 


594  ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA. 

and  the  Mississippi.  This  attempt  to  extend  the  jurisdiction  of 
Canada  to  the  Ohio  was  especially  offensive  to  Virginia.  Richard 
Henry  Lee,  in  congress,  denounced  it  as  the  worst  of  all  the  acts 
complained  of.  In  Virginia,  Dunmore's  avarice  getting  the  bet 
ter  of  his  loyalty,  he  espoused  her  claims  to  western  lands,  and 
became  a  partner  in  enormous  purchases  in  Southern  Illinois.  In 
1773  Thomas  and  Cuthbert  Bullet,  his  agents,  made  surveys  of 
lands  at  the  falls  of  the  Ohio ;  and  a  part  of  Louisville  and  of 
towns  opposite  to  Cincinnati  are  yet  held  under  his  warrant. 

Murray,  a  grandson  of  the  Earl  of  Dunmore,  and  page  to 
Queen  Victoria,  visited  the  United  States  partly,  it  was  said,  for 
the  purpose  of  making  enquiry  relative  to  western  lands,  the  title 
of  which  was  derived  from  his  grandfather.  Young  Murray 
visited  some  of  the  old  seats  on  the  James,  and  makes  mention 
of  them  in  his  entertaining  "Travels  in  the  United  States." 

The  assembly,  upon  the  return  of  Dunmore  to  Williamsburg, 
gave  him  a  vote  of  thanks  for  his  good  conduct  of  the  war — a 
compliment  which  it  was  afterwards  doubted  whether  he  had 
merited.  His  motives  in  that  campaign  were,  to  say  the  least, 
somewhat  mysterious.  There  is  a  curious  coincidence  in  several 
points  between  the  administration  of  Dunmore  and  that  of  Berk 
ley,  one  hundred  years  before. 


CHAPTER    LXXVIII. 

DANIEL  BOONE. 

THIS  famous  explorer,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  removed  at 
an  early  age  to  North  Carolina,  and  remained  there  till  his  for 
tieth  year.  In  the  year  1769  he  left  his  home  on  the  sequestered 
Yadkin,  to  wander  through  the  wilderness  in  quest  of  the  country 
of  Kentucky,  and  to  become  the  archetype  of  the  race  of  pio 
neers.  In  this  exploration  of  the  unknown  regions  of  Western 
Virginia,  he  was  accompanied  by  five  companions.  Reaching 
Red  River  early  in  June,  they  beheld  from  an  eminence  the 
beautiful  region  of  Kentucky.  A  pioneer  named  Finley  is  sup 
posed  by  some  to  have  been  the  first  explorer  of  the  interior  of 
Kentucky,  and  it  is  said  that  he  visited  it  alone;  it  is  difficult  to 
determine  a  matter  of  this  kind,  and  the  first  exploration  has 
been  attributed  to  others.  According  to  McClung,*  it  was  Finley 's 
glowing  picture  of  the  country,  on  his  return  home,  in  1767,  that 
allured  Boone  to  venture  into  the  wilderness.  Kentucky,  it  ap 
pears,  was  not  inhabited  by  the  Indians,  they  having  not  a  wig 
wam  there ;  but  the  Southern  and  Northwestern  Indians  resorted 
there,  as  on  a  neutral  ground,  to  hunt,  and  often  came  into  colli 
sion  and  engaged  in  conflicts,  which,  according  to  some,  gave  it 
the  name  of  Kentucky,  or  "the  dark  and  bloody  ground;"  but 
the  true  signification  of  the  word  is  a  matter  of  doubt.  Boone  and 
his  companions  encamping,  began  to  hunt  and  to  reconnoitre  the 
country.  Innumerable  buffaloes  browsed  on  the  leaves  of  the  cane, 
or  pastured  on  the  herbage  of  the  plains,  or  lingered  on  the  border 
of  the  salt-lick.  In  December,  Boone  and  a  comrade,  John  Stuart, 
rambling  in  the  magnificence  of  forests  yet  unscarred  by  the  axe, 
were  surprised  by  a  party  of  Indians  and  captured.  Boone  met 
the  catastrophe  with  a  mien  of  stoical  indifference.  A  week  after 

*  Sketches  of  Western  Adventure. 

(595) 


596  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

the  capture  the  party  encamped  in  the  evening  in  a  thick  cane- 
brake,  and  having  built  a  large  fire,  lay  down  to  rest.  About 
midnight,  Boone  gently  awaking  his  companion,  they  effected 
their  escape,  traversing  the  forest  by  the  uncertain  light  of  the 
stars,  and  by  observing  the  mossy  side  of  the  trees.  Returning 
to  their  camp  they  found  it  plundered  and  deserted ;  and  the  fate 
of  its  occupants  could  not  be  doubted.  A  brother  of  Boone, 
with  another  hardy  adventurer,  shortly  after  overtook  the  two  for 
lorn  survivors.  It  was  not  long  before  Stuart  was  slain  by  the 
savages  and  scalped,  and  the  companion  of  Boone's  brother  de 
voured  by  wolves.  The  two  brothers  remained  in  a  wilderness 
untrod  by  the  white  man,  surrounded  by  perils,  and  far  from  the 
reach  of  succor.  With  unshaken  fortitude  they  continued  to 
hunt,  and  erected  a  rude  cabin  to  shelter  them  from  the  storms  of 
winter.  When  threatened  by  the  approach  of  savages,  they  lay 
during  the  night  concealed  in  swamps.  In  May,  1770,  Boone's 
brother  returned  home  for  horses  and  ammunition,  leaving  him 
alone,  without  bread,  salt,  or  sugar,  or  even  a  horse  or  a  dog. 
Daniel  Boone,  in  one  of  his  solitary  excursions  made  at  this  time, 
wandered  during  the  whole  day  through  a  region  whose  native 
charms  dispelled  every  gloomy  thought.  Just  at  the  close  of 
day,  when  the  gales  were  lulled,  not  a  breath  of  air  stirring 
the  leaves,  he  gained  the  summit  of  a  commanding  ridge,  and, 
looking  around,  with  delight  beheld  the  ample  regions  mapped  out 
beneath.  On  one  hand  he  saw  the  beautiful  Ohio  delineating  the 
western  boundary  of  Kentucky;  while  at  a  distance  the  moun 
tains  lifted  their  peaks  to  the  clouds.  All  nature  was  still.  He 
kindled  a  fire  near  a  fountain  of  sweet  water,  and  feasted  on  the 
loin  of  a  buck  killed  a  few  hours  before.  As  night  folded  her 
mysterious  wings  he  heard  the  distant  yells  of  savages;  but,  worn 
out  with  fatigue,  he  fell  asleep,  and  did  not  awake  until  the  morn 
ing  beams  were  glancing  through  the  forest  glades,  and  the  birds 
warbling  their  matin  songs.  No  populous  city,  with  all  its  ex 
citements  and  attractions,  could  have  pleased  him  half  so  much 
as  the  charms  of  nature  in  Kentucky.  Rejoined  by  his  brother, 
in  the  summer  of  1770,  he  explored  the  valley  of  the  Cumber 
land  River.  In  1771  Daniel  Boone,  after  an  absence  of  three 
years,  returned  to  his  home  on  the  Yadkin ;  sold  such  of  his  pos- 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  597 

sessions  as  lie  could  not  carry  with  him,  and  started  with  his 
family  to  return  and  settle  in  Kentucky.  Some  cows,  horses, 
and  household  utensils  formed  his  baggage.  His  wife  and  chil 
dren  were  mounted  on  horseback,  their  neighbors  regarding  them 
as  doomed  to  certain  destruction.  On  the  route  he  was  re- 
enforced  by  five  families,  and  forty  armed  men  at  Powell's  Val 
ley.  In  October  the  young  men  who  had  charge  of  the  pack- 
horses  and  cattle  in  the  rear,  were  surprised  by  Indians,  and  of 
seven  only  one  escaped;  six  were  slain,  and  among  them  Boone's 
oldest  son.  This  occurred  near  the  gap  of  the  Cumberland 
Mountains,  whose  dark  gorges,  rocky  cliffs,  and  hoary  summits 
strike  the  mind  of  the  beholder  with  awe.  The  Indians  were 
repulsed  with  heavy  loss ;  but  the  whites  retired  forty  miles  to 
the  settlement  on  the  Clinch  River,  where  Boone  with  his  family 
remained  for  some  time.  Virginia  in  vain  demanded  of  the 
Cherokees  the  surrender  of  the  offenders.  One  of  Boone's  party, 
in  retaliation,  afterwards  slew  an  Indian  at  a  horse-race  on  the 
frontier,  in  spite  of  the  interposition  of  the  by-standers.  In 
1774,  at  the  request  of  Governor  Dunmore,  Boone,  leaving  his 
family  on  the  banks  of  the  Clinch,  went  to  assist  in  conveying  a 
party  of  surveyors  to  the  falls  of  the  Ohio.  He  was  next  em 
ployed  in  the  command  of  three  garrisons  during  the  campaign 
against  the  Shawnees.  In  March  of  the  ensuing  year,  at  the 
solicitation  of  some  gentlemen  of  North  Carolina,  Boone,  at  the 
treaty  of  TVatauga,  purchased  from  the  Cherokees  of  North 
Carolina  the  lands  claimed  by  them,  lying  between  the  Kentucky 
River  and  the  Tennessee.  But  Kentucky  being  within  the  char 
tered  limits  of  Virginia,  she*  declared  this  treaty  null  and  void, 
and  proclaimed  her  own  title.  The  North  Carolina  grantees, 
however,  received  in  compensation  a  liberal  grant  of  lands  on 
Green  River.  Boone  also  undertook  to  mark  out  a  road  from 
the  settlements  to  the  wilderness  of  Kentucky;  during  this  work 
several  of  his  men  were  killed  by  the  savages.  In  1775  he 
erected  a  fort  at  Boonsborough,  near  the  Kentucky  River,  and  he 
removed  his  family  there,  and  his  wife  arid  daughter  were  sup 
posed  to  be  the  first  white  women  that  ever  stood  upon  the  banks 

*  See  Journal  of  Convention  of  '76. 


598  ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA. 

of  the  Kentucky  River;  and  Boonsborough  was  long  an  outpost 
of  civilization. 

The  remainder  of  Boone's  career,  full  of  stirring  adventure, 
belongs  rather  to  the  early  history  of  Kentucky.  When  the 
settlements  around  him  began  to  grow  too  thick  for  his  taste,  he 
removed  farther  westward.  This  extraordinary  man,  who  could 
neither  read  nor  write,  in  1792  dictated  a  brief  account  of  his 
life  to  some  youthful  writer,  whose  attempt  to  enhance  the  inte 
rest  of  the  narrative  by  rhetorical  embellishments  afforded  no 
little  satisfaction  to  the  unsophisticated  old  voyager  of  the  woods, 
and  nothing  pleased  him  better  than  to  sit  and  listen  to  the  read 
ing  of  it.  He  would  listen  attentively,  rub  his  hands  together, 
smile  complacently  and  ejaculate,  "All  true,  every  word  true! 
not  a  lie  in  it."  Solitary  hunting,  as  it  had  been  the  charm  of 
his  earlier  years,  afforded  him  the  solace  of  his  old  age;  and 
when  too  old  to  walk  through  the  woods,  he  would  ride  to  the 
edge  of  the  salt-licks  and  lie  there  in  ambush  for  the  sake  of  get 
ting  a  shot  at  the  deer.  He  was  in  person  rough  and  robust;  his 
countenance  homely  but  kind ;  his  manner  cold,  grave,  taciturn ; 
his  conversation  simple  and  unobtrusive;  he  never  speaking  of 
himself  but  when  questioned.  He  was  withal  brave,  humane, 
prudent,  and  modest.*  He  died  in  1820,  aged  nearly  ninety 
years. 

*  McClung's  Sketches  of  Western  Adventure,  92. 


CHAPTER   LXXIX. 


Lord  Dunmore  —  Second  Convention  —  St.  John's  Church  —  Henry's  Resolutions  — 
His  Speech  —  Measures  adopted. 

Ix  the  beginning  of  1775  the  people  of  Virginia  were  in  a 
state  of  anxious  suspense,  expecting  an  outbreak  of  civil  war, 
Dunmore  remained  in  gloomy  solicitude  in  his  palace,  tenacious 
of  authority,  but  fearful  of  resisting  the  popular  will.  Intelli 
gence  was  now  continually  received  of  commotions  among  the 
people;  resolutions,  essays,  and  speeches  added  new  fuel  to  the 
excitement. 

The  second  Virginia  convention  assembled  at  Richmond,  on 
Monday,  the  twentieth  day  of  March.  St.  John's  Church,  in 
which  the  sessions  were  held,  stands  on  Richmond  Hill,  com 
manding  a  panorama  of  Richmond,  (then  a  few  straggling  houses,) 
hills,  and  fields,  and  woods,  and  the  James,  with  its  rocks 
and  islands,  flashing  rapids  and  murmuring  falls,  and  poetic 
mists.  The  convention  approved  of  the  proceedings  of  congress, 
and  of  the  conduct  of  the  Virginia  delegates.  Resolutions  were 
adopted  thanking  the  assembly  of  Jamaica*  for  their  petition  and 
memorial  to  the  king  in  behalf  of  the  colonies;  and  expressing 
Virginia's  ardent  wish  for  "a  speedy  return  of  those  halcyon 
days  when  they  lived  a  free  and  happy  people."  The  too  abject 
tone  of  these  resolutions  aroused  the  patriotic  indignation  of 
Patrick  Henry,  and  he  introduced  resolutions  for  putting  the 
colony  immediately  into  a  state  of  defence  against  the  encroach 
ments  of  Great  Britain,  and  for  embodying,  arming,  and  dis 
ciplining  a  force  of  well-regulated  militia  for  that  purpose.  They 
were  supported  by  Henry,  the  mover,  Jefferson,  the  Lees,  Pages, 
Mason,  and  others  ;  but  many  of  the  members  recoiled  with  hor 
ror  from  this  startling  measure;  and  it  was  strenuously  resisted 


*  Jamaica  and  New  York  were  acquired  by  conquest. 

(599) 


600  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

by  Bland,  Harrison,  Pendleton,  Nicholas,  and  Wythe,  who  held 
such  a  step  premature,  until  the  result  of  the  last  petition  to  the 
king  should  be  more  fully  known.  They  still  flattered  them 
selves  with  the  hope  that  the  breach  might  yet  be  repaired  in 
some  way,  either  by  the  influence  of  the  opposition  in  England, 
of  the  manufacturing  interests,  or  the  relenting  of  the  king. 
They  urged  that  Virginia  was  unmilitary,  unprovided  for  war, 
weak,  and  defenceless,  and  insisted  that  desperate  measures 
should  not  be  resorted  to,  until  hope  herself  had  fled.  Henry 
replied:  "What  has  there  been  in  the  conduct  of  the  British 
ministry  for  the  last  ten  years  to  justify  hope?  Are  fleets  and 
armies  necessary  to  a  work  of  love  and  reconciliation  ?  These 
are  the  implements  of  subjugation  sent  over  to  rivet  upon  us  the 
chains  which  the  British  ministry  have  been  so  long  forging. 
And  what  have  we  to  oppose  to  them  ?  Shall  we  try  argument  ? 
We  have  been  trying  that  for  the  last  ten  years.  Have  we  any 
thing  new  to  offer?  Shall  we  resort  to  entreaty  and  supplica 
tion?  We  have  petitioned — we  have  remonstrated — we  have 
supplicated;  and  we  have  been  spurned  from  the  foot  of  the 
throne.  In  vain  may  we  indulge  the  fond  hope  of  reconciliation. 
There  is  no  longer  room  for  hope.  If  we  wish  to  be  free  we 
must  fight !  I  repeat  it,  sir,  we  must  fight !  An  appeal  to  arms, 
and  to  the  God  of  hosts,  is  all  that  is  left  us ! 

"They  tell  me  that  we  are  weak;  but  shall  we  gather  strength 
by  irresolution  ?  We  are  not  weak.  Three  millions  of  people 
armed  in  the  holy  cause  of  liberty,  and  in  such  a  country,  are 
invincible  by  any  force  which  our  enemy  can  send  against  us. 
We  shall  not  fight  alone.  A  just  God  presides  over  the  destinies 
of  nations,  and  will  raise  up  friends  for  us.  The  battle  is  not  to 
the  strong  alone;  it  is  to  the  vigilant,  the  active,  the  brave. 
Besides,  we  have  no  election.  If  we  were  base  enough  to  desire 
it,  it  is  too  late  to  retire  from  the  contest.  There  is  no  retreat 
but  in  submission  and  slavery.  The  war  is  inevitable — and  let  it 
come  !  let  it  come ! 

"Is  life  so  dear,  or  peace  so  sweet,  as  to  be  purchased  at  the 
price  of  chains  and  slavery  ?  Forbid  it,  Almighty  God !  I  know 
not  what  course  others  may  take;  but  as  for  me,  give  me  liberty, 
or  give  me  death." 


ANCIENT    DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  601 

Henry's  voice,  calm  in  his  exordium,  rose  gradually  to  a  higher 
and  yet  higher  pitch,  until  the  very  walls  of  the  church  seemed 
to  rock  and  tremble,  as  if  conscious  of  the  tremendous  vibrations. 
The  listeners,  forgetful  of  order  and  of  themselves,  leaned  for 
ward  in  their  seats,  magnetized  by  the  voice  and  look  of  the 
speaker,  whose  pale  face  and  glaring  eye  assumed  an  appearance 
of  preternatural  emotion.  His  last  exclamation,  "  Give  me  liberty, 
or  give  me  death,"  sounded  like  the  shout  of  the  warrior  in  the 
tempest  of  battle.*  When  Mr.  Henry  sat  down  every  eye 
remained  still  fixed  on  him,  entranced  and  spell-bound,  f 

Richard  Henry  Lee  supported  Mr.  Henry  in  a  masterly  review 
of  the  resources  of  the  colonies  and  their  means  of  resistance, 
exhorting  the  convention  to  remember  that  "the  race  is  not  to 
the  swift,  nor  the  battle  to  the  strong,  and  that  he  is  thrice 
armed  whose  cause  is  just."  "But,"  says  Wirt,  "his  melody 
was  lost  amid  the  agitations  of  that  ocean  which  the  master-spirit 
of  the  storm  had  lifted  up  on  high."  It  would,  however,  be  a 
wide  mistake  to  believe  that  a  melodious  voice  was  Mr.  Lee's 
highest  qualification  as  a  speaker.  Plain,  solid,  common  sense 
was  the  distinguishing  characteristic  of  his  mind  as  it  was  of  Mr. 
Henry's. 

The  overweening  caution  of  those  who  opposed  Henry's  reso 
lutions  perhaps  served  the  purpose  of  the  breaks  in  a  train  of 
railroad  cars — while  they  endeavored  to  retard  the  movement, 
they  made  it  eventually  safer.  The  resolutions  were  carried,  and 
a  committee  was  appointed  to  prepare  a  plan  of  defence.}; 

In  conformity  with  a  plan  reported  by  tiie  committee,  the 
convention  unanimously  determined  on  the  establishment  of  a 
well-regulated  militia,  by  forming  in  every  county  one  or  more 

*  Randall's  Life  of  Jefferson,  i.  101. 

f  The  expression,  "  after  all,  we  must  fight,"  had  been  used  four  months  "be 
fore  by  Joseph  Hawley,  of  Massachusetts,  in  a  letter  to  John  Adams,  which  he 
showed  to  Patrick  Henry  while  they  were  together  in  the  first  congress.  Henry, 
upon  reading  the  words,  raised  his  hand,  and  with  an  oath  exclaimed,  "I  am  of 
that  man's  mind." 

|  The  committee  consisted  of  Patrick  Henry,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  Robert  C. 
Nicholas,  Benjamin  Harrison,  Lemuel  Riddick,  George  Washington,  Adam 
Stephen,  Andrew  Lewis,  William  Christian,  Edmund  Pendleton,  Thomas  Jeffer 
son,  and  Isaac  Zane. 


602  ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA. 

volunteer  companies  and  troops  of  horse,  to  be  in  constant  train 
ing  and  ready  to  act  at  a  moment's  warning,  and  hence  called 
"minute-men."  Mr.  Nicholas,  hitherto  an  extreme  conservative, 
now  proposed  to  raise  an  army  of  ten  thousand  regulars;  the 
proposition  evinced  his  enthusiasm  in  the  cause ;  but  the  kind  of 
force  which  he  recommended  still  displayed  his  distrust  in  means 
of  defence  resting  immediately  on  the  body  of  the  people. 
Measures  were  adopted  by  the  convention  to  promote  the  raising 
of  wool,  cotton,  flax,  and  hemp,  and  to  encourage  domestic 
manufactures  of  gunpowder,  salt,  iron,  and  steel;  and  the  mem 
bers  agreed  to  make  use  of  home-made  fabrics,  and  re-commended 
the  practice  to  the  people.  The  former  delegates  to  congress 
were  re-elected,  with  the  substitution  of  Mr.  Jefferson  in  lieu  of 
Peyton  Randolph,  in  case  of  his  non-attendance.  Mr.  Randolph, 
being  speaker  of  the  house  of  burgesses,  did  not  attend  that 
congress,  and  Mr.  Jefferson  accordingly  took  his  place. 


CHAPTER    LXXX. 

JEFFERSON. 

THOMAS  JEFFERSON  was  born  at  Shadwell,  in  the  County  of 
Albemarle,  on  the  2d  day  of  April,  1743.*     According  to  family 

*  Randall's  Life  of  Jefferson  gives  the  following  extract  from  Colonel  Peter 
Jefferson's  Book  of  Common  Prayer: — 


Jane  Jefferson 1740,  June  27. 

Mary 1741,  October  1. 

Thomas 1743,  April  2. 

Elizabeth 1744,  November  4. 

Martha 1746,  May  29. 

Peterfield 1748,  October  16. 

Ason 1750,  March  9. 

Lucy 1752,  October  10. 

Anna  Scott  Randolph 1755,  October  1. 

MARRIAGES. 

Jane  Jefferson 

Mary 1760,  June  24. 

Thomas 1772,  January       1. 

Elizabeth 

Martha 1765,  June  20. 

Peterfield 

Ason 

Lucy 1769,  September  12. 

Anna  Scott  Randolph 1788,  October. 

DEATHS. 

Jane  Jefferson 1765,  October         1. 

Mary 

Thomas 

Elizabeth 1773,  January       1. 

Martha 

Petevfield 1748,  November  29. 

Ason 1750,  March  9. 

Lucy 

Anna,  Scott  Randolph 

(603) 


604  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AXD 

tradition  his  paternal  ancestors,  among  the  early  settlers  of  Vir 
ginia,  came  from  near  Mount  Snowclen,  in  Wales,  and  one  of 
them  was  a  member  of  the  first  house  of  burgesses  that  met  in 
1619.  The  grandfather  of  Thomas  lived  at  Osborne's,  in  Ches 
terfield.  Peter,  (father  of  Thomas,)  a  land  surveyor,  settled  at 
Shadwell,  where  he  had  taken  up  a  tract  of  land,  including 
Monticello.  Shadwell  was  called  after  the  parish  in  London  in 
which  his  wife  was  born.  He  was  born  in  February,  1708,  and 
married,  in  1738,  Jane,  daughter  of  Isham  Randolph,  of  Dunge- 
ness,  in  Goochland.  "The  Randolphs,"  says  Mr.  Jefferson, 
"trace  their  pedigree  far  back  in  England  and  Scotland,  to  which 
let  every  one  ascribe  the  faith  and  merit  he  chooses."  Peter 
Jefferson's  early  education  had  been  neglected,  but  being  a  man 
of  strong  parts  he  read  much,  and  so  improved  himself  that  he 
was  chosen,*  with  Joshua  Fry,  professor  of  mathematics  in  Wil 
liam  and  Mary  College,  to  continue  the  boundary  line  between 
Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  and  was  afterwards  employed,  with 
Mr.  Fry,  to  make  a  map  of  the  colony.  This  was  the  first  regu 
lar  map  of  Virginia  ever  made,  that  of  Captain  Smith,  although 
remarkably  well  delineated,  considering  the  circumstances  under 
which  it  was  made,  being,  of  necessity,  in  large  part  conjectural. 

Peter  Jefferson  was  one  of  the  first  persons  who  settled  in 
Goochland,  since  known  as  Albemarle,  about  the  year  1737. 
That  county  was  formed  in  1744  out  of  a  part  of  Goochland, 
which  had  been  carved  out  of  Henrico  in  1727. 

Thomas  Jefferson's  earliest  recollection  was  of  his  being  handed 
up  and  carried  on  a  pillow  on  horseback  by  a  servant  when  his 
father  was  removing,  in  1745,  from  Shadwell  to  Tuckahoe. 
Peter  Jefferson  was  a  man  of  extraordinary  physical  strength ;  he 
could  "head  up,"  that  is  raise  up  from  their  sides  to  an  upright 
position,  at  once,  two  hogsheads  of  tobacco  weighing  near  a  thou 
sand  pounds  each.  He  was  a  favorite  with  the  Indians,  and  they 
often  made  his  house  a  stopping-place,  and  in  this  way  Thomas 
imbibed  an  uncommon  interest  in  that  people. 

Peter  Jefferson  dying  in  1757,  left  a  widow  (who  survived  till 
1776)  with  six  daughters  and  two  sons,  of  whom  Thomas,  then 

*  1749. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  605 

fourteen  years  of  age,  was  the  elder.  He  inherited  the  lands  on 
which  he  was  born,  and  where  he  lived.  When  five  years  of  age, 
he  was  placed  at  school  at  Tuckahoe,  and  when  nine,  upon  the 
return  of  the  family  to  Shadwell,  at  a  Latin  school,  where  he 
continued  until  his  father's  death.  His  teacher,  the  Rev.  Wil 
liam  Douglas,  a  native  of  Scotland,  taught  him  the  rudiments  of 
Latin,  Greek,  and  French.  At  his  father's  death  he  was  put 
under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  James  Maury,  of  Huguenot  descent, 
a  good  classical  scholar  and  thorough  teacher,  with  whom  he  con 
tinued  for  two  years  at  the  parsonage,  fourteen  miles  from  Shad- 
well.*  The  student  found  recreation  without  in  hunting  on  Peter's 
Mountain,  within  doors  in  playing  on  the  violin.  In  the  spring 
of  1T60  he  went  to  William  and  Mary  College,  and  remained 
there  for  two  years.  Dr.  William  Small,  a  Scotchman,  was  then 
professor  of  mathematics  there:  a  man  of  engaging  manners, 
large  views,  and  profound  science.  He  shortly  afterwards  filled, 
for  a  time,  the  chair  of  ethics,  rhetoric,  and  belles  lettres.  He 
formed  a  strong  attachment  to  young  Jefferson,  and  made  him 
the  daily  companion  of  his  leisure  hours,  and  it  was  his  conversa 
tion  that  first  gave  him  a  bent  toward  scientific  pursuits.  Small 
returned,  in  1762,  to  Europe.  Before  his  departure  he  had  pro 
cured  for  Jefferson,  from  George  Wythe,  a  reception  as  a  student 
of  law  under  his  direction,  and  had  also  introduced  him  to  the 
acquaintance  of  Governor  Fauquier.  At  his  table  Jefferson  met 
Dr.  Small  and  Mr.  Wythe,  and  from  their  conversation  derived 
no  little  instruction.  It  was  in  1765  that,  while  a  law-student, 
he  heard  the  "bloody  debate"  on  Henry's  resolutions.  In  May 
of  the  following  year  he  made  a  northern  trip,  in  a  one-horse 
chair,  by  way  of  Annapolis,  where  he  found  the  people  rejoicing 
at  the  repeal  of  the  stamp  act.  At  Philadelphia  he  was  inocu 
lated  for  the  small-pox  by  Dr.  Shippen.  At  New  York  Mr. 
Jefferson  became  acquainted  with  Elbridge  Gerry. 

Jefferson,  now  twenty-four  years  old,  entered  upon  the  practice 
of  the  law  in  the  general  court,  and  continued  in  it  until  the  Re 
volution  closed  the  courts  of  justice.  He  was  not  fitted  for  the 
office  of  advocate,  owing  to  a  defective  voice,  and  he  never  spoke 

*  Where  now  stands  the  mansion  of  the  late  William  F.  Gordon. 


606  ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA. 

more  than  a  few  sentences  at  a  time.*  In  1769  he  became  a 
member  of  the  assembly,  and  so  continued,  patriotic,  active,  and 
ardent,  until  the  meetings  were  suspended  by  the  war.  He  made 
an  unsuccessful  effort  in  that  body  for  the  emancipation  of  the 
slaves  in  Virginia.  January  the  1st,  1772,  he  married  Martha, 
widow  of  Bathurst  Skelton,  and  youngest  daughter  of  John 
Wayles,  born  in  Lancaster,  England,  a  lawyer,  who  lived  at 
"The  Forest,"  in  Charles  City  County.  She  was  then  twenty- 
three  years  old.f  In  1773  Mr.  Jefferson  contributed  to  the  for 
mation  of  committees  of  correspondence  between  the  colonial 
legislatures.  In  the  year  following  he  was  elected  member  of 
the  convention  which  met  in  August.  Unable  to  attend,  owing 
to  sickness,  he  communicated  his  views  in  the  form  of  written 
instructions,  for  the  Virginia  delegates  in  Congress. 


*  Randall's  Jefferson,  i.  50. 

•f-  Her  father,  who  had  married  three  times,  dying  in  May,  1773,  left  issue 
three  daughters,  one  of  whom  married  Francis  Eppes,  (father  of  John  W.  Eppes, 
who  married  Maria,  daughter  of  Thomas  Jefferson,)  and  the  other,  Fulwar  Skip- 
with,  afterwards  American  consul  in  France.  The  portion  that  fell  to  Martha 
was  encumbered  with  a  debt,  which  ultimately,  by  the  depreciation  of  paper 
money,  resulted  in  a  heavy  loss. — Randall's  Jefferson,  and  Memoirs  and  Corr.  of 
Jefferson,  i.  1,  3. 


CHAPTER    LXXXI. 


Dunmore's  Proclamation — Removal  of  Powder — Disturbances  at  Williamsburg — 
Military  Movements — Volunteers  at  Fredericksburg — Governor  and  Council- 
Hanover  Volunteers  and  Henry — He  extorts  compensation  for  Powder — Dun 
more's  Proclamation — Henry's  popularity. 

ON  the  twenty-eighth  of  March  Dunmore  issued  a  proclama 
tion,  by  command,  as  he  said,  of  the  king,  for  the  prevention  of 
the  appointment  of  deputies  from  Virginia  to  the  congress  which 
was  to  assemble  in  May.  And  in  compliance  with  instructions 
received  from  England,  the  governor  ordered  Captain  Collins, 
with  a  party  of  marines  and  sailors  from  the  Magdalen,  lying  at 
Burwell's  Ferry,  to  remove  the  powder  from  the  magazine  at 
Williamsburg,  and  it  was  carried  on  board  of  that  vessel  secretly, 
between  three  and  four  o'clock  A.M.,  of  Thursday,  April  the 
twentieth,  the  day  following  the  collision  at  Lexington  and  Con 
cord.  It  had  been  rumored  some  days  before  in  Williamsburg 
that  Lord  Dunmore  had  taken  the  locks  off  from  most  of  the  guns 
in  the  magazine,  and  that  he  intended  to  remove  the  powder. 
The  people  of  the  town  were  alarmed,  and  the  volunteers  for 
several  nights  kept  guard  over  the  magazine;  at  length  growing 
negligent,  and  disbelieving  the  report,  on  Thursday  night  the 
guard  was  discharged  at  an  early  hour.  Thus  Collins  with  his 
party,  who  had  been  secreted  in  the  palace,  seized  the  powder 
without  opposition.  Dunmore,  anticipating  the  resentment  of 
the  people,  armed  his  servants  and  some  Shawnee  hostages,  and 
muskets  were  laid  on  the  floor,  loaded  and  primed,  and  the  cap 
tains  of  the  ships  of  war  lying  at  York  were  ordered  to  have  in 
readiness  an  armed  force  for  the  defence  of  the  palace.  As  soon 
as  these  proceedings  became  known,  the  Williamsburg  volunteers 
flew  to  arms,  and  were  with  difficulty  restrained  by  Peyton  Ran 
dolph  and  Robert  C.  Nicholas  from  assaulting  the  palace  and 
seizing  the  governor.  The  authorities  of  the  town,  in  accordance 

(607) 


608  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

with  a  resolution  of  a  meeting  of  the  people,  solicited  the  governor 
to  restore  the  powder  immediately,  urging  among  other  reasons 
which  demanded  it,  the  apprehension  of  a  servile  war,  instigated 
by  "wicked  and  designing  men."  Dunmore,  in  his  reply,  pre 
tended  that  he  had  removed  the  powder  from  the  magazine  as 
being  an  insecure  place  in  case  of  such  an  insurrection;*  declared 
that  it  should  be  returned  as  soon  as  it  should  appear  that  the 
precaution  was  unnecessary;  that  in  case  of  an  insurrection  he 
would,  upon  his  honor,  return  it  in  half  an  hour  ;  but  he  expressed 
his  surprise  that  the  people  were  under  arms,  and  said  that  he 
should  not  deem  it  prudent  to  put  powder  into  their  hands  under 
such  circumstances.  The  reply  was  considered  evasive  and  false. 
When  he  had  first  heard  that  the  people  were  in  arms,  he  swore, 
"by  the  living  God,"  that  if  any  violence  should  be  offered  to 
him,  or  to  the  officers  who  had  acted  under  his  directions,  he 
wrould  proclaim  freedom  to  the  slaves,  and  lay  the  town  in  ashes. 
Some  of  the  citizens,  in  consequence  of  this  threat,  sent  their 
wives  and  children  into  the  country. 

The  citizens  of  Williamsburg  resolved  unanimously  to  continue 
their  contributions  for  the  relief  of  the  inhabitants  of  Boston. 
Intelligence  of  these  occurrences  at  the  capital  soon  spread 
through  the  country.  More  than  six  hundred  volunteers  met  at 
Fredericksburg  by  the  twenty-seventh  of  April,  and  were  ready 
to  march  to  Williamsburg.  Gloucester  and  Henrico  demanded 
the  restitution  of  the  powder,  the  Gloucester  men  threatening,  in 
case  of  refusal,  to  seize  the  governor.  Bedford  offered  a  premium 
for  the  manufacture  of  gunpowder;  the  independent  company  of 
Dumfries  and  the  Albemarle  volunteers  were  ready  for  action. 
Dunmore  renewed  his  threats,  and  was  confident,  as  he  wrote  to 
Lord  Dartmouth,  the  English  minister,  that  "with  a  small  re-en 
forcement  of  troops  and  arms  he  could  raise  such  a  body  of  In 
dians,  negroes,  and  others  as  would  reduce  the  refractory  people 
of  this  colony  to  obedience,  "f 

Three  citizens,  deputed  by  the  troops  assembled  at  Fredericks- 
burg,  repaired  to  Williamsburg  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining 


*  There  had  been  an  alarm  of  one  from  Surrey  County. 
f  Bancroft,  vii.  277. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  600 

the  real  state  of  affairs,  and  to  offer  military  assistance  if  desired. 
Peyton  Randolph,  in  behalf  of  the  corporation,  in  replying  to  the 
committee,  stated  that:  "Besides  what  has  been  said  in  his  public 
answer,  the  governor  has  given  private  assurances  to  several  gen 
tlemen  that  the  powder  shall  be  returned  to  the  magazine,  though 
he  has  not  condescended  to  fix  the  day  for  its  return.  So  far  as 
we  can  judge,  from  a  comparison  of  all  circumstances,  the  gover 
nor  considers  his  honor  at  stake;  he  thinks  that  he  acted  for  the 
best,  and  will  not  be  compelled  to  what,  we  have  abundant  reason 
to  believe,  he  would  cheerfully  do,  if  left  to  himself."  "If  we 
then  may  be  permitted  to  advise,  it  is  our  opinion  and  most 
earnest  request,  that  matters  may  be  quieted  for  the  present  at 
least;  we  are  firmly  persuaded  that  perfect  tranquillity  will  be 
speedily  restored.  By  pursuing  this  course  we  foresee  no  hazard, 
or  even  inconvenience  that  can  ensue.  Whereas  we  are  appre 
hensive,  and  this  we  think  upon  good  grounds,  that  violent  mea 
sures  may  produce  effects  which  God  only  knows  the  conse 
quence  of."* 

Upon  this  reply  being  reported  to  the  volunteers  at  Fredericks- 
burg,  styled  "The  friends  of  constitutional  liberty  in  America," 
they  declared  that  it  was  dictated  by  fear,  and  resolved  to  march 
at  all  events  to  Williamsburg,  under  command  of  Captain  Hugh 
Mercer,  who  was  eager  to  redress  the  indignity  which  Virginia 
had  suffered  at  the  hands  of  the  governor. 

At  this  juncture  Peyton  Randolph  happened  to  reach  the  house 
of  Edmund  Pendletori,  one  of  his  colleagues,  on  his  route  to 
Philadelphia,  where  the  congress  was  about  to  meet.  These  two 
eminent  men  sent  to  Fredericksburg,  on  Saturday,  the  twenty- 
ninth,  a  letter  advising  that  further  action  should  be  deferred 
until  the  congress  should  adopt  a  plan  of  resistance.  Mercer, 
who  had  written  to  Washington  for  advice,  received  a  reply  to 
the  same  effect.  One  hundred  and  two  deputies  were  appointed 
a  council  to  consider  this  advice,  and  after  a  long  and  animated 
discussion  it  was  assented  to  by  a  majority  of  one  vote  only.f 


*  Letter  dated  at  Williamsburg  April  27th,  1775,  to  Mann  Page,  Jr.,  Lewis 
Willis,  and  Benjamin  Grymes,  in  S.  Lit.  Mess.,  1858,  26. 
f  Burk's  Hist,  of  Va.,  iii.  406. 

39 


610  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLOXY   AND 

The  military,  consisting  of  fourteen  companies  of  light-horse,  for 
several  days  were  encamped  in  the  fields  near  the  town,  armed 
and  equipped,  and  they  acquiesced  reluctantly  in  the  determina 
tion  not  to  march  at  once  to  the  capital.  The  Virginians  were 
at  the  same  time  arming  in  other  parts  of  the  country  to  re-en 
force,  whenever  necessary,  those  who  had  first  taken  up  arms; 
troops  were  collected  at  the  Bowling  Green,  and  others  on  their 
march  from  Frederick,  Berkley,  Dunmore,  and  other  counties, 
were  arrested,  by  information  that  the  affair  of  the  gunpowder 
was  about  to  be  accommodated.  The  council  of  one  hundred  and 
two,  before  adjourning,  adopted  an  address  pledging  themselves 
to  re-assemble  whenever  necessary,  and  by  force  of  arms  to  de 
fend  the  laws,  liberties,  and  rights  of  Virginia,  or  any  sister 
colony,  from  unjust  and  wicked  invasion.  This  address  was  read 
at  the  head  of  each  company,  and  it  concluded  with  the  significant 
words,  "God  save  the  liberties  of  America!" 

The  council  at  this  time  consisted  of  President  Nelson,  Com 
missary  Camm,  Ralph  Wormlcy,  Colonel  G.  Corbin,  G.  Corbin, 
Jr.,  William  Byrd,  and  John  Page.  Being  summoned  to  hold  a 
meeting,  they  assembled  as  usual  in  the  council  chamber,  but 
Dunmore  requested  their  attendance  at  the  palace.  He  excused 
his  removal  of  the  powder  as  owing  to  his  fear  that  the  volunteers 
might  have  been  tempted  to  seize  upon  the  magazine;  he  com 
plained  that  his  life  had  been  exposed  to  danger  in  the  recent 
disturbances,  and  he  recommended  the  issuing  of  a  proclamation. 
John  Page,  the  youngest  member,  boldly  advised  the  governor 
to  give  up  the  powder  and  arms,  as  the  measure  necessary  to  re 
store  public  tranquillity.  Dunmore,  enraged,  struck  the  table 
with  his  fist,  exclaiming,  "Mr.  Page,  I  am  astonished  at  you." 
The  other  councillors  remained  silent.  Page,  although  he  had 
been  made  a  member  of  the  council  by  Dunmore,  had,  neverthe 
less,  opposed  his  nomination  of  John  Randolph  as  one  of  the 
board  of  visiters  of  the  college,  declaring  "that  as  he  had  been 
rejected  on  a  former  occasion  as  not  possessing  the  disposition 
and  character,  moral  and  religious,  which  the  charter  and  statutes 
of  the  college  required,  he  ought  not  again  to  be  nominated,  till 
it  could  be  proved  that  he  had  abandoned  his  former  principles 
and  practices,  which  no  one  could  venture  to  say  he  had."  Mr. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  611 

Page  had  then  proposed  Nathaniel  Burwell  in  the  place  of  the 
governor's  nominee,  and  he  was  elected,  the  governor  alone  dis 
senting.  This  proceeding  gave  great  offence  to  Dunmore  and  his 
secretary,  Foy.  Foy  showed  his  resentment  so  offensively,  that, 
says  Page,  "I  was  obliged  to  call  him  to  account  for  it,  and  he, 
like  a  brave  and  candid  man,  made  full  reparation  to  me  and  my 
my  friend,  James  Innes." 

In  Hanover  the  committee  of  safety  for  the  county,  and  the 
members  of  the  Independent  Company,  at  the  call  of  Patrick 
Henry,  met  at  New  Castle  on  the  second  day  of  May,  and  were 
addressed  by  him  with  such  effect  that  they  resolved  either  to 
recover  the  powder  or  make  a  reprisal  for  it.* 

Burkf  says :  "  The  affair  of  the  powder  was  decided  before  the 
battle  of  Lexington  was  ever  talked  of  in  Virginia."  But  as  it 
appears  that  the  express  from  Massachusetts  reached  Petersburg 
on  Sunday,  the  first  of  May,J  it  is  probable  that  Henry  had 
already  heard  the  news.  Captain  Meredith  resigned  in  Henry's 
favor,  and  he  was  invested  with  the  command,.  Meredith  accepting 
the  place  of  lieutenant.  Having  received  orders  from  the  com 
mittee  consonant  with  his  own  suggestions,  Captain  Henry 
marched  at  once  toward  Williamsburg.  Ensign  Parke  Goodall, 
with  sixteen  men,  was  detached  into  King  and  Queen  County  to 
Laneville,  (on  the  Matapony,)  the  seat  of.  Richard  Corbin,  the 
king's  deputy  receiver-general,  to  demand  the  estimated  value  of 
the  powder,  and  in  case  of  his  refusal  to  make  him  a  prisoner. 
The  detachment  reached  Laneville  about  midnight,  and  a  guard 
was  stationed  around  the  house.  At  daybreak  Mrs.  Corbin 
assured  Goodall  that  the  king's  money  was  never  kept  there,  but 
at  Williamsburg,  and  that  Colonel  Corbin  was  then  in  that  town. 
Henry  had  started  from  Hanovertown  with  only  his  own  com 
pany,  but  the  news  of  his  march  being  speedily  spread  abroad, 
companies  started  up  on  all  sides,  and  were  in  motion  to  join  his 
standard,  to  the  number,  it  was  believed,  of  several,  some  say 

*  Wirt's  Henry,  137;  Burk's  Hist,  of  Va.,  iv.  13.  This  volume  is  a  continua 
tion  of  Bm-k  by  Skelton  Jones  and  Louis  Hue  Girardin,  mainly  by  the  latter, 
who  enjoyed  the  advantage  of  Mr.  Jefferson's  assistance. 

f  Vol.  iii.  416. 

j  Lossing's  Field-Book  of  the  Revolution,  ii.  584.  Wirt  says  that  the  news 
reached  Virginia  before  the  assembling  of  the  volunteers  at  Fredericksburg. 


612  HISTORY    OP    THE    COLONY   AND 

five  thousand  men.  The  colony  was  governed  by  county  com 
mittees.  Lady  Dunmore,  with  her  children,  retired  in  dismay  to 
the  Fowey,  lying  at  Yorktown.  Even  the  patriots  at  Williams- 
burg  were  alarmed  at  the  approach  of  this  tornado ;  message  after 
message  was  despatched,  and  Captain  Henry  was  implored  to 
desist  from  entering  Williamsburg.  The  messengers  were  de 
tained,  and  he  marched  on.  The  scene  resembled  that  presented 
by  Bacon  marching  against  Berkley  a  hundred  years  before. 
Dunmore,  in  the  mean  time,  issued  a  proclamation  calling  upon 
the  people  to  resist  Henry,  and  planted  cannon  at  his  palace,  and 
ordered  up  a  detachment  of  marines  from  the  Fowey.  Before 
daybreak  on  the  fourth  of  May,  Captain  Montague,  of  that  ship, 
landed  the  detachment,  and  addressed  a  note  to  President  Nelson, 
saying  that  he  had  received  certain  information  that  Lord  Dun- 
more  was  threatened  with  an  attack  to  be  made  at  daybreak  on 
that  morning  at  the  palace,  and  requesting  him  to  endeavor  to 
prevent  any  assault  upon  the  marines,  as  in  case  of  it  he  should 
be  compelled  to  fire  upon  the  town  of  York. 

Henry,  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  halted  at  Doncastle's 
Ordinary,  (sixteen  miles  from  Williamsburg,)  where  Goodall  had 
been  ordered  Jo  rejoin  him.  In  the  meanwhile  the  authorities  of 
the  town  were  concerting  measures  to  prevent  the  threatened  col 
lision.  Dunmore  denounced  Henry  as  a  rebel  and  the  author  of 
all  the  disturbances,  and  poured  out  a  tirade  of  profane  threats 
and  abuse.  Nevertheless,  at  his  instance,  Carter  Braxton,  son- 
in-law  to  Colonel  Corbin,  repaired  to  Henry's  headquarters  on 
the  third,  and  interposed  his  efforts  to  prevent  matters  from 
coming  to  extremities.  Finding  that  Henry  would  not  disband 
without  receiving  the  powder  or  its  equivalent,  he  returned  to 
Williamsburg,  and  procured  from  Colonel  Corbin,  the  deputy 
receiver-general,  a  bill  of  exchange  for  the  amount  demanded, 
and  delivering  it  to  Henry  at  sunrise  of  Wednesday  the  fourth, 
succeeded  in  warding  off  the  impending  blow.*  In  this  pacific 

*  The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  receipt : — 

"DONCASTLE'S  ORDINARY,  New  Kent,  May  4th,  1775. 

"  Received  from  the  Hon.  Richard  Corbin,  Esq.,  his  majesty's  receiver-general, 
£330,  as  a  compensation  for  the  gunpowder  lately  taken  out  of  the  public  maga 
zine  by  the  governor's  order,  which  money  I  promise  to  convey  to  the  Virginia 


AXCIEXT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  613 

course  Mr.  Braxton  coincided  with  the  moderate  councils  of  the 
leading  men  at  Williamsburg. 

Yorktown  and  Williamsburg  being  in  commotion  at  the  landing 
of  the  marines,  and  an  attack  upon  the  public  treasury  being 
apprehended,  Henry  wrote  to  Nicholas,  the  treasurer,  offering 
the  services  of  his  force  to  remove  the  public  treasury  to  any  place 
in  the  colony  which  might  be  deemed  a  safer  place  of  deposite 
than  Williamsburg.  The  treasurer  replied  that  he  did  not  appre 
hend  any  necessity  for  such  a  guard,  and  that  the  people  of  Wil 
liamsburg  "were  perfectly  quiet;"  which,  however,  could  hardly 
have  been  the  case,  because  at  that  time  more  than  a  hundred 
citizens  patroled  the  streets  and  guarded  the  treasury.* 

Henry,  having  attained  the  object  of  his  march,  returned  with 
his  volunteers  to  Hanover.  The  committee  presented  their  thanks 
to  the  party  for  their  good  conduct,  and  also  to  the  numerous 
volunteers  who  were  marching  to  lend  their  co-operation. 

Parke  Goodall  wras  a  member  of  the  convention  of  1788,  and 
afterwards  kept  a  tavern  called  the  "Indian  Queen,"  in  the  City 
of  Richmond. f 

The  contest  between  Henry  and  Dunmore  concerning  the 
powder,  is  like  that  between  Colonel  Hutchinson  and  Lord 
Newark  on  a  similar  occasion  in  1642,  at  Nottingham,  as  related 
by  Mrs.  Hutchinson  in  her  charming  memoirs  of  her  husband — J 
the  most  beautiful  monument  ever  erected  by  female  affection. 

Two  days  after  Henry  had  received  compensation  for  the 
powder,  Dunmore  issued  a  proclamation  denouncing  "a  certain 


delegates  at  the  general  congress,  to  be,  under  their  direction,  laid  out  in  gun 
powder  for  the  colony's  use,  and  to  be  stored  as  they  shall  direct,  until  the  next 
colony  convention  or  general  assembly,  unless  it  shall  be  necessary  in  the  meau 
time  to  use  the  same  in  the  defence  of  the  colony.  It  is  agreed  that  in  case  the 
next  convention  shall  determine  that  any  part  of  the  said  money  ought  to  be 
returned  to  his  majesty's  said  receiver-general,  that  the  same  shall  be  done 
accordingly. 

"PATRICK  HENRY,  JR. 

" Test:  SAMUEL  MEREDITH, 
PAR  KB  GOODALL." 

*  Burk,  iv.  15. 

f  Richmond  in  By-gone  Days,  by  Samuel  Mordecai,  173. 

%  Page  102. 


614  ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA. 

Patrick  Henry,  Jr.,  of  Hanover,"  and  a  number  of  deluded  fol 
lowers,  charging  them  with  having  unlawfully  taken  up  arms, 
and  by  letters  excited  the  people  in  divers  parts  of  the  country 
to  join  them  in  these  outrageous  and  rebellious  practices,  extort 
ing  X330  from  the  king's  receiver-general,  and  forbidding  all 
persons  to  aid  or  abet  "the  said  Patrick  Henry,  Jr.,"  or  his  con 
federates.  The  members  of  the  council,  with  the  exception  of 
John  Page,  sided  with  the  governor,  and  advised  the  issuing  of 
the  proclamation,  and  afterwards  published  an  address,  in  which 
they  expressed  their  "  detestation  and  abhorrence  for  that  licen 
tious  and  ungovernable  spirit  that  had  gone  forth  and  misled  the 
once  happy  people  of  this  country."  The  council  now  shared 
the  public  odium  with  Dunmore.  There  was  a  rumor  that  he  in 
tended  to  have  Henry  arrested  on  his  way  to  the  congress  at 
Philadelphia;  and  it  is  also  said  that  the  governor  denounced 
Henry  as  a  coward  for  not  having  accompanied  Randolph  and 
Pendleton.  Dunmore,  writing  to  the  ministry,  described  Henry 
as  "a  man  of  desperate  circumstances,  one  who  had  been  very 
active  in  encouraging  disobedience  and  exciting  a  spirit  of  revolt 
among  the  people  for  many  years  past."*  So  in  Massachusetts 
Samuel  Adams,  the  model  patriot  of  New  England,  was  denounced 
by  the  British  governor  there.  Henry  set  out  for  the  congress 
May  the  eleventh,  and  was  escorted  in  triumph  by  his  admiring 
countrymen  as  far  as  Hooe's  Ferry,  on  the  Potomac,  and  was 
repeatedly  stopped  on  the  way  to  receive  addresses  full  of  thanks 
and  applause. 

*  Bancroft,  vii.  335. 


CHAPTER    LXXXII. 
rrrs. 

Mecklenburg  Declaration. 

THAT  there  was  a  Declaration  of  Independence  made  at 
Charlotte,  by  citizens  of  the  County  of  Mecklenburg,  North 
Carolina,  on  the  20th  of  May,  1775,  is  the  commonly  received 
opinion  in  that  State,  and  has  been  often  stated  in  print.*  The 
closer  scrutiny  to  which  this  declaration  has  been  of  late  years 
subjected^  appears  to  invalidate  its  authenticity.  The  patriotism, 
intelligence,  and  courage  of  the  Scotch-Irish  inhabitants  of 
Mecklenburg — the  Alexanders,  Brevard,  Polk,  Balch,  and  others, 
are  universally  acknowledged;  and  that  they  "acted"  independ 
ence  as  early  as  May,  1775,  is  admitted.  But  that  they  then 
made  an  absolute  declaration  of  independence,  (supposing  them 
competent  to  do  so,)  does  not  appear  to  be  substantiated  by  suffi 
cient  evidence.  The  original  manuscript,  it  is  alleged,  was  pre 
served  by  the  secretary  of  the  convention  till  the  year  1800,  when 
it  was  destroyed,  with  his  dwelling-house,  by  fire.J  It  is  said, 
however,  that  he  had  previously  taken  care  to  give  copies  of  it  to 
two  or  three  persons;  and  mention  is  made  of  one  of  these  tran 
scripts  as  early  as  1793.  But  they  do  not  appear  to  have  been 
any  further  multiplied.  That  a  declaration  of  independence, 
made  more  than  a  year  before  that  of  July,  1776,  should  have 
been  preserved  by  the  secretary  so  long,  and  yet  have  remained 
unpublished  and  so  little  known,  is  extraordinary.  It  is  remark 
able,  too,  that  such  a  paper  should  appear  without  date  of  time 
on  the  face  of  it.  The  meeting  reported  to  have  been  held  at 
Charlotte,  on  the  twentieth  of  May,  is  styled  "the  convention;" 


*  Its  authenticity  was  admitted  in  the  former  edition  of  this  work. 
f  Especially  by  Mr.  Grigsby,  in  his  Discourse  on  the  Virginia  Convention  of 
'70,  p.  20. 

t  Foote's  Sketches  of  North  Carolina,  205. 

(615) 


616  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

but  that  of  the  thirty-first  of  the  same  kind,  was  simply  a  meet 
ing  of  the  committee  of  the  county,  and  was  so  called  at  the 
time.  It  is  asserted  that  the  immediate  exciting  cause  of  the 
resolutions,  or  alleged  declaration  of  the  twentieth,  was,  that  on 
that  day  a  messenger  arrived  in  hot  haste  with  intelligence  of  the 
battle  of  Lexington.  But  it  appears*  that  this  intelligence 
reached  Savannah,  in  Georgia,  on  the  tenth;  and  it  would  appear 
hardly  probable  that  it  should  have  reached  Charlotte  ten  days 
later. 

Upon  comparing  one  of  the  manuscript  copies  with  the  one 
published  in  Martin's  History  of  North  Carolina,  there  appears 
to  be  a  remarkable  difference  between  them.  To  explain  this,  it 
has,  indeed,  been  conjectured,  that  Martin's  copy  contains  the  reso 
lutions  as  at  first  draughted  by  Dr.  Brevard,  the  author  of  them, 
and  that  the  other  contains  them  in  their  amended  form.  But 
the  Martin  copy,  instead  of  being  a  rough  draught,  appears  to 
be  more  formal  and  complete  than  the  other.  The  Martin  copy 
expresses  the  resolution  in  the  present  tense;  the  other  in  the 
imperfect,  bearing  upon  its  face  the  appearance  of  having  been 
made  up  at  a  subsequent  time  by  an  effort  of  recollection. 

The  document  styled  a  declaration,  whatever  may  have  been  its 
origin,  or  terms,  remained  long  in  obscurity,  public  attention 
having  been  first  drawn  to  it,  in  1819,  by  the  Raleigh  Register, 
at  the  instance  of  Colonel  Thomas  Polk.  But  a  declaration,  to 
effect  its  object,  must  be  published  far  and  wide. 

The  Mecklenburg  committee  met  at  Charlotte  on  the  thirtieth 
of  May,  and  passed  a  series  of  resolutions,  (making  no  reference 
whatever  to  a  previous  declaration  of  independence;)  suspending 
the  former  civil  constitution,  and  organizing  a  provisional  repub 
lican  government.  The  eighteenth  resolution  is  in  these  words : 
"  That  these  resolves  be  in  full  force  and  virtue,  until  instruc 
tions  from  the  provincial  congress  regulating  the  jurisprudence 
of  the  province  shall  provide  otherwise,  or  the  legislative  body  of 
Great  Britain  resign  its  unjust  and  arbitrary  pretentions  with 
respect  to  America:"  thus  explicitly  recognizing  the  right  of 
eminent  domain  as  belonging  to  Great  Britain.  It  is  not  to  be 

*  Bancroft,  vii.  337. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  617 

credited  that  the  Mecklenburg  patriots  made  an  absolute  declara 
tion  of  independence  on  the  twentieth,  and  in  ten  days  there 
after  acknowledged  the  sovereignty  of  Great  Britain.  These 
admirable  resolutions  of  the  thirtieth  were  published  in  the  Mer 
cury,  a  North  Carolina  newspaper,  (and  others,)  arid  a  copy  of  it 
was  transmitted  by  Governor  Tryon  to  the  British  minister,  and 
denounced  as  the  boldest  of  all,  "most  traitorously  declaring  the 
entire  dissolution  of  the  laws  and  constitution,  and  setting  up  a 
system  of  rule  and  regulation  subversive  of  his  majesty's  govern 
ment."  The  alleged  declaration  of  the  twentieth,  brief  and  abso 
lute,  was  published  in  no  newspaper,  and  was  not  denounced  by  the 
governor;  while  the  resolutions  of  the  thirty-first,  recognizing  the 
sovereignty  of  Great  Britain,  were  so  published  and  denounced. 
Mecklenburg,  in  North  Carolina,  was,  nevertheless,  then  unques 
tionably  in  a  condition  of  actual  self-government  and  virtual 
independence;  and  the  names  of  Brevard,  the  master-spirit  of 
the  Charlotte  Convention,  (afterwards  a  patriot-martyr,)  and  of 
his  compatriots,  stand  on  the  page  of  history  in  characters  of 
recorded  honor  which  need  no  adventitious  lustre.* 


*  Grigsby's  Convention  of  Va.  of  'TG  ;  Martin's  Hist,  of  N.  C.,  ii.  372  ;  Foote's 
Sketches  of  X.  C.  ;  Hawks'  Lecture,  in  Revolut.  Hist,  of  N.  C.  President  Swain, 
in  a  lecture  before  the  Historical  Society  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina, 
referring  to  this  subject,  evidently  considers  the  resolutions  of  the  thirtieth  of 
May  as  the  Mecklenburg  Declaration.  (Revolut.  Hist,  of  N.  C  ,  101.)  Mr.  Ban 
croft  takes  the  same  view. 


CHAPTER    LXXXIII. 

17V5. 

Congress — Dunmore  offers  the  Olive  Branch — New  Commotions — Dunmore  re 
tires — Courts  closed  —  Correspondence  between  Dunmore  and  Assembly — 
Washington,  Commander-in-chief — Proceedings  at  Williamsburg — Proceedings 
in  Congress — Washington  at  Cambridge — Lady  Dunniore. 

THE  second  congress  assembled  on  the  10th  day  of  May, 
1775,  in  the  State  House,  Chestnut  Street,  Philadelphia.  Pey 
ton  Randolph  was  again  elected  president,  hut  finding  it  necessary 
to  return  to  Virginia  to  perform  the  duties  of  speaker,  was  suc 
ceeded  by  the  well-tried  patriot,  John  Hancock.  Many  of  the 
leading  members,  including  Washington,  still  hoped  for  reconcilia 
tion  with  the  mother  country,  and  few  as  yet  avowed  themselves 
in  favor  of  independence.  But  while  the  congress  were  pacific 
in  theory,  they  were  revolutionary  in  action.  A  second  petition 
to  the  king  was  adopted;  but,  at  the  same  time,  a  federal  union 
was  organized,  and  the  executive  power  vested  in  a  council  of 
twelve.  Measures  were  taken  for  enlisting  troops,  erecting  forts, 
providing  military  stores,  and  issuing  a  paper  currency.  Massa 
chusetts  was  advised  to  form  an  internal  government  for  herself. 
Washington  was  chairman  of  the  military  committees,  and  the 
regulations  of  the  army  and  defensive  measures  were  mostly  de 
vised  by  him. 

Shortly  after  the  affair  of  the  gunpowder,  the  public  agitations 
were  again  quieted  upon  the  reception  of  Lord  North's  concilia 
tory  proposition,  commonly  called  the  "Olive  Branch;"  and  Dun- 
more  convened  the  burgesses,  and  Lady  Dunmore  and  her  family 
returned  (to  the  great  satisfaction  of  the  people)  from  the  Fowey, 
where  they  had  taken  refuge  during  these  disturbances,  to  the 
palace.  The  assembly  meeting  on  the  first  day  of  June,  the 
governor  presented  Lord  North's  proposition.  The  council's 
answer  was  satisfactory;  but  before  the  burgesses  could  reply,  a 
(618) 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF    VIRGINIA.  619 

new  explosion  occurred.  Upon  Henry's  recent  approach  toward 
Williamsburg  some  of  the  inhabitants,  to  the  great  offence  of  the 
graver  citizens,  had  taken  possession  of  a  few  of  the  guns  re 
maining  in  the  magazine.  On  the  night  of  June  the  fifth  a  num 
ber  of  persons  having  assembled  there  to  furnish  themselves  with 
arms,  some  of  them  were  wounded  by  spring-guns  placed  there 
by  order  of  the  governor.  Besides  this,  some  barrels  of  powder 
were  found  buried  in  the  magazine,  to  be  used,  it  was  suspected, 
as  a  mine  when  occasion  should  offer.  Early  on  the  next  morn 
ing  Lord  Dunrnore,  with  his  family,  escaped  from  Williamsburg 
to  return  no  more,  and  took  shelter  on  board  of  the  Fowey, 
leaving  behind  him  a  message  to  the  house,  ascribing  his  depar 
ture  to  apprehensions  of  personal  danger,  and  declaring  his  will 
ingness  to  co-operate  with  the  assembly  in  the  public  business. 
That  body,  by  a  deputation,  requested  him  to  return  to  the 
palace,  assuring  him  that  they  would  unite  in  whatever  measures 
might  be  necessary  for  the  protection  of  him  and  his  family. 
Dunmore  in  reply  complained  of  the  inimical  spirit  of  the  bur 
gesses  toward  him,  of  the  countenance  which  they  had  given  to 
the  disorderly  proceedings  of  the  people,  of  his  majesty's  maga 
zine  having  been  broken  open  and  rifled  in  the  presence  of  mem 
bers  of  the  house ;  he  further  said  that  while  some  endeavors  had 
been  made  by  the  committee  of  the  house  to  prevail  upon  the 
people  to  restore  the  arms,  no  steps  had  been  taken  to  bring  the 
offenders  to  justice;  that  a  body  of  men  had  assembled  at  Wil 
liamsburg  for  the  purpose  of  attacking  the  king's  troops,  and  that 
guards  had  been  mounted  under  false  pretences.  He  exhorted 
them  to  return  to  their  constitutional  duty;  to  open  the  courts  of 
justice;  to  disband  the  independent  companies;  and  to  put  an 
end  to  the  persecutions  of  his  majesty's  loyal  subjects. 

The  governor  at  the  same  time  communicated  papers  contain 
ing  terms  upon  which  a  reconciliation  might  take  place — placing 
his  return  upon  the  condition  of  their  acceptance  of  the  "Olive 
Branch."  The  assembly  in  their  reply,  composed  by  Mr.  Jeffer 
son,  declared  that  next  to  the  preservation  of  liberty,  a  recon 
ciliation  would  be  the  greatest  of  all  human  blessings;  but  that 
they  could  not  consent  to  the  proposed  terms.  Leaving  the 
determination  of  these  disputes  to  the  wisdom  of  congress,  for 


620  HISTORY  OP  THE  COLONY  AND 

themselves  they  avowed  that  they  had  exhausted  every  means  for 
obtaining  redress;  they  had  remonstrated  to  parliament,  and 
parliament  had  only  added  new  oppressions  to  the  old;  they  had 
wearied  the  king  with  petitions  which  he  had  not  deigned  to 
answer;  they  had  appealed  to  the  native  honor  and  justice  of  the 
British  nation,  but  their  efforts  in  favor  of  the  colonies  had  as  yet 
proved  ineffectual.  Nothing  remained  but  to  commit  their  cause 
to  the  even-handed  justice  of  Him  who  doeth  no  wrong,  "earn 
estly  beseeching  him  to  illuminate  the  counsels  and  prosper  the 
endeavors  of  those  to  whom  America  hath  confided  her  hopes, 
that  through  their  wise  direction  we  may  again  sec  re-united  the 
blessings  of  liberty  and  property,  and  the  most  permanent  har 
mony  with  Great  Britain." 

The  courts  of  justice  upon  Dunrnore's  flight  had  been  closed, 
the  general  court  refusing  to  transact  business,  under  the  pretext 
that  the  fees  of  officers  could  not  be  legally  taxed  without  an  act 
of  assembly — the  real  ground  being,  it  is  said,  the  desire  of 
bringing  about  an  independent  meeting  of  that  body,  and  of  pro 
tecting  debtors  against  suits,  principally  foreign. 

In  another  correspondence  with  the  governor,  the  assembly 
requested  him  to  give  an  order  for  the  return  of  the  arms;  but 
this  he  refused  to  do,  alleging  that  they  belonged  to  the  king. 
They  also  complained  of  being  compelled  to  communicate  with 
his  excellency  on  board  of  one  of  his  majesty's  armed  ships,  and, 
at  the  distance  of  twelve  miles  from  their  usual  place  of  meeting. 
His  lordship  laid  the  whole  responsibility  of  these  inconveniences 
upon  the  disorders  that  had  driven  him  from  the  seat  of  govern 
ment,  and  required  the  house  to  attend  him  on  board  the  Fowey 
for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  his  signature  to  bills.  Some  of  the 
burgesses  were  disposed  to  acquiesce  in  the  proposed  arrange 
ment;  but  it  was  rejected  upon  a  member's  relating  ^33  sop's  fable 
of  the  sick  lion  and  the  fox.  The  assembly  declared  the  gover 
nor's  message  a  high  breach  of  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the 
house;  they  advised  the  people  of  Virginia  to  prepare  for  the 
preservation  of  their  property,  their  rights,  and  their  liberties. 
It  was  also  resolved  unanimously  that  "we  do  and  will  bear  faith 
and  true  allegiance  to  our  most  gracious  sovereign  George  the 
Third,  our  only  lawful  and  rightful  king;  and  that  we  will  at  all 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  G21 

times,  to  the  utmost  of  our  power,  and  at  the  risk  of  our  lives  and 
property,  maintain  and  defend  his  government  in  this  colony,  as 
founded  on  the  established  laws  and  principles  of  the  constitu 
tion."  They  furthermore  unanimously  declared  their  earnest 
desire  to  preserve  and  strengthen  the  bands  of  amity  with  their 
fellow-subjects  of  Great  Britain. 

On  the  fourteenth  day  of  June,  George  Washington,  upon  the 
nomination  of  Mr.  Thomas  Johnson,  of  Maryland,  was  unani 
mously  elected  by  the  congress,  commander-in-chief  of  the  armies 
of  the  United  Colonies.  John  Adams,  of  Massachusetts,  the 
eloquent  and  indomitable  advocate  of  independence,  had,  on  a 
previous  occasion,  recommended  him  for  the  post,  as  "a  gentleman, 
whose  skill  and  experience  as  an  officer,  whose  independent  for 
tune,  great  talents,  and  excellent  universal  character,  would  com 
mand  the  approbation  of  all  America,  and  unite  the  cordial  exer 
tions  of  all  the  colonies  better  than  any  other  person  in  the  union." 
Mr.  Adams  had  discovered  that  the  preference  of  the  Southern 
members  for  Washington  was  very  strong.  The  pay  of  the 
commander-in-chief  of  the  continental  army  was  fixed  at  the  sum 
of  five  hundred  dollars  a  month.  Washington,  impressed  with  a 
profound  sense  of  the  arduous  responsibility  of  the  trust,  while 
he  gratefully  accepted  it,  declared  at  the  same  time  that  he  did 
not  think  himself  equal  to  it.  He  declined  all  compensation  for 
his  services,  and  made  known  his  intention  to  keep  an  account  of 
his  expenses,  which  he  should  rely  on  congress  to  discharge.  A 
fac-similo  copy  of  his  account,  published  in  recent  times,  attests 
the  fidelity  with  which  he  performed  this  engagement.  It  is 
remarkable  that  while  the  Southern  members  in  general  preferred 
him,  among  those,  who  at  the  first  suggestion  of  his  name  by  Mr. 
Adams,  were  opposed  to  his  appointment,  were  several  of  the 
Virginia  delegates,  and  Mr.  Pendleton,  in  particular,  was  abso 
lutely  against  it ;  but  upon  further  conference  and  reflection  all 
objection  was  withdrawn.  Four  major-generals  were  appointed, 
Ward  of  Massachusetts,  Charles  Lee,  an  Englishman,  Schuyler, 
of  New  York,  and  Putnam,  of  Connecticut.  In  compliance  with 
General  Washington's  request,  his  old  comrade,  Major  Horatio 
Gates,  then  on  his  estate  in  Virginia,  was  appointed  adjutant- 
general.  Washington  was  likewise  warmly  in  favor  of  the 


622  HISTORY   OP    THE    COLONY   AND 

appointment  of  General  Charles  Lee ;  yet  not  without  misgivings 
as  to  his  violent  temper. 

The  Shawnee  hostages  had  disappeared  at  the  time  with  tho 
governor;  and  George  Washington,  Thomas  Walker,  James 
Wood,  Andrew  Lewis,  John  Walker,  and  Adam  Stephen  wero 
appointed  commissioners  to  ratify  a  treaty  with  that  tribe.  It 
was  determined  that  Lord  Dunmore  had  voluntarily  abdicated  tho 
post  of  governor,  and  that  the  president  of  the  council  should 
discharge  the  duties.  The  abdication  was,  no  doubt,  as  "  volun 
tary"  as  that  of  James  the  Second.  The  burgesses  adjourned 
to  the  twelfth  of  October,  and  were  summoned  to  meet  in  con 
vention  on  the  seventeenth  of  July.*  It  was  on  this  occasion 
that  Richard  Henry  Lee,  standing  on  the  17th  of  June,  1775, 
with  two  other  burgesses,  in  the  portico  of  the  capitol,  inscribed 
with  his  pencil,  on  a  pillar,  these  lines, — 

'  When  shall  we  three  meet  again, 
In  thunder,  lightning,  and  in  rain  ? 
When  the  hurlyburly's  done, 
When  the  battle's  lost  and  won." 

On  the  twenty-fourth  the  arms  were  removed  from  the  palace, 
and  lodged  in  the  magazine  of  which  Dr.  Bland  had  the  charge. 
Among  those  engaged  in  removing  them  were  Theodorick  Bland, 
Jr.,  Richard  Kidder  Meade,  Benjamin  Harrison,  of  Berkley, 
George  Nicholas,  Harrison  Randolph,  and  James  Monroe. 

On  the  twenty-sixth  of  June  Mr.  Jefferson  was  added  to  a 
committee  of  congress  appointed  to  draw  up  a  declaration  of  the 
grounds  of  taking  up  arms.  He  prepared  one,  but  it  proving  too 
strong  for  Mr.  Dickinson,  of  Pennsylvania,  he  was  indulged  in 
preparing  a  far  tamer  statement,  which  was  accepted  by  congress. 
Yet  disgust  at  its  humility  was  general,  and  Mr.  Dickinson's 
delight  at  its  passage  was  the  only  circumstance  which  reconciled 
them  to  it.  The  vote  being  passed,  although  farther  observation 
on  it  was  out  of  order,  Dickinson  could  not  refrain  from  rising 
and  expressing  his  satisfaction,  and  concluded  by  saying:  "  There 
is  but  one  word,  Mr.  President,  in  the  paper  which  I  disapprove, 

*  Williamsburg  invited  the  assistance  of  an  additional  volunteer  force  to  guard 
the  town. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  623 

and  that  is  the  word  congress"  On  which  Benjamin  Harrison 
rose  and  said:  "  There  is  but  one  word,  Mr.  President,  of  which. 
I  approve,  and  that  is  the  word  congress." 

The  commander-in-chief  received  his  commission  from  the 
president  of  congress  on  the  twentieth  of  June,  and  on  the  fol 
lowing  day  set  out  for  Boston  on  horseback,  accompanied  by 
General  Lee,  General  Schuyler,  and  an  escort  of  Philadelphia 
cavalry.  They  had  proceeded  about  twenty  miles,  when  they 
were  met  by  an  express  bringing  intelligence  of  the  battle  of 
Bunker's  Hill.  Amid  cheers  and  the  thunder  of  cannon  he 
reached  the  headquarters  of  the  army  at  Cambridge,  on  the 
second  of  July,  and  on  the  third  assumed  the  command.  The 
future  was  full  of  difficulty  and  of  danger;  but  he  confided  in 
that  Divine  Providence  which  wisely  orders  human  affairs. 

Late  in  June  the  Magdalen  sailed  from  York  with  Lady  Dun- 
more,  and  the  rest  of  the  governor's  family,  bound  for  England. 
The  Magdalen  was  convoyed  down  the  York  and  across  the  bay, 
by  the  Fowey.  This  oft-mentioned  old  twenty-gun  man-of-war 
was  shortly  afterwards  relieved  by  the  Mercury,  arid  sailed  with 
Captain  Foy  on  board  for  Boston. 

Dunmore  issued  a  proclamation  commanding  all  subjects  on 
their  allegiance,  to  repair  to  his  standard. 


CHAPTER    LXXXIV. 


Dunmore  at  Portsmouth  —  Convention  —  Committee  of  Safety  —  Carrington,  Read, 
Cabell  —  Henry,  Colonel  and  Commander-in-chief  —  Georgo  Mason  —  Miscella 
neous  Affairs  —  Death  of  Peyton  Randolph  —  The  Randolphs  of  Virginia. 

DUNMORE'S  domestics  now  abandoned  the  palace  and  removed 
to  Porto  Bello,  his  country-seat,  about  six  miles  below  Williams- 
burg.  The  fugitive  governor  took  up  his  station  at  Portsmouth. 

On  Monday,  July  the  17th,  1775,  the  convention  met  at  Rich 
mond.  Measures  were  taken  for  raising  two  regiments  of  regular 
troops  for  one  year,  and  two  companies  for  the  protection  of  the 
western  frontier,  and  to  divide  the  colony  into  sixteen  districts, 
and  to  exercise  the  militia  as  minute-men,  so  as  to  be  ready  for 
service  at  a  moment's  warning.  At  the  instance  of  Richard 
Bland  an  inquiry  was  made  into  certain  charges  reflecting  on 
his  patriotism;  and  his  innocence  was  triumphantly  vindicated. 
Although  he  had  resisted  extreme  measures,  yet  when  the  crisis 
came,  and  the  rupture  took  place,  he  was  behind  none  in  patriotic 
ardor  and  devotion  to  the  common  cause.  A  minister  was  impli 
cated  in  propagating  the  charges  against  him. 

A  committee  of  safety  was  organized  to  take  charge  of  the 
executive  duties  of  the  colony;  it  consisted  of  eleven  gentlemen: 
Edmund  Pendleton,  George  Mason,  John  Page,  Richard  Bland, 
Thomas  Ludwell  Lee,  Paul  Carrington,  Dudley  Digges,  William 
Cabell,  Carter  Braxton,  James  Mercer,  and  John  Tabb. 

Paul  Carrington,  the  ancestor  of  those  bearing  that  name  in  Vir 
ginia,  and  his  wife,  of  the  Heningham  family,  emigrated  from  Ire 
land  to  Barbadoes.  He  died  early  in  the  eighteenth  century,  and 
left  a  widow  and  numerous  children.  The  youngest,  George,  about 
the  year  1727,  came  to  Virginia  with  the  family  of  Joseph  Mayo, 
a  Barbadoes  merchant,  who  settled  at  Powhatan,  the  former  seat 
of  the  chief  of  that  name,  and  young  Carrington  lived  with  him 
(624) 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  625 

in  the  capacity  of  storekeeper.  About  1732  he  married  Anne, 
daughter  of  William  Mayo,  of  Goochland,  brother  of  Joseph,  and 
went  to  reside  on  Willis's  Creek,  in  what  is  now  Cumberland 
County.  Paul  Carrington,  eldest  child  of  this  marriage,  married, 
in  1T55,  Margaret,  daughter  of  Colonel  Clement  Read,  of  Bushy 
Forest,  clerk  of  the  court  of  Lunenburg,  now  Charlotte.  Young 
Carrington,  having  attained  a  practical  knowledge  of  the  law  in 
the  clerk's  office,  soon  acquired  an  extensive  practice.  He  was  a 
burgess  from  Charlotte  in  1765,  and  appears  to  have  voted 
against  Henry's  resolutions.  He  continued  to  be  a  member  of 
the  house  down  to  the  time  of  the  Revolution ;  was  a  member  of 
the  association  of  1670,  and  in  1774  of  the  first  convention; 
and  also  of  those  of  1775  and  1776.  In  the  latter  he  voted  for 
the  resolution  instructing  the  delegates  in  congress  to  propose 
independence,  and  was  a  member  of  the  committee  which  reported 
the  bill  of  rights  and  the  constitution.  He  was  subsequently  a 
judge  of  the  general  court  and  of  the  court  of  appeals,  and  a 
member  of  the  convention  of  1788.  Three  of  his  sons  served  in  the 
army  of  Revolution:  George,  lieutenant  in  Lee's  legion;  Paul, 
who  was  at  the  battles  of  Guilford  and  Greenspring;  and  Cle 
ment,  who  was  wounded  in  the  battle  of  Eutaw  Springs.  Paul 
Carrington,  member  of  the  committee  of  safety,  was  upwards  of 
six  feet  in  stature,  his  features  prominent,  with  bright  blue  eyes, 
and  sandy  hair.  His  seat  was  Mulberry  Hill,  on  the  banks  of 
the  Staunton.*  He  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-five,  having  sur 
vived  all  the  early  Virginia  patriots  of  the  revolutionary  era. 

Edward  Carrington,  his  younger  brother,  was  a  valued  officer 
during  the  revolutionary  war,  and  quartermaster-general  for  the 
Southern  army  under  Greene. 

Colonel  Clement  Read,  father  of  Mrs.  Paul  Carrington,  was 
born  in  Virginia,  (1707,)  his  ancestors  having,  as  is  supposed, 
come  over  shortly  after  the  Restoration,  being  probably  of  the 
Cromwellian  party.  Early  bereft  of  his  father,  he  was  educated 
at  William  and  Mary  under  the  guardianship  of  John  Robinson, 
of  Spotsylvania,  president  of  the  council.  In  1730  Mr.  Read 
was  married  to  Mary,  only  daughter  of  William  Hill,  an  officer 

*  Foote's  Sketches  of  Va.,  second  series,  575;  Grigsby's  Convention  of  '76. 

40 


626  HISTORY   OF   THE   COLONY  AND 

in  the  British  navy,  second  son  of  the  Marquis  of  Lansdowne. 
This  William  Hill  had  married  the  only  daughter  of  Governor 
Jennings,  and  resided  in  what  was  then  Isle  of  Wight  County, 
now  Brunswick. 

Colonel  Isaac  Read,  eldest  son  of  Clement  Read,  was  a  member 
of  the  conventions  of  1774  and  1775,  co-operating  with  Henry 
and  Jefferson.  He  received  in  June,  1776,  a  commission  as 
lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Fourth  Virginia  Regiment,  but  died  not 
long  after  at  Philadelphia,  owing  to  exposure  in  the  public  ser 
vice.  Thomas  Read,  younger  brother  of  Isaac,  was  a  supporter 
of  the  views  of  Henry  and  Jefferson,  and  a  member  of  the  con 
vention  of  1776.*  An  accomplished  gentleman,  he  retained  the 
costume  and  manners  of  a  former  day. 

Dr.  William  Cabell,  head  of  the  family  of  that  name  in  Vir 
ginia,  emigrated  from  Wiltshire,  England,  about  1720,  and  settled 
in  what  is  now  Nelson  County.  He  had  been  a  surgeon  in  the 
English  navy;  was  a  man  of  letters  and  science;  in  his  profes 
sion  well-skilled  and  successful;  sagacious  in  business;  of  a  hu 
morous  fancy;  and  fond  of  wild  sports.  He  died  in  1774  at  an 
advanced  age,  leaving  one  daughter  and  four  sons;  of  these, 
Joseph  Cabell  was  a  burgess  in  1769  and  1770,  and  member  of 
the  convention  in  1775.  John  Cabell  was  a  member  of  the  same, 
and  of  the  convention  of  1776.  Nicholas  Cabell  served  under 
La  Fayette,  and  was  also  in  political  life.  William  Cabell,  the 
eldest  brother,  was  wise  in  council,  energetic  and  fearless  in 
action,  and  widely  influential  in  his  own  region.  He  was  fond  of 
rural  sports,  and  an  expert  horseman.  His  face  was  of  the 
Roman  cast.  Tall,  of  a  fine  person,  and  commanding  presence,  he 
exhibited  the  dignified  simplicity  of  the  Virginia  gentleman  of 
the  old  school.  He  was  a  tobacco-planter,  and  his  extensive  and 
well-ordered  plantations,  besides  the  labors  of  agriculture,  pre 
sented  a  scene  of  industry,  where  the  various  handicrafts  were 
carried  on  by  his  own  blacksmiths,  carpenters,  weavers,  and  shoe 
makers.  Colonel  Cabell  was  systematic  in  business,  and  of 
generous  hospitality.  He  was  a  member  of  the  assembly  in 
1769,  and  a  signer  of  the  association.  He  voted,  in  1775, 

*  Foote's  Sketches,  second  series,  573 ;  Grigsby's  Convention  of  '76. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  627 

against  Henry's  resolutions,  preferring  the  scheme  of  a  regular 
army  presented  by  Colonel  Nicholas.*  Colonel  Samuel  J. 
Cabell,  who  was  at  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution  a  stu 
dent  of  college,  left  it,  and  joined  the  first  armed  corps  raised  in 
Virginia,  and  soon  attained  the  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel  in  the 
continental  army.  He  was  made  a  prisoner  at  the  surrender  of 
Charleston  in  1780,  and  so  remained  till  the  close  of  the  war. 
He  was  afterwards  a  member  of  congress,  and  died  at  his  seat  in 
Nelson  County,  in  1818,  aged  61. 

Patrick  Henry  was  elected,  in  August,  colonel  of  the  first 
regiment  and  commander  of  all  the  forces  raised  and  to  be  raised 
for  the  defence  of  the  colony.  William  Woodford,  of  Caroline 
County,  who  had  served  meritoriously  in  the  French  and  Indian 
war,  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  second  regiment.  A 
strong  effort  was  made  to  elect  Colonel  Hugh  Mercer,  of 
Fredericksburg,  to  the  command  of  the  first  regiment,  and  on  the 
first  ballot  he  received  a  plurality  of  one  vote;  but  the  question 
being  narrowed  down  between  him  and  Mr.  Henry,  the  latter  was 
elected. 

The  expense  of  the  late  Indian  war  was  estimated  at  X150,000 ; 
Virginia's  quota  of  the  charge  of  the  continental  army  .£150,000 ; 
the  charge  of  the  two  new  regiments,  and  the  minute-men,  and 
other  items  of  public  expenditure,  made  a  sum  of  upwards  of 
X500,000.  George  Wythe  was  elected  member  of  congress  in 
the  place  of  Washington,  appointed  commander-in-chief.  When 
the  delegates  were  chosen  for  the  ensuing  congress,  Mr.  Mason 
would  have  been  elected  but  that  he  declared  that  he  could  not 
possibly  attend.  Upon  the  resignation  of  the  aged  Colonel 
Richard  Bland,  a  day  or  two  thereafter,  a  party  headed  by  Colonel 
Henry,  Mr.  Jefferson,  and  Colonel  Paul  Carrington,  appeared 
determined  to  elect  Colonel  Mason  at  all  events.  In  consequence 
of  this,  just  before  the  ballot  was  taken,  he  found  himself  con 
strained  to  make  known  the  grounds  of  his  refusal;  "in  doing 
which,"  he  says,  "I  felt  myself  more  distressed  than  ever  I  was 
in  my  life,  especially  when  I  saw  tears  run  down  the  president's 
(Randolph's)  cheeks."  The  cause  of  Mr.  Mason's  declining  to 

*  Va.  Hist.  Reg.,  iii.  44  and  107;  Grigsby's  Convention  of  '76. 


628  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

serve  was  the  recent  death  of  his  wife,  leaving  a  large  family  of 
children.  Mr.  Mason  nominated  Colonel  Francis  Lightfoot  Lee, 
who  was  elected.  Mr.  Mason  was,  nevertheless,  as  has  been 
seen,  made  a  member  of  the  committee  of  safety,  which  service 
was  even  more  inconvenient  to  him  than  that  of  delegate  to  con 
gress.  But  upon  his  begging  permission  to  resign,  he  was 
answered  by  a  unanimous  "no."  The  staff  officers  of  the  First 
Regiment,  under  Colonel  Henry,  were  Lieutenant-Colonel  Chris 
tian  and  Major  Eppes;  and  in  the  Second  Regiment,  under 
Colonel  Woodford,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Charles  Scott  and  Major 
Alexander  Spotswood.  The  convention  passed  ordinances  for 
raising  money  and  imposing  taxes,  for  furnishing  arms  and  the 
procuring  of  saltpetre,  lead,  and  sulphur,  and  for  encouraging 
the  manufacture  of  gunpowder;  for  regulating  the  elections 
of  delegates ;  and  for  establishing  a  general  test  of  fidelity  to  the 
country.  The  Maryland  Convention  not  concurring  in  the  reso 
lution  prohibiting  the  export  of  provisions,  it  was  rescinded,  and 
the  ports  were  consequently  kept  open  till  the  tenth  of  Septem 
ber.  The  merchants,  natives  of  Great  Britain,  mostly  Scotch, 
resident  in  Virginia,  petitioned  the  convention  to  prescribe  some 
rule  of  conduct  in  their  business  during  the  present  crisis  of  affairs, 
and  were  allowed  to  remain  neutral.  The  committee  of  safety 
met  for  the  first  time  toward  the  end  of  August.  At  the  begin 
ning  of  the  session  of  the  convention,  resolutions  were  passed  by 
way  of  recommendations  for  the  people;  but  afterwards  ordi 
nances  were  enacted  on  all  matters  of  importance  with  the 
formalities  of  a  bill,  passing  through  three  readings. 

In  September  Colonel  Henry  selected  an  encampment  in  the 
rear  of  the  College  of  William  and  Mary.  The  recruits,  regular 
and  minute-men,  poured  rapidly  into  Williamsburg.  In  October 
Matthew  Phripp,  a  Virginian,  in  whom  important  trusts  had  been 
confided,  proving  a  traitor,  went  on  board  of  one  of  Dunmore's 
vessels.  Phripp's  son  likewise  deserted.  Virginia  contrived  to 
import  some  powder  at  this  juncture.  The  people  became  dissat 
isfied  at  the  scarcity  of  salt,  the  importation  of  which  was  pro 
hibited  by  the  articles  of  association;  but  it  would  hardly  have 
been  possible  to  import  it  then,  even  if  allowed  by  law,  Virginia 
not  having  one  armed  vessel  to  protect  her  trade.  Some  persons 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA. 

began  to  manufacture  it  by  evaporating  sea-water  in  pans.  The 
non-importation  afforded  a  new  incentive  to  industry  and  inven 
tion,  threw  the  people  upon  their  own  resources,  and  taught  them 
self-denial,  and  how  to  live  within  themselves.  They  made  less 
tobacco,  and  applied  themselves  more  to  domestic  manufactures. 

On  the  22d  of  this  month,  1775,  died  suddenly  of  an  apoplexy, 
at  Philadelphia,  the  able  and  virtuous  Peyton  Randolph,  presi 
dent  of  congress,  aged  fifty-two  years,  descended  from  a  family 
long  noted  in  Virginia  for  its  wealth,  talents,  and  influence; 
he  was  the  second  son  of  Sir  John  Randolph,  and  Susan 
Beverley,  his  wife.  Peyton  Randolph,  being  bred  to  the  law, 
was,  in  1748,  appointed  king's  attorney  for  the  colony,  being 
then  but  twenty-four  years  of  age.  He  succeeded  Speaker 
Robinson  in  the  chair  of  the  house  of  burgesses  in  1766,  and 
continued  to  preside  over  that  body  until  it  was  superseded  by 
the  conventions.  He  was  made,  in  1773,  a  member  of  the  com 
mittee  of  correspondence,  and  was  at  its  head.  In  March,  1774, 
he  was  unanimously  chosen  president  of  the  first  convention  of 
Virginia.  In  August  he  was  appointed  by  the  convention  one  of 
the  delegates  to  the  congress  wilich  assembled  at  Philadelphia  in 
September,  and  was  unanimously  elected  president  of  it.  In 
person  he  was  tall  and  stately ;  in  manner  grave  and  of  senato 
rial  dignity;  at  home  generous  and  hospitable.  As  a  lawyer 
sound  and  accurate;  in  public  life  of  excellent  judgment,  large 
experience,  and  incorruptible  integrity.*  He  lies  buried  in  the 
chapel  of  William  and  Mary. 

The  progenitor  of  the  Randolphs  was  William  of  Warwick 
shire,  or  as  some  say,  of  Yorkshire,  England,  who  came  over  to 
Virginia  probably  between  1665  and  1675,  poor,  it  is  said.  He 
accumulated  a  large  estate,  and  became  a  member  of  the  house 
of  burgesses  and  of  the  council.  He  appears  to  have  been  inti 
mate  with  the  first  Colonel  William  Byrd,  and  well  acquainted 
with  Lady  Berkley.  He  settled  at  Turkey  Island  on  the  James 
River.  He  married  Mary  Isham,  of  Bermuda  Hundred,  who 
was  descended  from  an  ancient  family  in  Northamptonshire. 
Several  of  their  sons  were  men  of  distinction:  William  was 

*  Grigsby's  Convention  of  Va.  of  '76. 


630  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

member  of  the  council,  and  treasurer;  Isliam  a  member  of  the 
house  of  burgesses  from  Goochland,  (1740,)  and  adjutant-general; 
Richard  was  burgess  for  Henrico,  and  succeeded  his  brother  as 
treasurer.  Sir  John,  sixth  son  of  the  first  William,  was  clerk, 
speaker,  treasurer,  and  attorney-general.  He  died  in  March, 
1737,  aged  forty-four,  and  lies  buried  in  the  chapel  of  William 
and  Mary.*  Peter,  son  of  the  second  William  Randolph,  was 
clerk,  and  attorney-general.  Peyton,  son  of  Sir  John,  was 
attorney-general,  speaker  of  the  house  of  burgesses,  and  presi 
dent  of  the  first  congress.  John,  brother  of  Peyton,  was  attor 
ney-general,  a  votary  of  pleasure;  of  brilliant  talents;  he  sided 
with  Dunmore,  withdrew  from  Virginia  with  him,  and  died  in 
London,  in  January,  1784,  aged  fifty-six.  He  lies  buried  in  the 
chapel  of  William  and  Mary.  Thomas  Mann  Randolph,  great 
grandson  of  the  first  William,  was  member  of  the  Virginia  conven 
tion  of  1775,  from  Goochland.  Beverley  Randolph  was  member 
of  assembly  from  Cumberland  during  the  Revolution,  and  Gover 
nor  of  the  State  of  Virginia.  Edmund  Randolph,  (son  of  John, 
the  attorney-general,)  said  to  have  been  disinherited  by  his  father 
for  refusing  to  adhere  to  the  royal  cause,  was  aid-de-camp  to 
General  Washington,  member  of  the  convention  of  1776,  judge 
of  the  admiralty  court,  member  of  the  congress  of  the  con 
federation,  and  of  the  general  convention  that  framed  the  consti 
tution  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  Virginia  convention  that 
ratified  it,  Governor  of  Virginia,  Attorney-  General  of  the  United 
States,  and  Secretary  of  State.  Robert  Randolph,  son  of  Peter, 
Richard  Randolph,  grandson  of  Peter,  and  David  Meade  Ran 
dolph,  sons  of  the  second  Richard,  were  cavalry  officers  in  the 
war  of  the  Revolution.  David  Meade  .Randolph  was  United 
States  Marshal  for  Virginia.  John  Randolph,  of  Roanoke,  the 
orator,  was  grandson  of  the  first  Richard.  Thomas  Mann  Ran 
dolph,  Jr.,  was  member  of  the  legislature  of  Virginia,  and  of 
congress,  and  Governor  of  Virginia.  Richard  Bland,  of  the  old 
congress,  Thomas  Jefferson,  Theodorick  Bland,  Jr.,  Richard 
Henry  Lee,  Arthur  Lee,  and  Francis  Lightfoot  Lee,  William 


*  A  small  work  on  gardening,  printed  at  Petersburg,  in  1807,  is  attributed  to 
him. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  631 

Stith,  the  historian,  and  Thomas  Marshall,  father  of  the  chief 
justice,  were  all  descended  from  William  Randolph,  of  Turkey 
Island. 

Jane  Boiling,  great  granddaughter  of  Pocahontas,  married 
Richard  Randolph,  of  Curies.  John  Randolph,  Sr.,  the  seventh 
child  of  that  marriage,  married  Frances  Bland,  and  John  Ran 
dolph,  of  Roanoke,  the  orator,  was  one  of  the  children  of  this 


The  members  of  the  numerous  family  of  the  Randolphs  in 
several  instances  adopted  the  names  of  their  seats  for  the  pur 
pose  of  distinction,  as  Thomas  of  Tuckahoe,  Isham  of  Dunge- 
ncss,  Richard  of  Curies,  John  of  Roanoke.  The  following  were 
seats  of  the  Randolphs  on  the  James  River:  Tuckahoe,  Chats- 
worth,  "Wilton,  Varina,  Curies,  Bremo,  and  Turkey  Island. 


CHAPTER    LXXXV. 


Dunm  ore's  War  —  Captain  Squires  —  "Woodford  sent  against  Dunmore  —  Woodford 
and  Henry  —  Aifairs  at  Great  Bridge  —  Battle  of  Great  Bridge  —  Howe  assumes 
Command  —  Indignity  offered  Henry  —  Committee  of  Safety  —  Pendleton  —  Howe 
occupies  Norfolk. 

DUNMORE  in  the  meanwhile  had  rallied  a  band  of  lories,  run 
away  negroes,  and  British  soldiers,  and  collected  a  naval  force, 
and  was  carrying  on  a  petty  warfare.  Captain  Squires,  of  his 
majesty's  sloop  Otter,  during  the  summer  cruised  in  the  James 
and  York,  plundering  the  inhabitants  and  carrying  off  slaves. 
Early  in  September  a  tender  laden  with  stores,  being  driven  ashore 
near  Hampton,  Squires  (who  happened  to  be  in  her)  and  most  of 
the  crew  escaped.  The  sloop  was  burnt  by  the  inhabitants. 
Squires  in  retaliation  threatening  Hampton,  Major  Innes,  with  a- 
hundred  men,  was  sent  down  from  Williarnsburg  to  defend  it. 
Squires  in  the  latter  part  of  October  appeared  near  Hampton 
with  several  vessels,  and  threatened  to  land  and  burn  the  town. 
It  was  defended  by  a  company  of  regulars  under  Captain  George 
Nicholas,  a  company  of  minute-men,  and  some  militia.  Upon 
Squires  attempting  to  land  a  skirmish  ensued,  and  the  enemy  was 
driven  off  with  some  loss.  Squires'  party  returning  on  the  next 
day,  burnt  down  a  house  belonging  to  a  Mr.  Cooper.  Intelli 
gence  of  this  affair  having  reached  Williamsburg,  a  company  of 
riflemen  was  sent  to  Hampton,  and  Colonel  Woodford  was  des 
patched  to  take  command  there.  Upon  their  arrival  on  the 
next  morning,  Squires  began  to  fire  upon  the  town,  but  was  again 
compelled  to  retire.  These  petty  hostilities  were  the  subject  of 
humorous  remark  in  the  Virginia  Grazette.* 


*  John  Banister  proposing  to  turn  his  saw-mill  at  Petersburg  into  a  powder- 
mill,  the  convention  ordered  saltpetre  and  sulphur  to  be  sent  there  for  him. 

(632) 


ANCIENT    DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  633 

Dunmore,  on  the  7th  of  November,  1775,  proclaimed  martial- 
law,  summoned  all  persons  capable  of  bearing  arms  to  his  stan 
dard,  on  penalty  of  being  proclaimed  traitors,  and  offered  freedom 
to  all  servants  and  slaves  who  should  join  him.  He  had  now  the 
ascendency  in  the  country  around  Norfolk,  which  abounded  in 
tories.  The  committee  of  safety  despatched  "Woodford  with  his 
regiment  and  two  hundred  minute-men,  amounting  in  all  to  eight 
hundred  men,  with  orders  to  cross  the  James  River  at  Sandy 
Point  and  go  in  pursuit  of  Dunmore.  Colonel  Henry  had  been 
desirous  to  be  employed  in  this  service,  and,  it  was  said,  solicited 
it,  but  the  committee  of  safety  refused,  and  amid  such  exciting 
events  he  found  himself,  eager  as  he  was  for  action,  and  ardent 
and  impetuous  as  was  his  nature,  still  compelled  to  sit  down  in 
active  in  Williamsburg,  where  he  had  been  quartered  since  Sep 
tember.  At  length  after  the  lapse  of  nearly  another  month  of 
tedious  inaction,  during  which  he  received  no  regular  communica 
tions  from  Colonel  Woodford,  Colonel  Henry  wrote  to  him  thus : 
"Not  hearing  of  any  despatch  from  you  for  a  long  time,  I  can  no 
longer  forbear  sending  to  know  your  situation  and  what  has 
occurred?"  Woodford  on  the  next  day  replied  from  the  Great 
Bridge,  near  Norfolk,  and  said:  "When  joined  I  shall  always 
esteem  myself  immediately  under  your  command,  and  will  obey 
accordingly,  but  when  sent  to  command  a  separate  and  distinct 
corps,  under  the  immediate  instructions  of  the  committee  of  safety, 
whenever  that  body,  or  the  honorable  convention  is  sitting,  I  look 
upon  it  as  my  indispensable  duty  to  address  my  intelligence  to 
them  as  the  supreme  power  in  this  colony."  Thus  Colonel  Henry's 
chagrin  at  not  being  permitted  to  inarch  himself  against  Dun- 
more  was  aggravated  by  Colonel  Woodford' s  declining,  while  de 
tached,  to  acknowledge  his  superiority  in  command.  Woodford, 
upon  approaching  Dunmore,  found  that  he  had  entrenched  him 
self  on  the  north  side  of  the  Elizabeth  River,  at  the  Great  Bridge, 
about  twenty  miles  from  Norfolk.  Judge  Marshall  says  that  it 
was  necessary  for  the  Provincials  to  cross  it  in  order  to  reach 


Richard  Bland  advised  that  saltpetre  should  be  made  at  Appomattox  warehouses, 
(Petersburg,)  fearing  that  supineness  possessed  all  ranks,  and  offering  to  contri 
bute  toward  that  useful  work. 


634  HISTORY    OP    THE    COLONY   AND 

Norfolk,  but  Thomas  Ludwell  Lee,  writing  at  the  time,  says  that 
there  were  other  ways  by  which  to  pass  to  Norfolk.  "  Our  army 
has  been  for  some  time  arrested  in  its  march  to  Norfolk  by  a 
redoubt,  or  stockade,  or  hog-pen,  as  they  call  it  here,  by  way  of 
derision,  at  the  end  of  this  bridge.  Though,  by  the  way,  this 
hog-pen  seems  filled  with  a  parcel  of  wild  boars,  which  we  appear 
not  overfond  to  meddle  with."  Some  of  the  more  eager  patriots 
were  apprehensive  that  Woodford  would  be  amused  at  that  post 
until  Dunmore  should  finish  his  fortifications  at  Norfolk,  where 
he  was  now  entrenching  and  mounting  cannon,  some  hundreds  of 
negroes  being  employed  in  the  work.  Added  to  this  the  advanced 
season  of  the  year  and  the  hourly  expectation  of  the  enemy's 
receiving  a  re-enforcement  from  St.  Augustine,  as  was  known  by 
intercepted  intelligence,  made  a  bold  movement  necessary,  "while 
we  walk  too  cautiously  in  the  road  of  prudence." 

Dunmore's  power  on  land  was  confined  to  the  counties  of  Nor 
folk  and  Princess  Anne;  his  recent  course  had  united  the  colony 
with  few  exceptions  against  him,  and  if  the  ministry  had  ran 
sacked  the  whole  world  for  the  person  of  all  others  the  best  fitted 
to  ruin  their  cause,  they  could  not  have  found  a  fitter  agent  than 
Lord  Dunmore.  He  had  just  now  proclaimed  liberty  to  the 
slaves,  and  declared  martial-law. 

It  was  believed  that  one  frigate  could  capture  the  whole  of  his 
fleet,  and  other  vessels  laden  with  the  floating  property  of  tories, 
of  enormous  value.  John  Page  wished  earnestly  for  a  few  armed 
vessels  to  keep  possession  of  the  rivers,  the  arteries  of  commerce, 
at  the  least  the  upper  parts  of  them.  While  five  thousand  men 
could  not  defend  so  exposed  a  coast  against  the  depredations  of 
Dunmore's  fleet,  yet  five  hundred  in  armed  vessels  could  easily 
take  the  fleet.  But  a  majority  of  the  committee  of  safety  and  of 
the  convention,  held  it  in  vain  for  Virginia  then  to  attempt  any 
thing  by  water.* 

Dunmore  had  erected  a  small  fort  on  an  oasis  surrounded  by  a 
morass,  not  far  from  the  Dismal  Swamp,  accessible  on  either  side 
only  by  a  long  causeway.  Woodford  encamped  within  cannon- 

*  Lee  Papers,  S.  Lit.  Messr.,  1858,  p.  254. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF    VIRGINIA.  635 

shot  of  this  post,  in  mud  and  mire,  in  a  village  at  the  southern 
end  of  the  causeway,  across  which  he  threw  up  a  breast-work,  but 
being  destitute  of  artillery  he  did  not  attack  the  fort.  After  a 
few  days  Dunmore,  hearing  by  a  servant  lad,  who  had  deserted 
from  Woodford's  camp,  that  his  force  did  not  exceed  three  hun 
dred  men,  mustered  his  whole  strength  and  despatched  them  in 
the  night  to  the  fort,  with  orders  to  force  the  breast-works  early 
next  morning,  or  die  in  the  attempt.  On  the  9th  of  December, 
1775,  a  little  before  sunrise,  Captain  Fordyce,  at  the  head  of 
sixty  grenadiers,  who  six  abreast  led  the  column,  advanced  along 
the  causeway.  Colonel  Bullet  first  discovered  the  enemy,  and 
the  alarm  being  given  in  "VYoodford's  camp,  a  small  guard  at  the 
breast-works  began  the  fire,  others  hastened  from  their  tents,  and 
regardless  of  order,  kept  up  a  fire  on  the  head  of  the  column. 
Fordyce,  though  received  so  warmly  in  front,  and  flanked  by  a 
party  posted  on  a  rising  ground  to  his  right,  rallied  his  men,  and 
marched  up  within  twenty  yards  of  the  breast-work,  when  he  fell 
pierced  with  bullets.  His  followers  now  retreated,  and  at  this 
juncture  Colonel  Woodford  arrived,  and  directed  a  pursuit  of  the 
enemy,  who  were  galled  by  a  handful  of  riflemen  under  Colonel 
Stephen,  but  found  protection  under  cover  of  the  guns  of  the  fort. 
Woodford  declined  attempting  to  storm  the  works,  although 
strongly  urged  to  it  by  the  bold  and  ardent  Bullet  and  the  enthu 
siastic  wishes  of  the  troops. 

In  the  battle  of  the  Great  Bridge  every  grenadier  was  killed, 
and  the  enemy's  killed  and  wounded  amounted  to  about  one  hun 
dred.  Four  officers  were  killed,  one  wounded  and  made  prisoner. 
The  affair  has  been  styled  "a  Bunker  Hill  in  miniature:"  but 
there  the  loss  was  very  heavy  on  both  sides ;  whereas  here  Wood- 
ford's  troops  suffered  no  loss. 

John  Marshall,  afterwards  chief  justice,  was  in  this  expedition.* 
Richard  Kidder  Meade,  father  of  Bishop  Meade,  was  also  present 
at  the  affair  of  the  Great  Bridge.  This  was  the  first  scene  of 
revolutionary  bloodshed  in  Virginia.  On  the  night  following  this 


*  An  account  of  his  visit  to  Yorktown  shortly  after  the  battle,  and  his  court 
ship,  by  John  Eston  Cooke,  is  to  be  found  in  Historical  Magazine  for  June,  1859. 


636  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

action  the  royalists  evacuated  the  fort,  and  Dunmore  took  refuge 
on  board  of  his  fleet.  Colonel  Howe,  with  five  or  six  hundred 
North  Carolina  troops,  now  joined  Woodford,  and  assumed  com 
mand  at  the  Great  Bridge,  with  the  consent  of  Woodford,  who 
yielded  to  the  seniority  of  his  commission.  Colonel  Henry  now 
saw  the  colonel  of  the  second  Virginia  regiment,  who  had  refused 
to  acknowledge  his  command,  submitting  himself  to  an  officer  of 
no  higher  rank,  and  of  another  colony.  He  found  himself, 
although  invested  with  the  title  of  commandcr-in-chief,  yet 
virtually  superseded  and  reduced  to  the  mere  shadow  of  a  name. 
To  nullify  his  superiority  of  command  the  committee  had  only  to 
detach  his  subordinate  officers. 

On  the  thirteenth  of  December  a  member  of  the  convention 
wrote  to  Colonel  Woodford:  "I  have  talked  with  Colonel  Henry 
about  this  matter;  he  thinks  he  has  been  ill-treated,  and  insists 
the  officers  under  his  command  shall  submit  to  his  orders:"  and 
again,  "A  commander  or  general,  I  suppose,  will  be  sent  us  by 
the  congress,  as  it  is  expected  our  troops  will  be  upon  continental 
pay."  Mr.  Pendleton,  chairman  of  the  committee,  in  a  letter 
dated  December  the  twenty-fourth,  and  addressed  to  Colonel 
Woodford,  said :  "  The  field-officers  to  each  regiment  will  be 
named  here  and  recommended  to  congress ;  in  case  our  army  is 
taken  into  continental  pay,  they  will  send  commissions.  A 
general  officer  will  be  chosen  there,  I  doubt  not,  and  sent  us ;  with 
that  matter  I  hope  we  shall  not  intermeddle,  lest  it  should  be 
thought  propriety  requires  our  calling,  or  rather  recommending, 
our  present  officer  to  that  station."  It  appears  that  Colonel 
Henry  had  not  owed  his  military  appointment  to  those  members 
of  the  committee  of  safety  who  conducted  the  correspondence.* 
Mr.  Pendleton  looked  upon  the  appointment  of  Henry  as  an 
" unlucky  step."  Pendleton  and  Woodford  were  both  of  the 
County  of  Caroline. 

Late  in  December,  Colonel  Henry  insisting  upon  a  determina 
tion  of  the  question  thus  raised  between  him  and  Colonel  Wood- 
ford,  the  committee  passed  the  following  resolution: — 

"Jiesolved,    Unanimously,   that   Colonel    Woodford,    although 

*  Wirt's  Life  of  Patrick  Henry,  171. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  637 

acting  upon  a  separate  and  detached  command,  ought  to  corre 
spond  with  Colonel  Henry,  and  make  returns  to  him  at  proper 
times  of  the  state  and  condition  of  the  forces  under  his  command, 
and  also  that  he  is  subject  to  his  orders  when  the  convention  or 
the  committee  of  safety  is  not  sitting;  but  that  while  either  of 
these  bodies  is  sitting  he  is  to  receive  his  orders  from  one  of 
them." 

This  decision  virtually  annulled  the  power  of  Henry  as  com- 
mander-in-chief.  The  clause  of  the  ordinance  of  convention 
which  authorized  the  committee  to  direct  military  movements  is 
the  following: — 

"And  ivhereas  it  may  be  necessary  for  the  public  security  that 
the  forces  to  be  raised  by  virtue  of  this  ordinance  should,  as  occa 
sion  may  require,  be  marched  to  different  parts  of  the  colony, 
and  that  the  officers  should  be  subject  to  a  proper  control, — 

"Be  it  ordained  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That  the  officers 
and  soldiers  under  such  command  shall,  in  all  things  not  other 
wise  particularly  provided  for  by  this  ordinance  and  the  articles 
established  for  their  regulation,  be  under  the  control  and  subject 
to  the  order  of  the  general  committee  of  safety."* 

It  could  hardly  be  said  of  Woodford  and  his  men  that  they 
were  marched  to  a  different  part  of  the  colony;  he  and  Colonel 
Henry  were  still  in  the  same  quarter  of  Virginia,  and  not  far 
apart.  For  so  numerous  a  body  as  the  convention,  or  even  the 
committee  of  safety,  to  assume  all  the  functions  of  the  Commander- 
in-chief,  was  incompatible  with  the  unity,  secrecy,  and  prompti 
tude  demanded  in  the  conduct  of  war.  If  not.  of  what  advantage 
was  the  appointment  of  a  commander-in-chief  at  all?  If  the 
committee,  by  such  a  construction  of  their  powers,  could  virtually 
annul  the  authority  of  the  commander-in-chief,  he,  whose  powers 
were  at  the  least  as  ample  as  theirs,  might,  by  a  like  construction, 
have  repudiated  their  authority.  The  conduct  of  the  committee 
toward  Colonel  Henry  was  strongly  censured  by  the  people  as 
well  as  the  troops,  and  they  imputed  it  to  personal  envy.f  Those, 
however,  who  approved  of  the  committee's  course,  attributed  it 
to  a  want  of  confidence  in  Colonel  Henry,  as  deficient  in  military 

*  Journal  of  the  Convention  of  1775.  f  Wirt's  Henry,  178. 


638  ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA. 

experience.*     Other  mortifications  were  in  store  for  the  man  of 
the  people. 

Shortly  after  the  battle  of  the  Great  Bridge  the  Provincials, 
under  Howe,  took  possession  of  Norfolk,  encamped  there  in  the 
"Town  Camp." 


*  And  perhaps  as  unduly  familiar  with  the  men  under  his  command.  As  an 
instance  of  this  it  is  said  that  he  was  seen  among  them  with  his  coat  off — a  grave 
charge  indeed ! 


CHAPTER    LXXXVI. 


Manufacture  of  Gunpowder  —  Norfolk  burnt — Dunmore's  conduct — Henry  re 
signs — Indignation  of  troops — Troops  at  "\Villiamsburg — General  Orders. 

Ox  Christmas  day,  1775,  Benjamin  Harrison,  Jr.,  having  leave 
of  absence  from  the  convention  for  three  days,  at  the  Lower 
Ferry,  on  Chickahominy  River,  was  conferring  with  Jacob  Rubsa- 
men,  in  his  broken  English,  in  regard  to  the  manufacture  of  salt 
petre;  he  having  been  sent  on  by  the  Virginia  delegates  in 
congress  to  superintend  the  manufacture  of  gunpowder.  Mr. 
Harrison's  father  and  himself  were  disposed  to  "be  dabbling  in 
the  saltpetre  way."  Rubsamen  afterwards  manufactured  much 
saltpetre  and  powder  in  Virginia,  and  was  involved  in  no  little 
trouble  in  the  work,  and  in  getting  paid  for  it. 

On  the  twenty-eighth  of  December  Edmund  Pendleton  writes 
to  Richard  Henry  Lee :  "  If  the  house  of  Bourbon  mean  to  join  us 
it  will  be  soon,  lest  the  progress  of  the  enemy  should  make  our 
connection  less  valuable  by  the  destruction  of  our  commercial 
cities." 

Dunmore's  fleet  being  distressed  for  provisions,  upon  the  arrival 
of  the  Liverpool  man-of-war  from  England,  a  flag  was  sent  on 
shore  to  enquire  whether  the  inhabitants  would  supply  his  ma 
jesty's  ship?  It  was  answered  in  the  negative;  and  the  ships  in 
the  harbor  being  continually  annoyed  by  a  fire  from  the  quarter 
of  the  town  lying  next  the  water,  Dunmore  determined  to  dis 
lodge  the  assailants.  Previous  notice  having  been  given  to  the 
inhabitants,  January  the  1st,  1776,  a  party  of  sailors  and  marines 
landed,  and  set  fire  to  the  nearest  houses.  The  party  was  covered 
by  a  cannonade  from  the  Liverpool  frigate,  two  sloops-of-war, 
and  the  governor's  armed  ship,  the  Dunmore.  A  few  were  killed 
and  wounded  on  both  sides. 

A  printer's  press  had  been  removed  from  Norfolk  some  time 
before  this  on  board  the  governor's  ship,  and  according  to  his 

(639) 


640  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

bulletin  published  after  this  affair,  it  was  only  intended  to  destroy 
that  part  of  the  town  next  the  water.  But  the  provincials, 
strongly  prejudiced  against  the  place  as  a  harbor  for  torics,  made 
no  attempts  to  arrest  the  flames.  After  four-fifths  of  the  town 
were  destroyed,  Colonel  Howe,  who  had  waited  on  the  convention 
to  urge  the  necessity  of  completing  the  destruction,  returned  with 
orders  to  that  effect,  which  were  immediately  carried  into  execu 
tion.  Thus  fell  the  most  populous  and  flourishing  town  in  Vir 
ginia.  Its  rental  amounted  to  §44,000,  and  the  total  loss  was 
estimated  at  §1,300,000.  It  is  said  that  alone  of  all  the  civil 
and  military  leaders  of  the  colony.  General  Andrew  Lewis  opposed 
the  order  for  burning  Norfolk. 

In  February,  the  North  Carolina  provincials  defeated  the 
royalists  at  Moore's  Creek  Bridge.  This  well-timed  and  vigorous 
blow  intimidated  the  tories,  and  animated  the  patriots  with  new 
ardor. 

Dunmore  continued  to  carry  on  a  predatory  warfare  on  the 
rivers,  burning  houses  and  plundering  plantations,  and  had  now 
rendered  himself  the  object  of  general  execration. 

During  February  John  Page  wrote  to  Richard  Henry  Lee:  "I 
have  been  always  of  your  opinion  with  respect  to  our  present  com- 
mander-in-chief.  All  orders  do  pass  through  him,  and  we  really 
wish  to  be  in  perfect  harmony  with  him."  The  convention  of 
Virginia  having  raised  six  additional  regiments,  solicited  congress 
to  take  the  Virginia  troops  on  continental  establishment.  That 
body,  doubtless  misled  by  the  intrigues  of  the  same  cabal  which 
had  already  virtually  deprived  Colonel  Henry  of  his  command, 
resolved  to  take  the  six  new  regiments,  passing  by  the  first  two, 
so  as  to  exclude  Colonel  Henry  from  the  chief  command,  to  which 
he  was  best  entitled.  The  convention  of  Virginia,  however,  inter 
posing  at  this  point,  remonstrated  against  the  degradation  of  the 
officers  of  their  first  choice,  and  earnestly  requested  congress, 
should  it  adhere  to  the  determination  of  taking  only  six  regiments 
into  continental  pay,  to  allow  the  two  first  raised  to  stand  first  in 
the  new  arrangement.  This  request  was  nominally  agreed  to, 
but  at  the  same  time  when  a  commission  of  colonel  was  forwarded 
to  him,  commissions  of  brigadier-general  were  forwarded  to  Colo- 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  641 

nel  Howe  and  Colonel  Andrew  Lewis.  A  commission,  dated  at 
Philadelphia,  February  the  13th,  1776,  appointing  Colonel  Henry 
to  the  command  of  the  first  Virginia  regiment  taken  upon  the 
continental  establishment,  was  forwarded  by  congress  to  the  com 
mittee  of  safety. 

Colonel  Henry  felt  himself  compelled  by  every  sentiment  of 
self-respect  to  refuse  it,  and  immediately  resigned  that  which  he 
held  from  the  state.  The  troops  encamped  at  Williamsburg,  upon 
hearing  of  his  resignation,  went  into  mourning,  and  being  under 
arms,  waited  on  him  at  his  lodgings  on  the  last  day  of  February. 
In  their  address  they  deplored  his  withdrawal  from  the  army, 
but  applauded  his  just  resentment  at  "a  glaring  indignity." 
Colonel  Henry  in  replying  said:  "This  kind  testimony  of  your 
regard  to  me  would  have  been  an  ample  reward  for  services  much 
greater  than  those  I  have  had  the  power  to  perform."  "I  leave 
the  service,  but  I  leave  my  heart  with  you.  May  God  bless  you, 
and  give  you  success  and  safety,  and  make  you  the  glorious 
instrument  of  saving  our  country."  In  the  evening  they  assem 
bled  tumultuously,  and  unwilling  to  serve  under  any  other  com 
mander,  demanded  their  discharge.  Colonel  Henry  felt  himself 
obliged  to  defer  his  departure  a  while,  and  he,  who  was  in  the 
following  year  accused  of  a  desire  to  make  himself  dictator,  now 
visited  the  barracks,  and  employed  his  eloquence  in  allaying  these 
alarming  commotions. 

Washington,  in  a  letter  to  Joseph  Reed,  dated  March  the 
seventh,  wrote :  "  I  think  my  countrymen  made  a  capital  mistake 
when  they  took  Henry  out  of  the  senate  to  place  him  in  the  field, 
and  pity  it  is  that  he  does  not  see  this,  and  remove  every  difficulty 
by  a  voluntary  resignation."  Mr.  Reed,  in  his  reply,  dated  at  Phila 
delphia,  said  to  Washington:  "We  have  some  accounts  from  Vir 
ginia  that  Colonel  Henry  has  resigned  in  disgust  at  not  being  made 
a  general  officer ;  but  it  rather  gives  satisfaction  than  otherwise,  as 
his  abilities  seem  better  calculated  for  the  senate  than  the  field." 
In  the  same  letter  Mr.  Reed  wrote :  "  It  is  said  the  Virginians 
are  so  alarmed  with  the  idea  of  independence  that  they  have  sent 
Mr.  Braxton  on  purpose  to  turn  the  vote  of  that  colony,  if  any 
question  on  that  subject  should  come  before  congress."  Mr. 

41 


642  HISTORY  or  THE  COLONY  AND 

Reed  himself  had  entertained  strong  misgivings  on  the  question 
of  independence. 

During  this  month  Colonel  Henry  was  addressed  by  ninety 
officers  at  Kemp's  Landing,  at  Suffolk,  in  Colonel  "VVoodford's 
camp,  and  at  Williamsburg.  In  this  address  they  said:  "We 
join  with  the  general  voice  of  the  people,  and  think  it  our  duty 
to  make  this  public  declaration  of  our  high  respect  for  your  dis 
tinguished  merit.  To  your  vigilance  and  judgment  as  a  senator 
this  united  continent  bears  ample  testimony,  while  she  prosecutes 
her  steady  opposition  to  those  destructive  ministerial  measures 
which  your  eloquence  first  pointed  out  and  taught  to  resent,  and 
your  resolution  led  forward  to  resist."  "We  have  the  fullest  con 
fidence  in  your  abilities  and  the  rectitude  of  your  views;  arid 
however  willing  the  envious  may  be  to  undermine  an  established 
reputation,  we  trust  the  day  will  come  when  justice  shall  prevail, 
and  thereby  secure  you  an  honorable  and  happy  return  to  the 
glorious  employment  of  conducting  our  councils  and  hazarding 
your  life  in  the  defence  of  your  country."  The  imputation  of 
envy  was  aimed  at  the  committee  of  safety  as  a  body,  or  what  is 
more  probable,  at  some  individual  or  individuals  of  it,  who  were 
believed  to  be  the  secret  authors  of  that  series  of  indignities  which 
had  driven  Colonel  Henry  from  military  life.*  The  people  re 
garded  the  indignities  shown  to  their  favorite  as  an  effort  to  pinion 
the  eagle,  whose  adventurous  wing  had  launched  into  the  storm 
and  cuffed  the  tempestuous  clouds,  while  others  sat  crouching  in 
their  conservative  nests,  mute  and  thunderstruck. 

In  the  mean  time  the  troops  remained  quartered  at  Williams- 
burg,  f  In  a  general  order  issued  in  March  the  soldiers  were  called 


*  Wirt's  Life  of  Patrick  Henry,  206. 

f  GENERAL  ORDERS. —  Williamsburg,  Headquarters,  March  19<A,  .1776. 

March  23.  "The  officers  are  desired  to  examine  strictly  into  their  respective 
companies  that  no  gaming  be  carried  on  of  any  kind  whatsoever.  When  there 
is  any  leisure  time  from  their  duties  of  the  camp,  every  one  will  be  improving 
himself  in  the  military  service,  and  not  pass  over  in  idleness,  or  business  of  a 
•worse  tendency,  the  peaceable  and  precious  hours  now  on  hand.  The  officers 
•will  in  every  respect  attend  to  the  morals  of  their  men,  and  endeavor  to  train 
the  youths  under  their  particular  care,  as  well  in  a  moral  as  in  a  military  way 
of  life." 

March  27.   "The  grand  squad  to  turn  out  at  three  o'clock  on  the  parade,  if 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF    VIRGINIA.  643 

upon  to  devote  themselves  to  their  duty,  to  exert  themselves  in 
learning  the  necessary  discipline,  to  respect  the  persons  and  pro 
perty  of  their  fellow-citizens;  and  the  officers  were  exhorted  to 
fit  themselves  and  the  men  for  the  high  trust  of  defending  the 
property  and  liberty  of  their  country. 


tlio  weather  will  permit ;  the  awkward  squad  to  turn  out  at  seven  o'clock  in  the 
forenoon,  likewise  at  three  in  the  afternoon,  and  to  exercise  for  two  hours  each 
time,  under  the  direction  of  a  commissioned  officer,  sergeant,  and  corporal,  who 
are  accountable  for  any  neglect  of  duty  in  management  of  thai  squad;  those 
captains  who  have  any  awkward  men,  or  men  without  arms,  are  to  apply  to  the 
commanding  officer  for  an  order  for  such  arms  in  the  magazine  as  will  do  to  ex 
ercise  with,  and  to  be  answerable  for  their  return  when  called  for.  Captain 
Cabell's  company  to  draw  ammunition  to-day  for  the  trial  of  their  rifles  to 
morrow,  between  the  hours  of  eight  and  ten  in  the  forenoon.  The  men  are  to 
provide  a  target  to-day." 

P..  0.  "All  the  gentlemen  cadets*  are  desired  to  attend  the  parade  constantly; 
likewise  a  list  of  their  names,  to  be  given  in  to  the  colonel  to-morrow  forenoon, 
specifying  the  time  of  their  entering,  and  with  what  captain.  The  colonel  has 
thought  proper  to  appoint  Matthew  Snook  as  fife-major,  and  William  Croker  as 
drum-major;  and  they  are  to  be  obeyed  as  such,  and  are  to  practice  the  young 
fifers  and  drummers  between  the  hours  of  ten  and  eleven  o'clock  every  day,  and 
take  care  that  they  perform  their  several  duties  with  as  much  exactness  as  pos 
sible.  The  officers  and  cadets  are  to  give  in  their  names  as  is  directed  in  the 
foregoing  orders.  A  regimental  court-martial  to  sit  at  twelve  o'clock,  for  the 
trial  of  John  Hogins,  of  Captain  Massie's  company.  Captain  Johnston,  presi 
dent.  Members,  Lieutenant  Hobson,  Lieutenant  Burton,  Ensign  Stokes,  Ensign 
Armistead.  Officer  for  the  day,  to-morrow,  Captain  Cabell.  Officers  for  the 
guard  to-morrow,  Lieutenant  Jones,  Lieutenant  Garland,  Ensign  Catlett.  Cap 
tain  Ruffin  to  find  one  cadet  and  fourteen  privates."  Extracted  from  MS.  Orderly 
Book,  obligingly  lent  me  by  Mr.  John  M.  West,  of  Petersburg. 


A  cadet  was  a  young  man  serving  in  the  ranks  without  pay,  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  a  commission. 


CHAPTER    LXXXVII. 

17VG. 

Patrick  Henry,  Delegate  to  Convention — Convention  at  Williamsburg — Pendleton, 
President — Corbin's  Petition — Worruley's  Petition — Nelson's  Letter  urging 
Independence — Braxton's  Pamphlet — Delegates  in  Congress  instructed  to  pro 
pose  Independence — Declaration  of  Rights — Constitution — Patrick  Henry, 
Governor — George  Mason — Miscellaneous. 

IMMEDIATELY  upon  his  return  to  Hanover,  Mr.  Henry  was 
elected  a  delegate  to  the  convention  which  was  soon  to  meet.  In 
a  letter,  dated  April  twentieth,  Richard  Henry  Lee  exhorted  him 
to  propose  a  separation  from  Great  Britain.* 

The  convention  met  on  the  6th  of  May,  1776,  at  Williamsburg. 
Edmund  Pendleton  was  nominated  by  Richard  Bland,  for  the 
post  of  president,  and  the  nomination  was  seconded  by  Archibald 
Gary;  Thomas  Ludwell  Lee  was  nominated  by  Thomas  Johnson, 
of  Louisa,  and  seconded  by  Bartholomew  Dandridge.  Mr.  Lee's 
nomination,  made  by  Mr.  Henry's  warm  supporters,  indicates  the 
dissatisfaction  felt  toward  Mr.  Pendleton.  The  last  mentioned 
gentleman,  who  was  admirably  qualified  for  the  place,  was 
elected ;  by  what  vote  is  not  known.  In  his  address  he  reminded 
the  convention  that  the  administration  of  justice,  and  almost  all 
the  powers  of  government,  had  now  been  suspended  for  nearly  two 
years;  and  he  called  on  them  to  reflect  whether  they  could  in 
that  situation  longer  sustain  the  struggle  in  which  they  were 
engaged.  Having  suggested  certain  subjects  for  their  considera 
tion,  he  exhorted  them  to  be  composed,  unanimous,  and  diligent. 

John  Goodrich,  Jr.,  a  suspected  person,  was  confined,  by  order 
of  the  convention,  to  his  room,  in  Williamsburg,  under  guard. 
The  court  of  commissioners  for  Gloucester  having  found  John 
Wilkie  guilty  of  giving  intelligence  to  the  enemy,  his  estate  was 


*  Convention  of  '76,  p.  8,  in  note. 

'644) 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  645 

confiscated,  and  Sir  John  Peyton,  Baronet,  appointed  commis 
sioner  to  put  the  proceeds  into  the  treasury.  John  Tayloe  Cor- 
bin  presented  a  petition  setting  forth  that  in  October,  1775,  a 
time  when  all  America,  as  well  in  congress  as  in  conventions, 
was  avowing  loyalty  to  the  king,  he  wrote  a  letter  to  Charles 
Neilson,  Esq.,  of  Urbanna,  who  was  going  to  Norfolk,  in  conse 
quence  of  which  he  had  been  arrested  by  military  warrant,  and 
was  now  confined  in  the  guard-house.  The  convention  ordered 
that  for  the  present  he  should  be  confined  to  his  room  in  "Wil- 
liamsburg,  under  guard.  Shortly  after  he  was  ordered  to  be 
confined  to  the  region  between  the  Matapony  and  the  Pamunkey 
in  Caroline,  and  give  bond  in  the  penalty  of  ten  thousand  pounds. 

Ralph  Wormley,  in  a  petition,  apologised  for  a  letter  which  he 
had  written  to  Lord  Dunmore,  communicating  his  opinions  on  the 
state  of  affairs,  and  which  had  excited  the  indignation  of  the 
country  against  him;  declared  that  he  had  ever  disclaimed  par 
liament's  right  of  taxation  over  this  continent,  but  that  it  was  his 
misfortune  to  differ  in  sentiments  from  the  mode  adopted  to  obtain 
a  renunciation  of  that  unconstitutional  claim,  praying  to  be 
released  from  confinement,  submitting -to  the  mercy  of  his  coun 
try,  and  promising  in  future  to  conduct  himself  in  conformity 
with  the  ordinances  of  the  convention.  He  was  ordered  to  con 
fine  himself  to  Berkley  County,  and  that  part  of  his  father's 
estate  which  lay  in  Frederick,  and  to  give  a  bond  with  a  penalty 
of  ten  thousand  pounds. 

On  the  eighth  Thomas  Nelson,  Jr.,  addressed  a  letter  to  a 
member  of  the  convention,  in  which  he  says:  "Since  our  con 
versation,  yesterday,  my  thoughts  have  been  sorely  employed  on 
the  great  question,  whether  independence  ought,  or  ought  not,  to 
be  immediately  declared?  Having  weighed  the  arguments  on 
both  sides,  I  am  clearly  of  opinion  that  we  must,  as  we  value  the 
liberties  of  America,  or  even  her  existence,  without  a  moment's 
delay,  declare  for  independence.  If  my  reasons  appear  weak, 
you  will  excuse  them  for  the  disinterestedness  of  the  author,  as  I 
may  venture  to  affirm  that  no  man  on  this  continent  will  sacrifice 
more  than  myself  by  the  separation."  He  combats  the  objection 
that  the  sentiments  of  France  and  Spain  should  be  ascertained 
previously;  because  there  was  reason  to  hope  that  their  senti- 


546  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLOXY  AND 

mcnts  would  be  favorable,  and  because  at  any  rate,  in  the  peril 
ous  situation  of  the  colonies,  the  hazard  must  be  ventured  on.. 
France  could  not  fail  to  understand  that  the  breaking  up  of  the 
English  monopoly  of  the  American  trade  would  enure  to  her  own 
benefit.  The  fear  that  France  might  be  diverted  from  an  alliance 
by  an  offer  of  partition  from  Great  Britain,  appeared  chimerical, 
and  contrary  to  the  settled  policy  of  the  court  of  Louis  the  Six 
teenth.  In  any  case  delay  in  declaring  independence  would  be 
ruinous,  as  without  it  the  soldiers,  disheartened,  would  abandon 
their  colors.  Mr.  Nelson  in  conclusion  adds:  "I  can  assure  you, 
sir,  that  the  spirit  of  the  people,  (except  a  very  few  in  these  lower 
parts,  whose  little  blood  has  been  sucked  out  by  mosquitoes,)  cry 
out  for  this  declaration.  The  military  in  particular,  men  and 
officers,  are  outrageous  on  the  subject;  and  a  man  of  your  excel 
lent  discernment  need  not  be  told  how  dangerous  it  would  be  in 
our  present  circumstances  to  dally  with  the  spirit,  or  disappoint 
the  expectations  of  the  bulk  of  the  people. 

About  this  time  there  was  published,  at  Philadelphia,  a 
pamphlet,  by  Carter  Braxton,  entitled  "An  Address  to  the  Con 
vention  of  the  Colony  and- Ancient  Dominion  of  Virginia  on  the 
subject  of  Government."  It  was  looked  upon  as  expressing  the 
views  of  "the  little  junto  from  whence  it  proceeded,"  and  was 
denounced  in  a  letter  by  Richard  Henry  Lee  as  exhibiting  "con 
fusion  of  ideas,  aristocratic  pride,  contradictory  reasoning  with 
evident  ill  design." 

On  the  fifteenth  of  May  Archibald  Gary  reported,  from  the 
committee  of  the  whole  house,  a  preamble  and  resolutions  which 
were  unanimously  adopted.  The  preamble  recited  how  all  the 
efforts  of  the  colonies  to  bring  about  a  reconciliation  with  Great 
Britain,  consistently  with  the  constitutional  rights  of  America, 
had  produced  only  additional  insults  and  new  acts  of  oppression; 
and  it  recapitulated  these  acts.  The  first  resolution  instructed 
the  Virginia  delegates  in  congress  to  propose  to  that  body  "to 
declare  the  United  Colonies  free  and  independent  states;"  the 
second  ordered  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  prepare  "a 
declaration  of  rights,"  and  a  plan  of  government.  The  preamble 
and  resolutions  were  drawn  up  by  Edmund  Pendleton,  offered  in 
committee  of  the  whole  house  by  Thomas  Nelson,  Jr.,  and  sup- 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  647 

ported  by  the  eloquence  of  Patrick  Henry.*  On  the  next  day 
the  resolutions  were  read  to  the  troops  quartered  at  Williamsburg, 
under  command  of  General  Andrew  Lewis;  a,  feu  de  joie  was 
fired  amid  the  acclamations  of  the  people,  and  the  union  flag  of 
the  American  States  waved  from  the  capital,  and  in  the  evening 
Williamsburg  w^as  illuminated. 

Patrick  Henry  in  a  letter,  dated  at  Williamsburg,  May  twen 
tieth,  wrote  to  Richard  Henry  Lee:  "  The  grand  work  of  forming 
a  constitution  for  Virginia  is  now  before  the  convention,  where 
your  love  of  equal  liberty  and  your  skill  in  public  counsels  might 
so  eminently  serve  the  cause  of  your  country.  Perhaps  I'm 
mistaken,  but  I  fear  too  great  a  bias  to  aristocracy  prevails 
among  the  opulent.  I  own  myself  a  democratic  on  the  plan  of 
our  admired  friend,  J.  Adams,  whose  pamphlet  I  read  with  great 
pleasure.  A  performance  from  Philadelphia  is  just  come  here, 

ushered  in,  I'm  told,  by  a  colleague  of  yours,  B ,  and  greatly 

recommended  by  him.  I  don't  like  it.  Is  the  author  a  whig? 
One  or  two  expressions  in  the  book  make  me  ask.  I  wish  to 
divide  you  and  have  you  here  to  animate,  by  your  manly  elo 
quence,  the  sometimes  drooping  spirits  of  our  country,  and  in 
congress  to  be  the  ornament  of  your  native  country,  and  the 
vigilant,  determined  foe  of  tyranny.  To  give  you  colleagues  of 
kindred  sentiments  is  my  wish.  I  doubt  you  have  them  not  at 
present.  A  confidential  account  of  the  matter  to  Colonel  Tom,f 
desiring  him  to  use  it  according  to  his  discretion,  might  greatly 
serve  the  public  and  vindicate  Virginia  from  suspicions.  Vigor, 
animation,  and  all  the  powers  of  mind  and  body  must  now  be 
summoned  and  collected  together  into  one  grand  effort.  Modera 
tion,  falsely  so  called,  hath  nearly  brought  on  us  final  ruin.  And 
to  see  those  who  have  so  fatally  advised  us  still  guiding,  or  at 
least  sharing  our  public  councils,  alarms  me."J 

There  was  an  apprehension  felt  by  some  at  this  time  lest  Eng 
land,  in  order  to  prevent  France  from  assisting  the  colonies, 
should  offer  to  divide  them  with  her.  Patrick  Henry  in  the  same 


*  These  facts  were  stated  by  Edmund  Randolph  in.  his  address  at  the  funeral 
of  Pendleton.   (Grigsby'a  Convention  of  76,  p.  203.) 

f  Thomas  Nelson,  Jr.  J  S.  Lit.  Messenger,  1842,  p.  260. 


648  HISTORY  or  THE  COLONY  AND 

letter  wrote  to  Richard  Henry  Lee:  "Ere  this  reaches  you  our 
resolution  for  separating  from  Britain  will  be  handed  you  by 
Colonel  Nelson.  Your  sentiments  as  to  the  necessary  progress 
of  this  great  affair  correspond  with  mine.  For  may  not  France, 
ignorant  of  the  great  advantages  to  her  commerce  we  intend  to 
offer,  and  of  the  permanency  of  that  separation  which  is  to  take 
place,  be  allured  by  the  partition  you  mention  ?  To  anticipate, 
therefore,  the  efforts  of  the  enemy  by  sending  instantly  American 
ambassadors  to  France,  seems  to  me  absolutely  necessary.  Delay 
•may  bring  on  us  total  ruin.  But  is  not  a  confederacy  of  our 
states  previously  necessary?"  His  comprehensive  eye  glanced 
from  the  fisheries  of  the  north  to  the  Mississippi  and  western 
lands.  "Notwithstanding  solicitations  from  every  great  land 
company  to  the  west,  I've  refused  to  join  them.  I  think  a 
general  confiscation  of  royal  and  British  property  should  be 
made.  The  fruits  would  be  great,  and  the  measure  in  its  utmost 
latitude  warranted  by  the  late  act  of  parliament." 

In  the  convention  a  committee  of  thirty-four,  Archibald  Gary 
being  chairman,  were  appointed  to  prepare  a  declaration  of  rights 
and  a  plan  of  government.  The  declaration  was  reported  and 
adopted  on  the  fifteenth  of  June,  and  the  plan  of  government  on 
the  twenty-ninth,  (five  days  in  advance  of  the  declaration  of 
independence  of  the  United  Colonies,) — both  by  a  unanimous 
vote.  The  declaration  of  rights  and  constitution  were  draughted 
by  George  Mason. 

George  Mason,  first  of  the  family  in  Virginia,  had  been  a 
member  of  parliament  in  England,  and,  at  the  breaking  out  of 
the  civil  wars,  had  sided  with  King  Charles  the  First,  although, 
like  Falkland,  not  wholly  approving  his  course,  organized  a  mili 
tary  corps,  and  fought  on  the  royal  side  until  the  overthrow  at 
Worcester.  After  this  catastrophe  he  came  over  to  Virginia  and 
landed  in  Norfolk  County,  (1651,)  and  was  soon  followed  by  his 
family.  He  removed  to  Acohick  Creek,  on  the  Potomac.  He 
commanded  (1676)  a  volunteer  force  against  the  Indians,  and  in 
the  same  year  represented  the  County  of  Stafford  in  the  assem 
bly,  being  a  colleague  of  the  author  of  "  T.  M.'s  Account  of 
Bacon's  Rebellion,"  who  was  probably  Thomas  Matthews,  son  of 
Samuel  Matthews,  some  time  Governor  of  Virginia.  The  County 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  649 

of  Stafford  had  been  carved  out  of  Westmoreland  in  the  preced 
ing  year,  and  was  so  called  by  Colonel  Mason  in  honor  of  his 
native  county  of  Staffordshire,  England.  His  eldest  son, 
George,  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Gerard  Fowke,  of  Gunston 
Hall,  in  that  English  county.  Their  eldest  son,  George  Mason, 
third  of  the  name,  also  lived  in  Acohick,  and  lies  buried  there. 
George  Mason,  fourth  in  descent,  and  eldest  son  of  George,  last 
named,  married  a  daughter  of  Stevens  Thomson,  of  the  Middle 
Temple,  attorney-general  of  Virginia  in  the  reign  of  Queen 
Anne.  He  resided  at  Doeg  Neck,  on  the  Potomac,  then  in  Staf 
ford,  now  in  Fairfax,  and  was*  lieutenant  and  chief  commander 
of  Stafford.  He  was  drowned  by  the  upsetting  of  a  sail-boat  in 
the  Potomac.  He  left  two  sons  and  a  daughter.  One  of  the 
sons  was  George,  author  of  the  constitution  of  Virginia,  and  the 
other,  Thomson  Mason,  a  member  of  the  house  of  burgesses,  an 
eminent  lawyer,  and  true  patriot.  He  was  elected  one  of  the 
judges  of  the  first  general  court.  He  suffered  from  the  gout, 
and  one  of  Governor  Tazewell's  earliest  recollections  is  the  having 
seen  him  carried  into  court  when  laboring  under  that  disease. 
His  son,  Stevens  Thomson  Mason,  was  a  member  of  the  Virginia 
Convention  of  1788,  and  United  States  Senator,  and  his  son, 
Armistead  Thomson  Mason,  was  also  a  Senator  of  the  United 
States  from  Virginia.  George  Mason,  fifth  of  the  name,  was 
born  at  Doeg's  Neck  in  1726;  he  married  Ann  Eilbeck,  of 
Charles  County,  Maryland,  and  built  a  new  mansion  on  the  high 
banks  of  the  Potomac,  and  called  it  Gunston  Hall. 

George  Mason  was,  in  1776,  fifty  years  of  age.  His  com 
plexion  was  swarthy,  his  face  grave,  with  a  radiant  dark  eye,  his 
raven  hair  sprinkled  with  gray;  his  aspect  rather  foreign; 
nearly  six  feet  in  stature,  of  a  large  athletic  frame,  and  active 
step.f  His  presence  was  commanding,  his  bearing  lofty.  He 
was  fond  of  hunting  and  angling.  He  was  a  systematic,  wealthy, 
and  prosperous  planter;  indifferent  to  the  temptations  of  political 
ambition;  devoting  his  leisure  to  study.  Mr.  Madison  pro 
nounced  him  the  ablest  man  in  debate  that  he  had  ever  seen, 

*  1719. 

f  His  portrait  is  preserved,  and  a  copy  of  it  is  in  the  hall  of  the  Historical 
Society  in  Richmond. 


650  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

Although  a  warm  adherent  of  the  house  of  Hanover,  and  at  the 
first  averse  to  independence,  jet  he  assumed  the  boldest  position 
and  maintained  it.  In  the  year  1766  he  concluded  a  letter  to  the 
London  merchants,  on  the  repeal  of  the  stamp  act,  thus :  "  These 
are  the  sentiments  of  a  man  who  spends  most  of  his  time  in 
retirement,  and  has  seldom  meddled  in  public  affairs;  who  enjoys 
a  moderate  but  independent  fortune,  and,  content  with  the  bless 
ings  of  a  private  station,  equally  disregards  the  smiles  and  the 
frowns  of  the  great.  His  pamphlet  entitled  "Extracts  from  the 
Virginia  Charters,  with  some  Remarks  upon  them,"  was  consi 
dered  a  masterly  exposition  of  the  rights  of  the  colonies.* 

Of  Mr.  Mason's  sons,  George,  the  eldest,  sixth  of  the  name, 
was  captain  in  the  Virginia  line  of  the  Revolution,  arid  inherited 
Gunston  Hall.  The  fourth  son  was  the  late  General  John 
Mason,  of  Analostan  Island,  near  Washington  City.  The  Honora 
ble  James  Murray  Mason,  United  States  Senator  for  Virginia,  is 
a  son  of  the  last  named,  f 

The  preamble  to  the  constitution,  containing  a  recital  of  wrongs, 
was  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  who  was  at  that  time  attend 
ing  the  session  of  congress  at  Philadelphia.];  George  Mason, 
the  author  of  the  first  written  constitution  of  a  free  common 
wealth  ever  framed,  was  pre-eminent  in  an  age§  of  great  men  for 
his  extensive  information,  enlarged  views,  profound  wisdom,  and 
the  pure  simplicity  of  his  republican  principles. ||  As  a  speaker 
he  was  devoid  of  rhetorical  grace,  but  earnest  and  impressive. 

Immediately  upon  the  adoption  of  the  constitution,  the  salary  of 
the  governor  wras  fixed  at  one  thousand  pounds  per  annum,  and 
Patrick  Henry,  Jr.,  wras  elected  the  first  republican  Governor  of 
Virginia,  he  receiving  sixty  votes,  and  Thomas  Nelson,  Sr.,  forty- 

*  Convention  of  '76,  p.  157  f  Ibid.,  156,  in  note. 

J  Journal  of  Convention  of  1776;  "Wirt's  Henry,  195;  Grigsby's  Convention 
of  '76,  p.  19. 

\  Patrick  Henry  in  a  letter  to  Richard  Henry  Lee,  dated  December  18th,  1777, 
quoted  in  Grigsby's  Convention  of  1776,  p.  142,  in  note,  states  that  there  was 
opposition;  but  the  vote  appears  unanimous  on  the  journal.  The  persons  who 
opposed  it  were  known,  but  were  so  few  they  did  not  think  fit  to  divide  the 
house,  or  contradict  the  general  voice.  Ibid.,  161,  in  note.  The  same  persons 
subsequently  opposed  the  confederation. 

II  His  statue  is  to  stand  on  the  monument  in  Richmond. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  G51 

five.  Mr.  Henry  received  an  address  from  the  two  regiments  which 
he  had  recently  commanded,  congratulating  him  upon  his  "unso 
licited  promotion  to  the  highest  honors  a  grateful  people  can 
bestow,"  and  they  declared,  as  they  had  been  once  happy  under  his 
military  command,  they  hoped  for  more  extensive  blessings  from 
his  civil  administration. 

The  newly-appointed  governor  closed  his  reply  by  saying:  "I 
trust  the  day  will  come  when  I  shall  make  one  of  those  that  will 
hail  you  among  the  triumphant  deliverers  of  America."  The 
first  council  appointed  under  the  new  constitution  consisted  of 
John  Page,  Dudley  Digges,  John  Tayloe,  John  Blair,  Benjamin 
Harrison  of  Berkley,  Bartholomew  Dandridge,  Thomas  Nelson, 
Sr.,  and  Charles  Carter,  of  Shirley.  Mr.  Nelson  declining  the 
appointment  on  account  of  infirm  old  age,  his  place  was  supplied 
by  Benjamin  Harrison,  of  Brandon.  It  is  a  remarkable  instance 
of  the  vicissitudes  of  fortune,  that  "a  certain  Patrick  Henry, 
Jr.,"  against  whom  Governor  Dunmore  had  so  lately  fulminated 
his  angry  proclamation,  now  came  to  be  the  occupant  of  the 
palace  at  Williamsburg  as  governor  and  commander-in-chief. 
Although  the  leaders  of  the  conservative  party  looked  at  the 
contest  with  Great  Britain  in  a  very  different  light  from  that  in 
which  it  was  viewed  by  the  movement  and  popular  party,  and 
although  the  animating  motives  of  the  two  were  so  different,  yet 
in  the  face  of  imminent  common  danger  they  conspired  with 
extraordinary  unanimity  in  the  common  cause.  So  the  mainmast 
of  a  ship  of  the  line,  though  composed  of  several  pieces  banded 
together,  is  stronger  than  if  made  of  a  single  spar.* 

*  Extract  from  Orderly  Book: — 

" WILLIAMSBURG,  May,  14th,  1776. 

"  Parole — Liberty. 

"The  many  applications  for  furloughs  make  it  necessary  for  Brigadier- 
General  Lewis  to  mention  in  orders  as  improper  in  our  critical  situation,  and 
hopes  that  no  request  of  this  kind  for  the  future,  until  circumstances  will  admit, 
•will  be  made. 

"Officer  for  day  to-morrow,  Lieutenant-Colonel  McClenahan.  Officers  for 
guard,  Lieutenant  Garland,  Ensign  Barksdale.  For  guard,  8  p.  1  s.  1  c." 

"  WILLIAMSBURG,  May  17th,  1776. 

"  Parole — Convention. 

"  Let  it  not  be  forgot  that  this  day  is  set  apart  for  humiliation,  fasting,  and 
prayer:  the  troops  to  attend  divine  service." 


CHAPTER    LXXXVIII. 


Richard  Henry  Lee  moves  a  Resolution  for  a  Separation  —  Seconded  by  John 
Adams  —  Declaration  of  Independence  —  Jefferson  —  General  Orders  —  Thorn;;  s 
Nelson,  Jr.,  and  the  Nelsons  —  Benjamin  Harrison,  Jr.,  and  the  Harrisons- 
George  Wythe. 

ON  the  7th  day  of  June,  1776,  a  resolution  in  favor  of  a  total 
and  immediate  separation  from  Great  Britain  was  moved  in  con 
gress  by  Richard  Henry  Lee,  and  seconded  by  John  Adams. 
On  the  twenty-eighth  a  committee  was  appointed  to  prepare  a 
declaration  of  independence,  the  members  being  Thomas  Jefferson, 
John  Adams,  Benjamin  Franklin,  and  Robert  R,  Livingston. 
Richard  Henry  Lee  being  compelled,  by  the  illness  of  Mrs.  Lee, 
to  leave  congress  on  the  day  of  the  appointment  of  the  committee, 
and  to  return  to  Virginia,  his  place  was  filled  by  Roger  Sherman. 
The  declaration,  adopted  on  the  4th  day  of  July,  177G,  was  com 
posed,  in  committee,  mainly  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  but  much  modified 
by  congress.  The  Virginia  delegates  who  subscribed  it  were 
George  Wythe,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  Thomas  Jefferson,  Benjamin 
Harrison,  Jr.,  of  Berkley,  Thomas  Nelson,  Jr.,  Francis  Lightfoot 
Lee,  and  Carter  Braxton.* 

*  Extracts  from  Orderly  Book:  — 

"  SPRING  FIELD,  July  17th,  177G. 

"General  Lewis  hopes  that  the  reports  of  some  of  the  officers  gaming  to  ex 
cess  is  without  foundation:  he  begs  that  the  field-officers  will  make  diligent 
enquiry  into  it,  and  if  true,  to  arrest  such  officers,  that  a  total  stop  may  be  put 
to  so  infamous  practices. 

"Officer  for  the  day  LIEUTENANT-COLONEL  WEEDON." 

"SPRING  FIELD,  July  24th,  1776. 

"  The  Declaration  of  Independency  is  to  be  proclaimed  to-morrow  in  the  City 
of  Williamsburg,  by  order  of  the  council,  when  all  the  troops  off  duty  are  to 

attend." 

"WILLIAMSBURG,  July  26th,  1776. 

"Parole—  Stephen. 

"A  fatigue  of  one  captain,  two  subalterns,  two  sergeants,  and  sixty  rank  and 
file,  to  be  warned  from  the  College  Camp,  to  carry  on  the  work  intended  to  be 
thrown  up  on  the  road  to  Jamestown. 

(652) 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  653 

Thomas  Nelson,  Jr.,  eldest  son  of  the  Honorable  William 
Nelson,  some  time  president  of  the  council  of  Virginia,  was  born 
at  York,  in  December,  1738.  His  mother  was  of  the  family  of 
Burwell.  After  having  been  under  the  tuition  of  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Yates,  of  Gloucester,  he  was  sent  at  the  age  of  fifteen  to  England, 
where  he  remained  seven  years,  for  the  completion  of  his  educa 
tion.  He  enjoyed  the  superintending  care  of  Dr.  Porteus,*  and 
was  at  the  school  of  Dr.  Newcome,  at  Hackney,  at  Eton  in  1754, 
and  at  Cambridge.  While  on  his  voyage  returning  to  Virginia 
he  was  elected  (1774)  a  member  of  the  house  of  burgesses,  being 
then  just  twenty-one  years  of  age,  f  He  was  a  member  of  the 
conventions  of  1774  and  1775,  and  displayed  extraordinary  bold 
ness  in  opposing  the  British  tyranny.  He  was  afterwards  ap 
pointed  colonel  of  a  Virginia  regiment.  In  1775  and  1776  he 
was  a  member  of  Congress.  There  is  a  fine  portrait  of  him  still 
preserved,  taken,  it  is  said,  while  he  was  a  student  at  Eton,  (by 
an  artist  named  Chamberlin,  London,  1754,)  the  only  portrait 
of  him  for  which  he  ever  sat.J 

The  first  of  the  Nelsons  of  Virginia  was  Thomas,  son  of  Hugh 
and  Sarah  Nelson,  of  Penrith,  Cumberland  County,  England. 
This  Thomas  Nelson  was  born  in  February,  1677,  and  died  in 
October,  1745,  aged  sixty-eight.  He  married,  first,  a  Miss  Reid, 
secondly,  a  widow  Tucker.  Coming  from  a  border  county,  he 
was  styled  "Scotch  Tom."  He  was  an  importing  merchant. 
Yorktown  was  in  his  day,  and  for  a  long  time,  the  chief  sea-port 
town  of  Virginia.  Of  his  two  sons,  Thomas  being  long  secretary 
of  the  council,  was  known  as  Secretary  Nelson.  Three  of  his 
sons  were  officers  in  the  army  of  the  Revolution. 

William,  the  other  son  of  the  first  Thomas  Nelson,  imported 
goods  not  only  for  Virginia,  but  at  times  for  Baltimore,  and  even 

''Colonel  Buckner  will  please  to  order  a  fatigue  proportioned  to  his  number  of 
men,  to  work  on  the  road  from  Burwell's  Ferry  to  Williamsburg,  at  such  a  place 
as  he  shall  judge  proper  to  fortify.  One  company  of  the  second  regiment  to  take 
post  to-morrow  at  Mr.  Burwell's,  to  erect  a  work  at  the  mouth  of  King's  Creek.  The 
rest  of  the  second  regiment  to  march  to-rnorrow  to  Mr.  Digges's,  to  fortify  there." 

*  He  afterwards  sent,  by  Parson  Bracken,  a  volume  of  his  sermons,  a  present 
to  young  Nelson.  The  parson  liked  them  so  well  that  he  preached  them  all  be 
fore  he  delivered  the  book. 

f  Old  Churches,  of  Va.,  i.  207. 


654  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

Philadelphia.  Negroes  were  a  principal  subject  of  importation; 
merchants  and  planters  of  chief  note,  some  of  them  leading  men 
in  the  colony,  and  patrons  of  the  church,  engaged  in  it;  and  no 
odium  appears  to  have  been  attached  to  a  business  in  which  British 
capital  was  so  largely  interested,  which  was  so  constantly  en 
couraged  and  protected  by  the  British  government,  and  which 
had  been  so  long  an  established  feature  of  the  colonial  system, 
and  so  generally  concurred  in.  John  Newton,  while  personally 
engaged  in  the  slave-trade  on  board  of  a  Guinea  ship,  appears  to 
have  entertained  at  the  time  no  scruples  whatever  on  the  subject  of 
his  employment.  It  is  no  matter  of  surprise  that  a  Virginia  con 
signee  of  slaves  should  have  received  them  with  a  like  indifference. 

William  Nelson  married  a  Miss  Bur  well,  a  granddaughter  of 
King  Carter.  Having  been  long  president  of  the  council,  and  at 
one  time  acting  governor,  he  came  to  be  known  by  the  title  of 
President  Nelson.  He  died  in  November,  1772,  aged  sixty-one, 
leaving  an  ample  estate.  His  sons  were  Thomas,  Hugh,  William, 
Nathaniel,  and  Robert.  A  daughter,  Betsy,  married,  in  1769, 
Captain  Thompson,  of  his  majesty's  ship  Ripon,  which  brought 
over  Lord  Botetourt.  The  portion  descending  to  Thomas,  oldest 
son  of  President  Nelson,  and  who  had  been  associated  in  business 
with  him,  was  estimated  at  forty  thousand  pounds. 

Benjamin  Harrison,  Jr.,  of  Berkley,  was  descended  from  an 
cestors  who  were  among  the  early  settlers  of  Virginia.  Hermon 
Harrison  carne  to  Virginia  in  the  second  supply,  as  it  was  called. 
One  of  the  name  was  governor  of  Bermuda.  John  Harrison  was 
governor  of  Virginia  in  1623.  The  common  ancestor  of  the  Har 
risons  of  Berkley  and  of  Brandon,  was  Benjamin  Harrison,  of 
Surrey.  He  lies  buried  in  the  yard  of  an  old  chapel  near  Cabin 
Point,  in  that  county.* 

*  The  following  is  his  epitaph: — 

"Herelyeth 
the  body  of  the 

HON.  BENJAMIN  HARRISON,  ESQ., 
•who  did  justice,  loved  mercy,  and  walked  humbly  with  his  God; 

was  always  loyal  to  his  prince, 
and  a  great  benefactor  to  his  country. 

He  was  born  in  this  parish  the  20th  day  of  September,  164;},  and  departed  this 
life  the  30th  day  of  January,  1712-13." 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF    VIRGINIA.  655 

It  was  long  believed  that  the  Harrisons  of  Virginia  were 
lineally  descended  from  Colonel  John  Harrison,  the  regicide  and 
friend  of  Cromwell,  and  one  of  the  noblest  spirits  in  a  heroic 
age.  This  tradition,  however,  appears  to  be  erroneous.  The 
first  of  the  family  in  Virginia,  of  whom  we  have  any  particular 
record,  was  the  Honorable  Benjamin  Harrison,  of  Surrey,  who 
was  born  in  that  county  in  1645,  during  the  civil  war  in  England. 
It  is  certain  that  he  could  not  have  been  a  son  of  Colonel  Har 
rison,  the  regicide.  He  may  have  been  a  collateral  relation. 

The  first  Benjamin  Harrison  (of  Surrey)  had  three  sons,  of 
whom  Benjamin,  the  eldest,  settled  at  Berkley.  He  married 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Louis  Burwell,  of  Gloucester;  was  a 
lawyer,  and  speaker  of  the  house  of  burgesses.  He  died  in 
April,  1710,  aged  thirty-seven,  leaving  an  only  son,  Benjamin, 
and  an  only  daughter,  Elizabeth. 

Benjamin  Harrison,  Jr.,  of  Berkley,  was  educated  at  William 
and  Mary;  married  a  daughter  of  Robert  Carter,  of  Corotoman;* 
and  was  for  many  years  a  burgess  for  his  native  county,  Charles 
City.  In  1764  he  was  one  of  the  committee  chosen  to  prepare 
an  address  to  the  king,  a  memorial  to  the  lords,  and  a  remon 
strance  to  the  commons,  in  opposition  to  the  stamp  act.  Like 
Pendleton,  Bland,  and  others,  he  opposed  Henry's  resolutions  of 
the  following  year.  He  was  a  member  of  the  committee  of  cor- 

O     t/ 

respondence,  and  of  all  the  conventions  held  before  the  organiza 
tion  of  the  republican  government.  He  opposed  Henry's  resolu 
tions  for  putting  the  colony  in  a  posture  of  defence,  but  was 
appointed  one  of  the  committee  chosen  to  carry  them  into  effect. 
He  was  elected,  in  1774,  a  delegate  to  the  first  congress,  of  which 
his  brother-in-law,  Peyton  Randolph,  (who  married  Elizabeth 
Harrison,)  was  president.  In  February,  1776,  he  remarked  in 
that  body:  "We  have  hobbled  on  under  a  fatal  attachment  to 
Great  Britain.  I  felt  it  as  much  as  any  man,  but  I  feel  a  stronger 
for  my  country."  As  chairman  of  the  committee  of  the  whole 
house,  Mr.  Harrison,  on  the  10th  of  June,  1776,  introduced  the 
resolution  declaring  the  independence  of  the  colonies,  and  on  the 


*  Two  daughters  of  this  union  were  killed  at  Berkley  by  the  same  flash  of 
lightning:   a  third  married  a  Eandolph,  qf  Wilton. 


656  IIISTOKY  or  THE  COLONY  AND 

fourth  day  of  July  lie  reported  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
of  which  he  was  a  signer.  He  was  six  feet  in  stature,  corpulent, 
and  of  a  florid  complexion.  He  was  practical,  energetic,  frank, 
epicurean,  gouty,  good-humored,  fearless,  and  patriotic.* 

The  sons  of  the  first  Benjamin  Harrison,  of  Berkley,  were 
Benjamin,  signer  of  the  Declaration;  Charles,  a  general  of  the 
Revolution;  Nathaniel,  Henry,  Collier,  and  Carter  H.  From 
the  last-mentioned  are  descended  the  Harrisons  of  Cumberland. 
Benjamin  Harrison,  Jr.,  the  signer,  married  a  Miss  Bassett. 
Their  children  were  Benjamin,  Carter,  Bassett,  member  of  con 
gress,  and  William  Henry,  President  of  the  United  States.  One 
daughter  married  a  Mr.  Richardson,  a  second  married  first  Wil 
liam  Randolph,  of  Wilton,  and  then  Captain  Richard  Singleton; 
a  third  married  David  Copeland,  and  a  fourth  married  John 
Minge,  of  Weyanoke,  afterwards  of  Sandy  Point.  So  far  the 
Berkley  branch  of  the  Harrisons. 

The  second  son  of  Benjamin  Harrison,  of  Surrey,  was  Nathaniel. 
His  eldest  son  was  of  the  same  name,  and  his  only  son  was  Hon 
orable  Benjamin  Harrison,  of  Brandon,  of  the  council  at  the 
same  time  with  his  relative  and  namesake  of  Berkley  at  the  com 
mencement  of  the  Revolution.  This  Benjamin  Harrison,  of 
Brandon,  was  father  of  the  late  George  Harrison,  and  of  William 
B.  Harrison,  of  Brandon. 

George  Wythe  was  born  in  1726,  in  Elizabeth  City  County, 
Virginia,  on  the  shore  of  the  Chesapeake.  From  his  maternal 
grandfather,  Keith,  a  Quaker,  he  inherited  a  taste  for  letters. 
His  ancestor,  Thomas  Wythe,  was  burgess  for  that  county  in 
1718.  The  father  of  George  was  a  prudent  farmer  of  estimable 
character. f  George,  the  second  son,  losing  his  father  at  an  early 
age,  enjoyed  but  limited  advantages  of  school  education,  and  his 
early  tuition  was  principally  directed  by  his  mother;  and  it  is 
related  that  he  acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  Latin  classics  from 
her  instructions.];  Mr.  Jefferson  mentions  tnat  while  young 
Wythe  was  studying  the  Greek  Testament,  his  mother  held  an 
English  one  to  aid  him  in  the  translation.  It  has  been  since 
inferred,  from  an  examination  of  his  manuscripts,  that  this  last 

*  Convention  of  1776,  p.  96;  Allen's  Biog.  Dictionary. 

f  Grigsby's-  Convention  of  1776,  p.  125.  J  Wirt's  Patrick  Henry,  65. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  657 

was  the  only  kind  of  assistance  that  he  received  from  her  in  the 
Latin  and  Greek.  He  studied  law  under  his  uncle,  John  Lewis, 
of  Prince  George;  but,  upon  the  death  of  his  elder  brother  and 
his  mother,  becoming  master  of  a  competent  fortune,  he  fell  into 
habits  of  idleness  and  dissipation.  Like  Swift,  however,  he  was 
not  one  who,  having  wasted  part  of  his  life  in  indolence,  was  will 
ing  to  throw  away  the  remainder  in  despair;  and  in  the  society 
of  Governor  Fauquier  and  Professor  Small  he  imbibed  their  love 
of  learning;  and  at  the  age  of  thirty  applied  himself  unremit- 
tedly  to  study.  lie  became,  eventually,  distinguished  by  his 
attainments  in  classical  literature ;  and  lie  pursued  other  studies 
with  a  like  success.  But  he  often  deplored  the  loss  of  so  many 
early  golden  years.  His  learning,  judgment,  and  industry  soon 
raised  him  to  eminence  at  the  bar.  A  member  of  the  house  of 
burgesses  as  early  as  1758,  he  continued  in  it  until  the  Revolution. 
At  its  dawn  Mr.  Wythe,  in  common  with  Thomas  Jefferson  and 
Richard  Bland,  assumed  the  ground  that  the  crown  wras  the  only 
connecting  link  between  the  colonies  and  the  mother  country. 
In  1764  Mr.  Wythe  was  a  member  of  a  committee  of  the  house 
of  burgesses  appointed  to  prepare  a  petition  to  the  king,  a  me 
morial  to  the  lords,  and  a  remonstrance  to  the  commons,  on  the 
subject  of  the  stamp  act.  lie  prepared  the  remonstrance  in  con 
formity  with  his  radical  principles ;  but  it  was  greatly  modified 
by  the  assembly.  In  May,  1765,  he,  in  common  with  Nicholas, 
Pendleton,  Randolph,  and  Bland,  opposed  Henry's  resolutions  as 
premature.  Mr.  Wythe  likewise  voted  (March,  1775,)  against 
Henry's  resolutions  for  putting  the  colony  in  a  posture  of  de 
fence  ;  but  he  was  in  favor  of  the  scheme  of  Colonel  Nicholas  for 
raising  a  large  regular  force.  Early  in  1775  Mr.  Wythe  joined 
a  corps  of  volunteers  as  a  private  soldier;  in  August  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  congress.  He  was  returned  by  the  City  of 
Williamsburg  to  the  convention  of  that  year;  but  being  in 
attendance  on  congress  his  place  was  filled  by  Joseph  Prentis. 
Mr.  Wythe  signed  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  which  he  had 
strenuously  supported  in  debate.*  Mr.  Wythe  married  first  a 

*  Convention  of  '76,  p.  122.  On  his  return  to  Virginia  toward  the  close  of  the 
session  of  the  convention  then  sitting,  lie  was  appointed  one  of  a  committee  to 
prepare  devices  for  a  seal  of  the  commonwealth. 

42 


658  ANCIENT   DOMINION    OP   VIRGINIA. 

Miss  Lewis,  and  secondly  a  Miss  Taliaferro.*  He  died  childless. 
He  is  described  as  being  distinguished  for  integrity,  patriotism, 
and  disinterestedness;  temperance  and  regular  habits  gave  him 
good  health;  engaging  and  modest  manners  endeared  him  to 
everyone;  his  bow  was  one  of  most  expressive  courtesy.  His 
elocution  was  easy,  his  language  chaste,  his  arrangement  lucid; 
his  frequent  classic  quotations,  smacking  a  little  of  pedantry; 
his  style,  which  aimed  at  the  antique,  was  deficient  in  elegance  and 
rhythm.  Learned,  urbane,  logical,  he  was  not  quick  and  ready, 
but  solid  and  profound.  He  was  of  middle  size,  well-formed,  his 
forehead  ample,  nose  aquiline,  eye  dark  gray,  expression  manly  and 
engaging.  His  religious  opinions  were  supposed  to  be  skeptical; 
but  the  closing  scene  of  his  life  is  said  to  have  been  that  of  a 
sincere  professor  of  the  Christian  faith. 

*  Pronounced  "Tolliver,"  originally  an  Italian  name,  Tagliaferro. 


CHAPTER    LXXXIX. 

Richard  Henry  Lee — Francis  Lightfoot  Lee — Carter  Braxton. 

RICHARD  HENRY  LEE,  a  signer  of  the  Declaration,  was 
born  at  Stratford,  on  the  Potomac,  in  Westmoreland,  January 
the  20th,  1732,  about  a  month  before  the  birth  of  Wash 
ington.  The  father  of  Richard  Henry  was  Thomas  Lee;  the 
mother,  Hannah,  daughter  of  Colonel  Philip  Ludwell,  of  Green- 
spring,  of  the  old  family  of  that  name,  in  Somersetshire,  Eng 
land,  who  were  originally,  it  is  said,  from  Germany.  Richard 
Henry  Lee's  early  days  were  passed  somewhat  after  the  Spartan 
manner,  his  mother,  one  of  the  high-toned  aristocracy  of  Virgi 
nia,  confining  her  care  to  her  daughters  and  her  eldest  son,  and 
leaving  her  younger  sons  pretty  much  to  shift  for  themselves. 
After  a  course  of  private  tuition  in  his  father's  house,  Richard 
Henry  was  sent  to  Wakefield  Academy,  Yorkshire,  England, 
where  he  distinguished  himself  by  his  proficiency  in  his  studies, 
particularly  in  the  Latin  and  Greek.  Having  finished  his  course' 
at  this  school,  he  travelled  through  England,  and  visited  London. 
lie  returned  when  about  nineteen  years  of  age  to  his  native 
country,  two  years  after  his  father's  death,  which  occurred  in 
1750.  Young  Lee's  fortune  rendering  it  unnecessary  for  him  to 
devote  himself  to  a  profession,  he  now  passed  a  life  of  ease,  but 
not  of  indolence;  for  he  indulged  his  taste  for  letters,  and  dili 
gently  stored  his  mind  with  knowledge  in  the  wide  circle  of 
theology,  science,  history,  law,  politics,  and  poetry.  Being 
chosen  (1755)  captain  of  a  company  of  volunteers  raised  in 
Westmoreland,  he  marched  with  them  to  Alexandria,  and  offered 
their  services  to  General  Braddock  in  his  expedition  against  Fort 
Du  Quesne ;  but  the  offer  was  declined.  In  his  twenty-fifth  year 
Mr.  Lee  was  appointed  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  shortly  after 
a  burgess  for  his  county.  Naturally  diffident,  and  finding  himself 
surrounded  by  men  of  extraordinary  abilities,  for  one  or  two  ses- 

(659) 


660  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

sions  lie  took  no  part  in  the  debates.  One  of  his  early  efforts 
was  a  brief,  but  strong,  elaborate  speech  in  support  of  a  resolu 
tion  "to  lay  so  heavy  a  tax  on  the  importation  of  slaves  as  effec 
tually  to  put  an  end  to  that  iniquitous  and  disgraceful  traffic 
within  the  colony  of  Virginia;"  and  on  this  occasion  he  argued 
against  the  institution  of  slavery  as  a  portentous  evil,  moral  and 
political.* 

In  November,  1764,  when  the  meditated  stamp  act  was  first 
heard  of  in  America,  Mr.  Lee,  at  the  instance  of  a  friend,  wrote 
to  England  making  application  for  the  office  of  a  collector  under 
that  act.  It  was  difficult  to  retrieve  so  unpopular  a  step. 
During  this  year  he  brought  before  the  assembly  the  subject  of 
the  act  of  parliament  claiming  a  right  to  tax  America;  and  he 
composed  the  address  to  the  king,  and  the  memorial  to  the  com 
mons.  His  accomplishments,  learning,  courtesy,  patriotism, 
republican  principles,  decision  of  character  and  eloquence,  com 
manded  the  attention  of  the  legislature.  Although  a  member  at 
the  time  of  the  introduction  of  Henry's  resolutions  of  1765,  Mr. 
Lee  happened  not  to  be  present  at  the  discussion;  bat  he  heartily 
concurred  in  their  adoption;  and  shortly  after  their  passage 
organized  an  association  in  Westmoreland  in  furtherance  of  them. 
When  the  defalcations  of  Treasurer  Robinson  came  to  be  sus 
pected,  Mr.  Lee,  like  Patrick  Henry  on  another  occasion  of  the 
same  kind,  insisted  with  firmness  on  an  investigation  of  the  state 
of  the  treasury.  It  was  he  who  introduced  the  motion  (Novem 
ber,  1776,)  for  separating  the  offices  of  speaker  and  treasurer; 
and  he  had  a  principal  agency,  together  with  Henry,  in  carrying 
that  measure  into  effect. f  A  fragment  of  his  speech  on  this 
occasion  is  preserved. 

In  the  succeeding  year  he  vigorously  opposed  the  act  laying  a 
duty  on  tea,  and  that  for  quartering  British  troops  in  the  colo 
nies.  He  was  now  residing  at  Chantilly,  his  seat  on  the  Poto 
mac,  a  few  miles  below  Stratford.  In  July,  1768,  in  a  letter  to 
John  Dickinson,  of  Pennsylvania,  Mr.  Lee  suggested  that  not 
only  select  committees  should  be  appointed  by  all  the  colonies, 
but  that  a  private  correspondence  should  be  conducted  between 


*  Life  of  Richard  Henry  Lee,  i.  17.  f  S.  Lit.  Messenger,  August,  1858. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  661 

the  lovers  of  liberty  in  every  province.  The  Virginia  Assembly, 
in  1773,  (about  the  same  time  with  that  of  Massachusetts,) 
appointed  a  committee  of  correspondence,  consisting  of  six  mem 
bers,  of  whom  Mr.  Lee  was  one.  In  the  next  year  he  was  a 
delegate  in  the  congress  that  met  at  Philadelphia.  Patrick 
Henry  spoke  first,  and  he  was  followed  by  Richard  Henry  Lee. 

He  was  an  active  and  laborious  member  of  the  leading  com 
mittees,  and  he  composed  the  memorial  to  the  people  of  British 
America — a  masterly  document.*  When  Washington  was  chosen 
commandcr-in-chicf,  Mr.  Lee,  as  chairman  of  the  committee 
chosen  for  the  occasion,  prepared  the  commission  and  instruc 
tions.  He  prepared  the  second  address  to  the  people  of  Great 
Britain. 

In  May,  1776,  the  convention  of  Virginia  passed  a  resolution 
instructing  her  delegates  in  congress  to  propose  to  that  body  to 
declare  the  colonies  free  and  independent;  and  when  those 
instructions  were  received  at  Philadelphia,  the  delegation  ap 
pointed  Mr.  Lee  to  bring  forward  a  proposition  to  that  effect. 
He  accordingly,  on  the  second  of  June,  made  that  motion,  which 
was  seconded  by  John  Adams.  On  the  tenth  Mr.  Lee  received 
by  express,  from  Virginia,  intelligence  of  the  dangerous  illness 
of  his  wife;  and  he,  therefore,  left  Philadelphia  on  the  eleventh, 
the  day  on  which  a  committee  was  appointed  to  draught  a 
declaration  of  independence.  Had  he  remained  he  might  have 
been  chairman  of  that  committee,  and  author  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence. f 

That  instrument  was  adopted  on  the  eighth  of  July,  and  shortly 
afterwards  Mr.  Jefferson  enclosed  to  Mr.  Lee  the  original  draught, 
and  also  a  copy  of  it  as  adopted  by  Congress.  In  August  Mr. 
Lee  resumed  his  seat  in  that  body. 

He  was  in  person  tall  and  well  proportioned;  his  features  bold 
and  expressive ;  nose,  Roman ;  forehead  high,  not  wide ;  eyes  light 
colored;  the  contour  of  his  face  noble.  He  had  lost  by  an  acci 
dent  the  use  of  one  of  his  hands;  and  was  sometimes  styled  "  the 


*  To  be  found  in  Life  of  Richard  Henry  Lee,  i.  119. 

f  See  Randall's  Jefferson,  i.,  and  a  review  of  his  opinions  on  this  subject,  by 
Mr.  Grigsby,  in  Richmond  Enquirer  of  January  15th,  1858. 


662  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLOXY   AND 

gentleman  of  the  silver  hand;"  he  kept  it  covered  with  a  black 
silk  bandage,  but  leaving  his  thumb  free.  Notwithstanding  this 
disadvantage  his  gesture  was  very  graceful.  His  voice  was  melo 
dious,  his  elocution  Ciceronian,  his  diction  elegant  and  easy.  His 
eloquence  flowed  on  in  tranquil  beauty,  like  the  stream  of  his  own 
Potomac.*  He  was  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church.  He 
married  first  a  Miss  Aylett,  and  the  children  of  that  union  were 
two  sons  and  two  daughters;  secondly  a  lady  named  Pinkard,  a 
widowr. 

Francis  Lightfoot  Lee,  brother  of  Richard  Henry,  was  born  in 
October,  1734.  He  was  educated  under  a  private  tutor.  He 
inherited  an  independent  fortune.  He  became,  in  1765,  a  mem 
ber  of  the  house  of  burgesses,  and  continued  in  that  body  until 
1775,  when  the  convention  returned  him  a  member  of  congress, 
in  which  he  remained  until  1779,  when  he  re-entered  the  assembly. 
His  talents,  as  an  orator  and  statesman,  were  of  a  high  order, 
but  it  appears  that  he  was  never  able  to  overcome  his  natural 
diffidence.  His  seat  wras  Monocan,  in  the  County  of  Richmond. 
He  married  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Colonel  John  Tayloe,  of  Rich 
mond  County. 

Carter  Braxton  was  born  at  Newington,  on  the  Matapony,  in 
King  and  Queen,  in  September,  1736.  His  father,  George 
Braxton,  a  wealthy  planter,  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Robert 
Carter,  of  the  council,  and  in  1748  represented  the  County  of 
King  and  Queen,  being  the  colleague  of  John  (known  as  speaker) 
Robinson.  Carter  Braxton  was  educated  at  the  college  of  Wil 
liam  and  Mary.  Inheriting  in  his  youth,  upon  his  father's  death, 
a  large  estate,  at  the  age  of  nineteen  he  married  Judith,  daughter 
of  Christopher  Robinson,  of  Middlesex.  She  dying,  in  1757, 
Mr.  Braxton  visited  England,  where  he  remained  for  several 
years,  and  returned  in  1760:  a  diary  which  he  kept  while  abroad 
is  preserved  by  his  descendants.  He  married,  in  1761,  Elizabeth, 
eldest  daughter  of  Richard  Corbin,  of  Laneville.  During  his 
first  marriage  he  built  a  mansion  at  Elsin  Green,  on  the  Pamunkey, 
and  afterwards  another  at  Chericoke  on  the  same  river.  He 
lived  in  a  style  of  lavish  hospitality,  according  to  the  fashion  of 

*  The  motto  of  his  arms  was:   "Haud  incautus  futuri." 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  663 

that  day.  He  was,  in  1761,  a  member  of  the  house  of  burgesses 
from  the  County  of  King  William,  and  took  an  active  part  in  the 
session  of  1765.  His  colleague  was  Bernard  Moore,  of  Chelsea, 
son-in-law  of  Governor  Spotswood.  Mr.  Braxton  was,  in  1769, 
a  delegate  and  a  signer  of  the  non-importation  agreement.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  convention  of  1774.  In  the  following  year, 
when  Henry  at  the  head  of  a  party  of  volunteers  had  advanced 
within  sixteen  miles  of  Williamsburg,  for  the  purpose  of  recover 
ing  the  gunpowder  removed  by  Dunmore,  Mr.  Braxton  interposed 
his  efforts  to  prevent  extremities.  In  this  course  Mr.  Braxton 
coincided  with  the  moderate  councils  of  Pendleton,  Nicholas,  and 
Peyton  Randolph.  During  this  year  Mr.  Braxton  was  a  member 
of  the  assembly,  and  of  the  convention  that  met  at  Richmond. 
He  was  also  one  of  the  committee  of  safety.  In  December  he 
was  elected  a  delegate  to  congress  in  the  place  of  Peyton  Ran 
dolph,  and  he  was  a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
The  convention  having,  in  June,  1776,  reduced  the  number  of 
delegates  in  congress  from  seven  to  five,  Mr.  Harrison  and  Mr. 
Braxton  were  not  re-elected.  According  to  Girardin,*  Mr.  Brax- 
ton's  "Address  on  Government"  was  not  universally  relished, 
(it  was  indeed  severely  denounced,  as  has  been  seen,)  and  his 
popularity  had  been  in  some  degree  impaired  by  persons  whose 
political  indiscretions,  though  beyond  his  control,  fatally  reacted 
against  him.  He  was,  nevertheless,  returned  by  the  County  of 
King  William  a  member  of  the  convention,  and  if  he  had  fallen 
under  a  cloud  of  suspicion,  it  appears  to  have  been  soon  dispersed, 
for,  in  October,  1776,  the  thanks  of  the  convention  were  unani 
mously  returned  to  Thomas  Jefferson  and  Carter  Braxton,  for 
their  ability,  diligence,  and  integrity,  as  delegates  in  congress. 

*  Burk's  Hist,  of  Va.,  iv. 


CHAPTER    XC. 

IT'T'G. 

Dunmore  on  Gwynn's  Island — Driven  thence  by  General  Lewis — Dunmore  re 
tires  from  Virginia — Affairs  at  Boston — Canada  invaded  —  Howe  evacuates 
Boston — Battles  of  Long  Island  and  AVlrite  Plains — Fort  Washington  cap 
tured — Washington  retreats  —  Enemy  defeated  at  Trenton  and  Princeton  — 
Death  of  Mercer. 

DUNMORE,  pressed  for  provisions,  burnt  his  entrenchments,  near 
the  smouldering  ruins  of  Norfolk,  and  sought  refuge  on  board  of 
his  fleet.  General  Charles  Lee  devised  energetic  means  for  curb 
ing  the  disaffected  in  the  lower  country ;  and  his  orders  were  carried 
into  effect  by  Colonel  Woodford,  whose  vigor  was  tempered  with 
humanity.  Dunmore  with  his  fleet  left  Hampton  Roads  about 
the  first  of  June,  and  entrenched  himself  with  five  hundred  men, 
including  many  runaway  negroes,  on  Gwynn's  Island,  in  the 
Chesapeake,  to  the  east  of  Matthews  County,  and  separated  from 
it  by  a  strait.* 

In  the  evening  of  July  the  eighth,  General  Andrew  Lewis,  with 
Colonel  Adam  Stephen,  reached  the  camp  before  Gwynn's  Island, 
and  during  the  night  a  battery  was  erected.  Next  morning  the 
enemy's  fleet  lying  within  range,  the  embrasures  were  unmasked, 
and  a  fire  opened  upon  the  Dunmore.  This  ship,  after  firing  a 
few  guns,  cut  her  cables  and  retreated,  towed  off  by  boats,  two 
batteries  playing  on  her.  She  was  damaged,  her  cabin  shattered, 
and  some  men  killed.  Lord  Dunmore  himself  was  wounded  in 
the  leg  by  a  splinter,  and  had  his  china-ware  smashed  about  him, 
and  exclaimed,  as  was  reported:  "Good  God,  that  ever  I  should 
come  to  this!"  The  other  vessels  did  not  escape  with  impunity, 
and  all  retired  in  confusion  to  a  safe  distance.  The  guns  of  the 
batteries  were  now  turned  upon  the  enemy's  camp,  the  shot  cross- 

*  There  is  a  tradition  that  Pocahontas,  in  swimming  across  the  Pyanketank, 
was  near  being  drowned,  and  was  rescued  by  one  of  the  colonists,  who  received 
from  her,  or  her  father,  this  island  as  a  reward. 

(664) 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OE    VIRGINIA.  665 

ing  each  other  in  the  centre  of  it,  and  the  troops  were  dislodged. 
On  the  next  morning  Lewis,  with  the  aid  of  some  canoes,  cap 
tured  two  small  armed  vessels,  and  some  of  his  men  landing  on 
the  island,  the  look-outs  ran  exclaiming,  "the  Shirt-men  are 
coming !"  a  panic  seized  Dunmore's  men,  so  that  they  precipitately 
evacuated  the  island,  (before  two  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  Pro 
vincials  could  be  landed  on  the  island,)  and  the  boats  of  the  fleet, 
consisting  of  eighty  sail,  took  them  on  board.  They  left  valuable 
stores  behind,  and  burnt  some  vessels.  The  inhabitants  reported 
that  Dunmore  had  recently  received  are-enforcement  of  one  hun 
dred  and  fifty  torics  from  Maryland,  and  some  cattle.  Part  of 
these  last  fell  into  Lewis's  hands.  A  detachment  was  sent  to 
protect  the  people  on  the  Potomac.  Numerous  half-covered 
graves  on  the  island  gave  proof  of  the  fatality  of  the  place,  and 
the  bodies  of  negroes  were  found  lying  unburied.  The  small-pox 
was  left  as  a  legacy  to  the  island.  Among  the  graves  was  one 
neatly  done  up  with  turf,  which  was  supposed  to  cover  the  re 
mains  of  Lord  Gosport,  who  had  recently  died.  Ovens,  newly 
erected,  and  a  windmill  commenced,  made  it  evident  that  Lord 
Dunmore  had  contemplated  a  longer  stay  there.  It  was  reported 
that  he  was  sick.  The  negroes,  horses,  cattle,  and  furniture  of 
Mr.  John  Grymes,  a  tory,  fell  into  possession  of  the  Provincials. 
Major  Byrd,  who  was  sick,  upon  their  approach  was  conveyed  to 
Cherry  Point  in  a  cart,  and  embarked  there.  Dunmore  shortly 
afterwards,  despatching  the  remnant  of  his  followers  to  Florida 
and  the  West  Indies,  retired  to  the  North,  and  thence  returned 
to  England,  where  he  continued  to  exhibit  himself  an  untiring 
opponent  of  America.  He  entertained  hospitably  in  London  the 
Virginia  refugee  loyalists  Randolph,  Grymes,  Brockenbrough, 
Beverlcy,  Wormley,  Corbin,  and  others.  Lord  Dunmore  was 
appointed  (1786)  Governor  of  Bermuda,  and  died  in  1809. 

On  the  3d  of  July,  1775,  Washington  had  assumed  the  com 
mand  of  the  American  army,  encamped  near  Boston,  and  had 
made  his  headquarters  at  Cambridge.  His  first  business  was  to 
organize,  equip,  and  discipline  his  force.  The  British  army, 
blocked  up  on  the  land  side,  remained  inactive  in  Boston,  finding 
itself,  although  strongly  re-enforced,  gradually  hemmed  in  and 
besieged. 


666  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

In  the  mean  time,  in  pursuance  of  the  Quebec  act,  a  Canadian 
force  having  been  marched  into  the  colonies,  and  it  being  the 
manifest  design  of  the  enemy  to  bring  down  the  savages  upon  the 
frontier,  a  detachment  was  sent  to  invade  Canada.  Marching 
under  command  of  Montgomery,  they  crossed  Lake  Champlain, 
and  laid  siege  to  Fort  St.  Johns,  the  key  to  Canada,  strengthened 
by  Carleton,  the  ablest  of  the  British  generals,  and  strongly  gar 
risoned.  During  this  siege  a  detachment,  penetrating  further  into 
the  country,  captured  Fort  Chamblee,  between  St.  Johns  and 
Montreal.  Carleton,  marching  to  the  relief  of  St.  Johns,  was 
met  and  defeated.  St.  Johns,  after  a  siege  of  forty-seven  days, 
in  a  rigorous  season,  and  in  a  low  and  wet  ground,  where  the  be 
siegers  slept  on  piles  of  brush,  covered  over  with  weeds,  to  keep 
out  of  the  water,  surrendered.  November  the  thirteenth  Mon 
treal  capitulated  to  the  gallant  Irishman,  General  Montgomery. 
Arnold,  accompanied  by  Morgan  and  Greene,  rubbing  through 
exposure,  hardship,  and  privation,  made  his  way  into  Canada  by 
the  Kennebec  and  Chaudiere  Rivers,  and  wras  about  to  unite  his 
forces  with  Montgomery's.  At  this  time  it  appeared  as  if  the 
whole  of  Canada  would  probably  soon  be  reduced,  and  it  was 
confidently  expected  that  Canadian  delegates  would  shortly 
appear  in  congress,  and  complete  the  union  of  fourteen  colonies. 
This  brilliant  prospect  wras  soon  overcast;  Montgomery  fell  in  a 
daring  but  unsuccessful  attack  upon  Quebec.  Re-enforcements 
of  American  troops  were  sent  to  Canada,  but  owing  to  their  in 
sufficiency  in  number  and  in  discipline,  the  rigor  of  the  climate, 
and  the  energy  of  Carleton,  the  British  commander,  the  expedi 
tion  eventually  proved  fruitless  in  effecting  a  conquest ;  and  it  was 
found  necessary  to  evacuate  that  country.  While  these  reverses 
occurred  by  land,  it  was  observed  with  satisfaction  that  the  colo 
nies  abounded  in  materials  and  resources  requisite  for  building 
up  a  naval  force ;  and  in  some  of  the  colonies  vessels  were  arming. 
Richard  Henry  Lee,  in  a  letter  to  Mrs.  McCauley,  of  England, 
compared  America  on  the  sea,  in  that  year,  to  "Hercules  in  his 
cradle."  The  American  navy  was  indeed  "nursed  in  the  whirl 
wind  and  cradled  in  the  storm." 

The  British  army  at  Boston,  admonished  by  the  scenes  of  Lex 
ington,  Concord,  and  Bunker's  Hill,  and  finding  their  position 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  G67 

more  and  more  restricted  by  Washington's  lines  of  fortification, 
remained  in  gloomy  inaction  until  March,  1776,  when  Sir  Wil 
liam  Howe,  who  had  succeeded  General  Gage,  evacuated  that 
city,  and  sailed  with  the  troops  and  many  unhappy  tory  refugees 
to  Halifax, 

The  American  army  proceeded  to  New  York.  Early  in  July, 
1776,  Sir  William  Howe  with  his  army  landed  on  Staten  Island. 
The  commander  of  the  fleet  was  Lord  Howe,  brother  of  Sir  Wil 
liam,  and  these  two  were  constituted  commissioners  for  restoring 
peace.  In  the  battle  of  Long  Island,  which  occurred  on  the 
twenty-seventh  of  August,  the  American  army,  inferior  in  num 
ber,  and  without  cavalry,  fought  confusedly  and  badly,  and  was 
defeated  with  heavy  loss,  variously  estimated.  Among  the 
prisoners  was  Major-General  Sullivan.  The  enemy's  loss  was  by 
no  means  inconsiderable.  From  the  commencement  of  the  battle 
on  the  morning  of  the  twenty-seventh  till  the  morning  of  the 
twenty-ninth,  Washington  never  slept,  and  was  almost  incessantly 
on  horseback.  The  disastrous  result  of  this  action  cast  a  gloom 
over  the  cause  of  independence,  elated  disaffection,  and  damped 
the  ardor  of  the  American  troops.  The  militia  in  large  numbers 
quit  the  camp  and  went  home ;  and  Washington  was  obliged  to 
confess  his  "want  of  confidence  in  the  generality  of  the  troops." 
He  urged  upon  congress  the  necessity  of  a  permanent  army.  On 
the  fifteenth  of  September  he  was  compelled  to  evacuate  New  York, 
with  the  loss  of  his  heavy  artillery  and  a  large  part  of  his  stores, 
and  General  Howe  took  possession  of  the  city. 

In  a  skirmish  on  Haerlem  Heights,  a  detachment  of  the  third 
Virginia  regiment,  which  had  arrived  on  the  preceding  day, 
formed  the  advanced  party  in  the  attack,  and  Major  Leitch,  while 
intrepidly  leading  them  on,  fell  mortally  wounded. 

In  accordance  with  Washington's  solicitation  congress  made 
arrangements  to  put  the  army  on  a  better  footing.  To  obviate 
the  movements  of  the  enemy  he  moved  his  forces  up  the  Hudson 
River.  On  the  twenty-fifth  of  October  the  battle  of  White  Plains 
took  place,  warmly  contested,  with  equal  loss,  and  without  deci 
sive  result.  In  November  Fort  Washington,  on  the  Hudson,  was 
stormed  by  the  British,  and  the  garrison,  consisting  of  twenty-six 
hundred  men,  were  made  prisoners.  Washington  is  said  to  have 


668  HISTORY  OF  THE  COLONY 

shed  tears  on  occasion  of  this  disaster.  The  enemy's  loss  was 
eight  hundred.  Early  in  December  Washington,  finding  his  army 
sadly  reduced,  retreated  across  Jersey.  They  were  pursued  by 
a  British  army,  numerous,  well-appointed,  and  victorious.  At 
this  conjuncture  Major-General  Lee  was  surprised  and  made 
prisoner — as  is  now  believed — by  collusion  with  the  enemy.* 
The  reanimated  spirit  of  disaffection  rendered  the  American  cause 
still  more  hopeless.  December  the  twentieth,  Washington's  army 
on  the  west  bank  of  the  Delaware,  augmented  byre-enforcements, 
amounted  to  seven  thousand  effectives;  but  in  a  few  days  all  of 
them,  except  about  fifteen  hundred  men,  were  to  be  discharged 
upon  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  enlistment.  Washington  be 
came  convinced  that  some  bold  enterprise  was  necessary  to  re 
kindle  the  patriotic  spirit,  and  listening  to  the  advice  of  those 
about  him,  resolved  to  strike  at  the  posts  of  the  enemy,  who  had 
retired  securely  into  winter  quarters.  Crossing  the  Delaware,  a 
few  miles  above  Trenton,  in  a  night  of  extreme  cold,  amid  floating 
ice,  he  early  on  the  morning  of  the  twenty-six  surprised  there  a 
body  of  Hessians,  and  made  one  thousand  prisoners.  Lieutenant 
Monroe,  afterwards  president,  was  wounded  in  this  affair.  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  Baylor,  of  Virginia,  aid  of  the  commandcr-in-chief, 
carrying  the  intelligence  of  this  success  to  congress,  was  pre 
sented  with  a  horse  caparisoned  for  service,  and  was  recommended 
for  promotion.  Near  Princeton  another  corps  was  routed  with 
heavy  loss;  but  the  joy  of  the  Americans  was  mingled  with  grief 
for  the  loss  of  General  Mercer. 

Hugh  Mercer,  a  native  of  Scotland,  having  been  graduated  in 
the  medical  profession,  was  present,  in  the  capacity  of  assistant 
surgeon,  at  the  battle  of  Flodden,  on  the  side  of  the  vanquished. 
Escaping,  he  came  to  America,  and  settled  at  Fredericksburg,  in 
Virginia,  where  he  married,  and  successfully  pursued  his  profes 
sion.  During  the  French  and  Indian  war  of  1755  he  was  a  cap 
tain  under  Washington.  In  an  engagement,  being  wounded  in 
the  wrist  by  a  musket  ball,  separated  from  his  comrades,  and 


*  George  H.  Moore,  Esq.,  librarian  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  is 
preparing  an  interesting  memoir  on  the  subject  of  General  Lee's  treasonable 
conduct. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  669 

faint  with  loss  of  blood,  lie  was  closely  pursued  by  the  savage 
foe,  whose  war-whoop  rang  through  the  surrounding  forests. 
Concealing  himself  in  the  hollow  trunk  of  a  giant  tree,  he  nar 
rowly  escaped.  After  a  journey  of  more  than  one  hundred  miles 
through  an  untrodden  wilderness,  and  supporting  life  on  roots 
and  the  body  of  a  rattlesnake,  he  finally  reached  Fort  Cumber 
land.  For  his  gallant  conduct  the  City  of  Philadelphia  presented 
him  an  honorary  medal.  In  1775  he  was  in  command  of  three 
regiments  of  minute-men,  and  in  1776  a  colonel  of  the  Virginia 
troops,  and  rendered  important  services  in  drilling  and  organizing 
the  new  levies.  In  quelling  a  mutiny  in  a  company  of  riflemen 
called,  ironically,  "Gibson's  Lambs,"  at  Williamsburg,  whom  he 
disarmed,  he  displayed  that  intrepidity  and  decision  for  which  he 
was  so  distinguished.  During  the  same  year,  being  made  a 
brigadier-general  in  the  continental  army,  he  exhibited  signal 
courage  and  energy  throughout  a  disastrous  campaign.  On  the 
3d  day  of  January,  1777,  this  excellent  officer,  leading  the  van 
of  Washington's  army,  encountered,  about  sunrise,  near  Prince 
ton,  three  British  regiments,  and  while  rallying  his  troops  his 
horse  was  shot  from  under  him,  and  he  fell  dangerously  wounded, 
and  died  shortly  afterwards  in  a  small  house  near  the  scene  of 
the  encounter.  He  was  attended  by  Major  George  Lewis,  a 
nephew  of  General  Washington,  who  had  sent  him  to  perform 
that  duty,  and  by  Dr.  Hush. 

The  death  of  General  Mercer  forms  the  subject  of  a  picture 
long  familiar  to  the  students  of  the  college  of  New  Jersey.  He 
lies  buried  in  Christ  Church,  Philadelphia. 


CHAPTER    XCI. 

17VG. 

Death  of  Richard  Bland — Genealogy  of  the  Elands — First  Assembly  under  new 
Government — Petitions  against  Church  establishment — Memorial  of  Hanover 
Presbytery — Rev.  Caleb  "Wallace — Petitions  in  favor  of  Established  Church — 
Proceedings  of  Assembly — Alleged  scheme  of  Dictator — Hampden  Sidney — 
Virginia  Navy. 

ON  the  26th  day  of  October,  1776,  died  Richard  Bland,  at 
Williamsburg,  aged  sixty-six.  He  was  in  attendance  as  a  mem 
ber  of  the  house  of  delegates  at  its  first  session,  and  was  struck 
with  apoplexy  while  walking  in  the  streets.  His  intellectual 
calibre  was  capacious,  his  education  finished,  his  habits  of  appli 
cation  indefatigable.  Thoroughly  versed  in  the  charters,  laws, 
and  history  of  the  colony,  he  was  styled  the  "Virginia  Anti 
quary."  He  was  a  political  character  of  the  first  rank,  a  pro 
found  logician,  and  as  a  writer  perhaps  unsurpassed  in  the  colony. 

His  letter  to  the  clergy,  published  in  1760,  and  his  enquiry 
into  the  rights  of  the  colonies,  are  monuments  of  his  patriotism, 
his  learning,  and  the  vigor  of  his  understanding.  He  was  an 
ungraceful  speaker.  It  is  said  that  he  was  pronounced  by  Mr. 
Jefferson  to  be  "the  wisest  man  south  of  the  James  River."  He 
resided  at  Jordan's  Point,  on  the  James,  in  Prince  George.  His 
portrait  and  that  of  his  wife  were  mutilated  by  the  bayonets  of 
British  soldiers  during  the  revolutionary  war.*  His  wife  had 
died  in  1758,  aged  forty-six  years. 

The  Blands  of  Virginia  derive  their  name  from  Bland,  a  place 
in  or  near  Lonsdale,  in  Westmoreland,  or  Cumberland,  England. 
William  de  Bland  flourished  in  the  reign  of  Edward  the  Third, 
and  did  good  service  in  the  Avars  which  that  king  carried  on  in 
Erance,  in  company  of  John  of  Gaunt,  Earl  of  Richmond. 
Thomas  de  Bland  obtained  a  pardon  from  Richard  the  Second, 

*  The  name  of  Bland  ought  to  be  given  to  a  county. 

(670) 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  671 

for  killing  his  antagonist  in  a  duel,  by  the  intercession  of  his  friend 
the  Duke  of  Guyenne  and  Lancaster.  The  coat  of  arms  of  Bland 
is  quartered  by  the  family  of  Wansford,  of  Kirklington,  in  the 
County  of  York,  afterwards  Lord  Viscount  Castle-Comer,  in  the 
kingdom  of  Ireland ;  and  the  family  of  Thistlewait,  of  Thistlewait, 
bear  the  arms  of  Bland  for  their  paternal  coat  as  descended  from 
the  ancient  family  of  Bland.  Edward  Bland,  of  Burfield,  died  in 
the  reign  of  Edward  the  Fourth;  from  him  was  descended  Adam 
Bland,  who  lived  in  the  reign  of  Edward  the  Sixth.  John  Bland 
was  free  of  the  "  Grocers  and  Merchants  Adventurers  Company." 
Thomas  Bland,  receiver  of  the  rents  for  Yorkshire  in  the  time  of 
Charles  the  First,  married,  secondly,  Katherine,  sister  of  Sir 
Richard  Sandys,  of  Northbourne,  in  Kent.  Giles  Bland,  col 
lector  of  the  customs  for  James  River,  owing  to  a  quarrel  with 
Sir  William  Berkley,  became  a  partisan  of  Bacon,  and  was  exe 
cuted  during  the  rebellion.  Edward  Bland,  a  merchant  in  Spain, 
(1643,)  afterwards  removed  to  Virginia,  where  he  lived  at 
Kimages,  in  Charles  City  County.  Robert  Bland  was  rector  of 
Weyborough-magna,  with  the  chapel  of  Sale  appendant,  in  the 
County  of  Essex.  Richard  Bland,  of  the  company  of  "Frame 
work  Knitters,"  was  Lord  of  the  manor  of  Preston  Hall,  and 
Lord  Mayor  of  Preston.  Theodorick  Bland  was  some  time  a 
merchant  at  Luars  in  Spain,  but  came  over  to  Virginia  in  the 
year  1654.  He  settled  at  Westover,  on  James  River,  where  he 
died  April  23d,  1671,  aged  forty-one,  and  was  buried  in  the 
chancel  of  the  church  which  he  built,  and  gave,  together  with  ten 
acres  of  land,  a  court-house  and  prison,  for  the  county  and  parish. 
His  tombstone  is  to  be  found  in  Westover  churchyard,  lying 
between  those  of  two  of  his  friends;  the  church  has  disappeared 
long  ago.  This  Theodorick  Bland  was  one  of  the  king's  council  for 
Virginia,  and  was  both  in  fortune  and  understanding  inferior  to 
no  person  of  his  time  in  the  country.  He  married  the  daughter 
of  Richard  Bennet,  Esq.,  sometime  governor  of  the  colony. 
Richard  Bland,  born  at  Berkley,  son  of  this  Theodorick  Bland, 
married,  first,  Mary,  daughter  of  Colonel  Thomas  Swan ;  secondly, 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Colonel  William  Randolph,  of  Turkey 
Island,  on  James  River.  Mary  Bland,  eldest  daughter  of  Richard 
Bland,  gentleman,  of  Jordans,  born  1704,  married  Colonel  Henry 


672  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

Lee,  of  Westmoreland.  Elizabeth,  second  daughter  of  said 
Richard  Bland,  married  Colonel  William  Beverley,  of  Essex 
County.  Theodorick  Bland,  Sr.,  of  Cawsons,  in  Prince  George, 
was  clerk  of  that  county  and  member  of  the  house  of  burgesses. 
He  married  Frances  Boiling.  The  children  of  that  union  were 
Theodorick  Bland,  Jr.,  and  four  daughters,  Elizabeth,  Mary, 
Anna,  and  Jenny.  Theodorick  Bland,  Sr.,  married,  secondly,  a 
widow  Yates.  Theodorick  Bland,  Jr.,  was  a  colonel  of  a  regi 
ment  of  horse  during  the  revolutionary  war,  a  member  of  con 
gress,  and  of  the  convention  of  Virginia  that  ratified  the  Consti 
tution  of  the  United  States.  Patsy,  daughter  of  Theodorick 
Bland,  Sr.,  married  Colonel  John  Banister,  of  Battcrsca,  near 
Petersburg,  member  of  the  convention  of  1776,  lieutenant-colonel 
of  cavalry  during  the  war  of  Revolution,  and  member  of  con 
gress.  Frances,  another  daughter  of  Theodorick  Bland,  Sr., 
married  John  Randolph,  of  Matoax,  and  these  were  the  parents 
of  John  Randolph,  of  Roanoke,  the  orator,  who  was  born  at 
Cawsons,  in  Prince  George  County,  the  residence  of  Theodorick 
Bland,  Sr.  The  mother  of  John  Randolph,  of  Roanoke,  mar 
ried,  secondly,  St.  George  Tucker,  judge  of  the  court  of  appeals 
of  Virginia,  and  subsequently  district  judge  of  the  federal 
court. 

The  Cherokees,  instigated  by  the  English,  having  made  bloody 
incursions  on  the  Virginia  frontier,  Colonel  Christian,  with  a 
body  of  troops,  burnt  their  towns,  and  compelled  them  to  sue  for 
peace. 

On  the  7th  day  of  October,  1776,  the  general  assembly  of 
Virginia  met  for  the  first  time  under  the  constitution  adopted  in 
the  preceding  July.  The  house  of  delegates  was  composed  of 
the  same  members  as  those  who  constituted  the  convention  which 
framed  the  constitution,  and  who  held  over  without  an  election, 
and  thus  became  the  house  of  delegates  under  the  constitution  of 
their  own  making.  The  examples  which  probably  guided  them 
were,  that  of  the  convention  of  1660,  which,  after  calling  Charles 
the  Second  to  the  throne,  resolved  itself  into  a  house  of  com 
mons;  and  that  of  the  convention  of  1688,  which,  after  settling 
the  crown  on  William  and  Mary,  also  resolved  itself  into  a  house 
of  commons.  The  new  senate,  however,  was  elected  by  the 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  673 

people.*     Edmund  Pendleton  was  elected  speaker  of  the  house, 
and  Archibald  Gary  speaker  of  the  senate. 

The  new  declaration  of  rights  asserted  that  "all  men  are 
equally  entitled  to  the  free  exercise  of  religion  according  to  the 
dictates  of  conscience;"  yet  it  appeared  that  the  assembly 
intended  to  continue  the  old  church  establishment.  This 
and  the  circulation  of  petitions  in  behalf  of  episcopacy,  as 
established  by  law,  alarmed  the  dissenters,  and  they  enquired 
what  advantage  then  in  this  great  point  "shall  we  derive  from 
being  independent  of  Great  Britain?  And  is  it  not  as  bad  for 
our  assembly  to  violate  their  own  declaration  of  rights  as  for  the 
British  parliament  to  break  our  charter?"  The  Baptists  accord 
ingly  circulated  a  counter-petition,  which  was  signed  by  ten  thou 
sand  persons,  chiefly  freeholders.  The  presbytery  of  Hanover 
also  presented  a  memorial  to  the  same  effect,  pledging  themselves 
that  nothing  in  their  power  should  be  wanting  to  give  success  to 
the  cause  of  the  country.  In  the  frontier  counties,  containing 
one-fifth  of  the  inhabitants  of  Virginia,  the  dissenters,  who  con 
stituted  almost  the  entire  .population,  were  yet  obliged  to  contri 
bute  to  the  support  of  the  church  as  established,  and  a  consider 
able  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  other  parts  of  the  colony 
labored  under  the  same  disadvantages.  "Certain  it  is,"  say  the 
memorialists,  "  that  every  argument  for  civil  liberty  gains  addi 
tional  strength  when  applied  to  liberty  in  the  concerns  of  reli 
gion;  and  there  is  no  argument  in  favor  of  establishing  the 
Christian  religion  but  what  may  be  pleaded  with  equal  propriety 
for  establishing  the  tenets  of  Mohammed  by  those  who  believe  the 
Alcoran ;  or,  if  this  be  not  true,  it  is  at  least  impossible  for  the 
magistrate  to  adjudge  the  right  of  preference  among  the  various 
sects  that  profess  the  Christian  faith,  without  erecting  a  chair  of 
infallibility  which  would  lead  us  back  to  the  church  of  Rome." 
Religious  establishments  (they  contended)  are  injurious  to  the 
temporal  interests  of  any  community;  and  the  more  early  settle 
ment  of  Virginia,  and  her  natural  advantages,  would  have 


*  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Grigsby  for  this  statement.  His  opinions  on  this 
point  are  given  fully  in  a  review  of  Randall's  Life  of  Jefferson,  in  the  Richmond 
Enquirer  of  January  15th,  1858. 

43 


674  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

t 

attracted  hither  multitudes  of  industrious  and  useful  members  of 
society,  but  they  had  either  remained  in  their  place  of  nativity, 
or  preferred  worse  civil  governments  and  a  more  barren  soil,  where 
they  might  enjoy  the  rights  of  conscience  more  fully.  Nor  did 
religion  need  the  aid  of  an  establishment;  on  the  contrary,  as 
her  weapons  are  spiritual,  Christianity  would  nourish  in  the 
greatest  purity  when  left  to  her  native  excellence;  and  the  duty 
which  we  owe  our  Creator  can  only  be  directed  by  reason  and 
conviction. 

This  memorial  was  composed,  in  behalf  of  the  presbytery,  by 
the  Rev.  Caleb  Wallace,  of  Charlotte  County,  a  graduate  of 
Princeton.  He  was  in  attendance  upon  the  assembly  for  six  or 
eight  weeks  for  the  furthering  of  this  object.* 

The  clergy  of  the  established  church  presented  petitions  in 
favor  of  continuing  the  establishment,  and  they  were  re- enforced 
by  the  Methodists  as  a  society  in  communion  with  the  Church  of 
England.  It  was  urged  that  good  faith  to  the  clergy  required 
that  they  should  not  be  deprived  of  their  livings,  which  belonged 
to  them  for  life,  or  during  good  behaviour;  that  an  ecclesiastical 
establishment  was  in  itself  a  desirable  institution,  it  being  for  the 
benefit  of  the  community  that  a  body  of  Christian  ministers 
should  be  thus  supported;  and  that  if  all  denominations  were 
reduced  to  an  equality,  the  contest  for  superiority  among  them 
would  involve  confusion,  and  probably  civil  commotion;  and 
finally  that  a  majority  of  the  people  of  Virginia  desired  to  have 
the  church  establishment  maintained. 


•*  In  a  letter  addressed  to  Rev.  James  Caldwell,  of  Elizabethtown,  New  Jersey, 
April  8th,  1777,  lie  wrote :  "I  do  not  know  that  we  have  sinned  against  the  King 
of  England,  but  we  have  sinned  against  the  King  of  Heaven;  and  he  is  now 
using  Great  Britain  as  the  rod  of  his  anger:  by  them  he  is  executing  just  judg 
ment  against  us,  and  calling  us  to  repentance  and  humiliation.  I  also  hope  He 
is  bringing  nbout  great  things  for  His  church."  He  also  adds:  "An  American 
ought  to  seek  an  emancipation  from  the  British  King,  ministry,  and  parliament, 
at  the  risk  of  all  his  earthly  possessions  of  whatever  name;  nor  is  it  the  fear  of 
danger  that  has  prevented  my  preaching  this  doctrine  in  the  army  at  head 
quarters."  "I  meddle  very  little  with  matters  of  civil  concern,  only  to  coun 
tenance  the  recruiting  business,  as  far  as  I  have  it  in  my  power,  and  sometimes 
I  have  a  fight  with  the  prejudices — I  would  rather  say  the  perverseness — of  such 
as  are  inclining  to  toryism  among  us  ;  but  we  have  reason  to  rejoice  that  we  have 
few  such  cattle  with  us."  (Hist.  Mag.,  i.  354.) 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OP    VIRGINIA.  675 

The  assembly  exempted  dissenters  from  contributions  for  the 
support  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  repealed  all  penal  laws 
against  any  mode  of  worship,  leaving  all  denominations  for  the 
present  to  support  their  clergy  by  voluntary  contributions,  and 
reserving  the  consideration  "of  a  general  assessment  for  the  sup 
port  of  religion"  to  a  future  session,  so  that  the  sense  of  the 
people  on  that  subject  might  be,  in  the  mean  time,  collected.* 
This  matter  was  debated  for  a  day  or  two  in  the  house,  and  gave 
rise  to  some  newspaper  controversy.  Religious  freedom  was 
gaining  ground;  but,  although  all  penal  statutes  were  repealed, 
the  restrictions  and  penalties  sanctioned  by  the  common  law 
remained. 

In  the  struggle  that  preceded  the  Revolution  more  than  two- 
thirds  of  the  Virginia  clergy  of  the  established  church  and  a 
portion  of  the  lay  members  were  loyalists.  Of  those  clergymen 
wrho  adhered  to  the  patriotic  side  several  were  men  of  note,  such 
as  Jarratt,  Madison,  (afterwards  the  first  bishop  of  Virginia,) 
Bracken,  Muhlenburg,  of  the  Valley  of  the  Shenandoah,  who 
accepted  a  colonel's  commission,  raised  a  regiment,  and  served 
throughout  the  war ;  and  Thruston,  wrho  also  became  a  colonel. 

Congress  having  ordered  the  army  to  be  augmented  to  eighty- 
eight  battalions,  to  serve  during-  the  continuance  of  the  war,  a 

O  o 

quota  of  fifteen  battalions  was  assigned  to  Virginia ;  and  to  com 
plete  them  the  assembly  took  measures  to  raise  seven  battalions 
in  addition  to  those  already  embodied.  Attention  was  bestowed 
upon  the  building  up  of  a  naval  force,  and  men  were  transferred 
from  the  army  to  the  marine  service.  Infantry  and  cavalry, 
speedily  raised  and  well  officered,  were  sent  to  join  General 
Washington,  and  measures  were  adopted  for  calling  forth  the 
resources  of  Virginia,  and  to  strengthen  her  for  the  exigencies  of 
war.  Courts  of  admiralty  were  established;  entails  abolished, 
the  bill  for  this  purpose  being  framed  by  Mr.  Jefferson ;  treason 
was  defined,  and  penalties  denounced  against  such  as  should 
maintain  and  defend  the  authority  of  the  king  or  parliament,  or 
should  excite  sedition  in  the  State;  importation  from  Great 
Britain  was  prohibited ;  loyalist  British  factors  were  ordered  to 

*  Burk's  Hist,  of  Va.,  iv.  182. 


676  HISTORY  OP  THE  COLONY  AND 

depart  from  the  commonwealth  under  a  statute  of  twenty-seventh 
year  of  Edward  the  Third. 

Governor  Henry,  owing  to  the  state  of  his  health,  retired,  with 
the  concurrence  of  the  assembly,  to  the  country.  An  effort 
made  at  this  time  by  David  Rogers,  a  member  of  the  senate,  and 
some  other  malecontents  in  West  Augusta,  to  erect  themselves 
into  a  separate  state,  proved  abortive.  Robert  C.  Nicholas, 
resigning  the  office  of  treasurer,  received  the  thanks  of  the  legis 
lature  for  his  faithful  discharge  of  the  duties  of  his  office.  He 
was  succeeded  by  George  Webb.  The  estate  of  Lord  Dunmore 
was  disposed  of,  and  the  proceeds  appropriated  to  the  payment  of 
his  debts.*  Jefferson,  Pendleton,  Wythe,  Mason,  and  Thomas 
Ludwell  Lee  were  appointed  a  committee  to  revise  the  laws.  By 
the  resignation  of  Mr.  Mason,  and  the  indisposition  of  Mr.  Lee, 
the  duty  eventually  devolved  upon  the  other  three. 

Congress,  with  a  view  of  gaming  the  alliance  of  France, 
appointed  three  commissioners  to  that  court:  Benjamin  Franklin, 
Silas  Deane,  and  Thomas  Jefferson.  Mr.  Jefferson  declined  the 
appointment,  and  it  was  then  given  to  Dr.  Arthur  Lee. 

Toward  the  close  of  this  session  of  the  Virginia  Assembly, 
when  Washington  was  retreating  through  the  Jerseys,  and  when 
the  cause  of  independence  seemed  almost  desperate,  several  of 
the  members,  it  is  said,  meditated,  in  imitation  of  the  Roman 
Republic,  the  appointment  of  a  dictator.  The  tradition  is,  that 
such  was  the  animosity  engendered  by  this  scheme,  that  they  who 
espoused,  and  they  who  opposed  it,  walked  on  opposite  sides  of 
the  street.  Who  they  were  that  favored  it,  or  where  it  was  con 
cocted,  or  how  developed,  does  not  appear.  It  is  reported, 
indeed,  that  Patrick  Henry  was  the  person  held  in  view  as  the 
dictator;  but  that  he  suggested  the  plan,  or  favored  it,  or  con 
sented  to  it,  or  was  in  any  way  privy  to  it,  there  is  no  evidence 
to  prove,  nor  has  it  even  been  alleged.  The  tradition  (resting  on 
no  testimony)  relates,  that  Archibald  Gary,  a  man  of  violent 

*  A  number  of  his  books  came  into  Mr.  Madison's  possession.  I  remember 
seeing  in  Southampton  County  a  Shakespeare  with  Dunmore's  arms.  A  gentle 
man  in  Petersburg  has  a  black-letter  Coke,  which  once  belonged  to  Dunmore, 
and  afterwards  to  Patrick  Henry;  it  has  his  lordship's  arms,  and  the  orator's 
autograph. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  677 

temper,  and  a  life-long  opponent  of  Henry,  sent  a  message  to  the 
governor,  (by  his  brother-in-law,  Colonel  Syme,)  that  on  the  day 
in  which  he  should  accept  the  dictatorship  he  should  fall  by  his 
dagger;  and  the  Colonel  has  been  compared  to  Brutus — as  if  the 
example  was  worthy  of  imitation,  or  as  if  a  dictator  appointed 
by  a  Virginia  assembly  can  be  justly  compared  to  Julius  Caesar 
at  the  head  of  his  legions,  usurping  the  government  by  his  sword. 

South  Carolina  invested  her  governor,  John  Rutledge,  a  native 
of  Ireland,  with  dictatorial  powers  during  the  revolutionary  war. 
The  Virginia  assembly  at  this  session  invested  Governor  Henry 
with  several  extraordinary  powers,  and  recommended  to  congress 
"to  invest  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  American  forces  with 
more  ample  and  extensive  powers  for  conducting  the  operations 
of  the  war."  Washington  urged  the  States  to  clothe  their  exe 
cutives  with  extraordinary  powers,  and  he  himself  was  invested 
by  congress  with  such.  The  safety  of  the  people,  the  supreme 
law,  may  demand,  in  a  crisis  of  extreme  danger,  the  appointment 
of  an  officer  charged  with  extraordinary  powers,  (but  who, 
nevertheless,  would  be  as  much  the  creature  of  law  as  any  ordi 
nary  judge  or  deputy-sheriff,)  "to  take  care  that  the  Republic 
shall  receive  no  detriment." 

A  year  or  two  before  the  rupture  with  the  mother  country,  the 
Presbytery  of  Hanover  established  a  seminary  in  Augusta, 
beyond  the  Blue  Ridge.  The  Rev.  Samuel  Stanhope  Smith, 
who  had  been  a  teacher  of  languages  in  the  College  of  New 
Jersey,  was  at  this  time  a  missionary  in  Virginia,  and  the  school 
was  founded  upon  his  recommendation.  The  superintendent  was 
John  Brown,  and  the  tutor  William  Graham.  From  this  semi 
nary  Washington  College,  at  Lexington,  arose.  By  the  advice 
of  Rev.  S.  S.  Smith  it  was  determined  to  found  another  seminary 
east  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  the  funds  were  raised  by  subscrip 
tion;  and  although  it  was  a  period  of  apprehension  and  alarm, 
yet  the  enterprise  was  urged  with  energy  and  success.*  This 

*  The  site  selected  for  it  was  at  the  head  of  Hudson's  Branch,  in  Prince 
Edward  County,  on  a  hundred  acres  of  land  given  for  that  use  by  Mr.  Peter 
Johnston.  The  trustees  appointed  were  Rev.  Messrs.  Richard  Sankey,  of  Buf- 
faloe,  John  Todd,  of  Louisa,  Samuel  Leake,  of  Albemarle,  and  Caleb  Wallace, 
of  Cub  Creek,  together  with  Messrs.  Peter  Johnston,  Colonel  Paul  Carrington. 
Colonel  John  Nash,  Jr.,  Rev.  David  Rice,  and  Colonel  James  Madison,  Jr. 


678  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

work  was  accomplished  in  1775,  amid  the  throes  of  revolution, 
and  Prince  Edward  Academy,  the  original  foundation  of  Ilamp- 
den  Sidney  College,  was  opened  in  January,  1776.* 

Increased  educational  means  were  much  needed,  all  communi 
cation  with  Great  Britain  being  cut  off;  and  educated  youth  would 
be  wanting  to  fill  the  places  of  such  as  would  soon  fall  victims  of 
the  war.  The  College  of  William  and  Mary  was  indeed  old  and 
tolerably  well  endowed;  but  it  was  near  the  scene  of  war  and 
surrounded  by  noisy  camps.  In  a  short  time  more  than  a  hun 
dred  students  flocked  to  the  Prince  Edward  Academy,  and  their 
number  exceeded  the  means  of  accommodation.  During  the  year 
a  military  company  of  the  students  was  organized,  Mr.  John 
Blair  Smith,  Jr.,  a  tutor,  being  captain.  The  uniform  was  a 
purple  hunting-shirt.  This  company,  upon  a  requisition  of  the 
governor  for  militia  from  Prince  Edward  during  the  following 
year,  marched  to  Williamsburg,  where,  however,  their  services 
were  not  required.  Some  of  them  became  officers  in  the  army, 
and  others  enlisted  as  common  soldiers. 

In  1775  the  convention  of  Virginia  had  directed  the  committee 
of  safety  to  procure  armed  vessels,  for  the  better  defence  of  the 
colony;  and  the  control  and  management  were  entrusted  to  them. 
The  few  small  vessels  and  barges  in  their  service  were  useful  in 
restraining  the  tories,  in  protecting  property,  and  in  recapturing 
fugitive  slaves.  In  May,  1776,  a  board  of  naval  commissioners 
was  appointed,  consisting  of  Thonms  Whiting,  John  Ilutchins, 
Champion  Travis,  Thomas  Newton,  Jr.,  and  George  Webb.  They 
met  for  the  first  time  on  the  eighth  of  July  following,  at  Wil 
liamsburg.  About  seventy  vessels  appear  to  have  been  in  service 
at  some  time  or  other  during  the  war  of  Revolution— including 
thirty  ships,  brigs,  and  brigantines,  and  thirty-eight  smaller  ves 
sels,  f  Many  of  the  vessels  were  built  at  the  Chickahominy  navy- 


*  Foote's  Sketches  of  Va.,  393. 

•j-  Among  the  ships  and  brigs  are  found  the  names  of  Oxford,  Virginia,  Loyal 
ist,  Pocahontas,  Washington.  Oliver  Cromwell,  Marquis  La  Fayette,  Raleigh,  Jef 
ferson,  Gloucester.  Northampton,  Sally  Norton,  Hampton,  Liberty,  Wilkes, 
American  Fabius.  Among  the  smaller  were  the  Speedwell,  Lewis,  Nicholson, 
Hairison,  Mayflower,  Patriot,  Congress,  Accoinac,  Henry,  Norfolk,  Revenge, 
Manly,  Caswell,  Protector,  Washington,  Page,  Lewis,  York,  and  Richmond. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  679 

yard,  South  Quay,  Hampton,  and  near  Norfolk.  Early  in  April, 
1776,  George  Mason,  of  the  committee  of  safety,  had  charge  of 
the  building  of  two  galleys,  and  of  "the  American  Congress," 
this  last  to  carry  fourteen  guns,  four  and  six-pounders,  and  her 
complement  of  marines  and  seamen  being  ninety-six  men.  The 
look-outs  were  a  sort  of  winged  sentries,  and  were  exposed  to 
hard  service.  But  a  small  part  of  the  vessels  of  the  Virginia 
navy  were  in  actual  service  at  any  one  time;  and  there  was  a 
deplorable  want  of  men,  some  having  not  more  than  one-twentieth 
of  their  full  number.  The  vessels  usually  served  separately,  but 
early  in  the  contest  Commodore  Boucher  commanded  fifteen  sail 
in  the  Potomac;  and  at  another  time  Captain  Richard  Taylor 
was  in  command  of  a  squadron  in  Hampton  Roads.  The  Virgi 
nia-built  vessels,  although  plain  and  simple  in  their  construction, 
were  very  fast  sailers.  This,  together  with  their  lighter  draught 
and  familiarity  with  the  waters,  often  enabled  them  to  escape 
from  the  enemy.  Of  all  the  vessels  of  the  Virginia  navy  not  one 
remains. 

James  Maxwell,  Esq.,  was  superintendent  of  the  navy-yard  on 
the  Chickahominy,  and  he  was  assisted  by  Captain  Christopher 
Calvert.  The  former  officer  commanded  the  ship  Cormorant  in 
1782.  He  was  father  of  the  late  William  Maxwell,  Esq.,  Secre 
tary  of  the  Virginia  Historical  Society.  The  three  commodores 
commissioned  during  the  struggle  were  J.  Boucher,  Walter 
Brooke,  and  James  Barron.  Richard  Barron,  brother  of  James, 
was  a  captain  during  the  whole  war.  The  Barrens  appear  to  have 
had  a  natural  proclivity  for  the  water.  Lieutenant  William  Bar 
ron,  of  the  continental  navy,  lost  his  life  by  the  bursting  of  a 
gun  on  board  of  the  frigate  Boston,  in  bringing  to  a  vessel  off  the 
coast  of  France,  in  1778.  John  Adams,  and  his  son  John 
Quincy,  then  a  boy,  were  on  board  of  this  ship  on  this  occasion. 
Mr.  Adams  held  the  lieutenant  in  his  arms  while  his  leg  was  am 
putated.  This  William  Barron  had  been  a  lieutenant  in  the  Virginia 
naval  service.  Among  the  captains  were  Richard  Barron,  Eleazer 
Callender,  John  Calvert,  John  Cowper,  Thomas  Lilly,  John 
Pasture,  John  Harris,  James  Markham,  Richard  Taylor,  Edward 
Travis,  Cely  Saunders,  Isaac  Younghusband,  and  John  Catesby 
Cocke.  Of  the  lieutenants  may  be  named  Dale,  Cunningham, 


680  ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA. 

Chamberlayne,  Lewis,  Pickett,  Watkins,  and  Jennings.  Among 
the  surgeons  are  found  the  names  of  Kemp,  Lyon,  McClurg, 
Brockenbrough,  Christie,  Riddle,  Reynolds,  Sharpless,  Svvope, 
and  Pell.  Among  the  seamen  were  many  faithful  blacks,  who 
served  through  the  whole  war.  Most  of  the  Virginia  armed  ves 
sels  were  eventually  captured  at  sea  or  destroyed  in  the  rivers. 
The  vessels  commanded  by  the  Barrons  were  the  Liberty  and  the 
Patriot.  The  former  was  engaged  in  twenty  actions,  and  was 
probably  the  only  one  that  escaped  the  enemy. 

Early  in  1776  an  armed  tender,  commanded  by  the  tory  Good 
rich,  was  captured  off  Bowler's  wharf,  in  the  Rappahannock. 
Shortly  afterwards  the  Barrons  captured,  near  the  capes,  the  Brit 
ish  transport-ship  Oxford,  from  Glasgow,  having  on  board  two 
hundred  and  seventeen  Scotch  Highlanders,  who  were  shaping 
their  course  to  join  Governor  Dunrnore,  whom  they  supposed  to 
be  in  Virginia.  This  ship  was  destroyed  by  Arnold  in  1781. 

Early  in  July,  1776,  Captain  Richard  Barron  captured  a 
sloop,  from  the  West  Indies,  laden  with  pine  apples,  limes,  etc., 
and  shortly  after  the  Fanny,  an  English  vessel,  laden  with  sup 
plies  for  Boston.  She  had  on  board  numerous  presents  to  the 
officers  in  that  city.  Captain  Richard  Taylor  captured  several 
merchantmen  in  the  Rappahannock.  One  of  them,  the  Speed 
well,  was  armed,  and  sent  to  the  West  Indies  for  powder  and 
supplies.  In  September  several  large  vessels,  laden  with  tobacco, 
were  despatched  to  the  same  islands  for  the  like  purpose.* 


*  Va.  Navy  of  the  Revolution,  by  Dr.  Wm.  P.  Palmer,  Secretary  of  Va.  Hist. 
Society.   (S.  Lit.  Messenger,  1857.) 


CHAPTER    XCII. 


Commodore  Hotliam — Proceedings  of  Assembly — Charges  against  Richard  Henry  ^ 
Lee — He  demands  an  Enquiry — His  Defence  and  Honorable  Acquittal. 

IN  January,  177 7,  when  Commodore  Hotham  was  cruising  in 
the  Chesapeake,  the  prisoners  that  fell  into  his  hands  were 
humanely  treated  and  readily  exchanged.  In  February,  the 
Phoenix  man-of-war  came  to  Yorktown  with  a  flag,  and  sent 
ashore  a  party  of  prisoners,  among  whom  was  Colonel  Lawson, 
who  had  been  long  in  captivity,  and  who  was  exchanged  for 
Colonel  Alexander  Gordon,  of  Norfolk,  a  Scotch  tory,  who  had 
been  arrested  in  1775  and  released  on  parole.  Captain  Lilly, 
in  the  brig  Liberty,  captured  off  the  coast  of  Virginia  the  British 
ship  Jane  with  a  valuable  cargo.  Capture  Pasture,  in  the  Molly, 
a  small  craft,  returned  from  the  southward  with  a  supply  of  gun 
powder.  The  schooner  Henry  was  captured  by  the  British  man- 
of-war  Seaford. 

When  the  assembly  again  met  in  May,  1777,  George  Wythe 
was  made  speaker  of  the  house  of  delegates;  the  oath  of  alle 
giance  was  prescribed;  a  loan-office  was  established,  and  acts 
passed  to  support  the  credit  of  the  Continental  and  State  paper 
currency.  Benjamin  Harrison,  George  Mason,  Joseph  Jones, 
Francis  Lightfoot  Lee,  and  John  Harrison  were  elected  delegates 
to  congress,  Richard  Henry  Lee  having  been  left  out.  There 
were  no  little  dissension  and  animosity  in  congress  between  the 
delegates  of  the  movement  party  and  the  moderates ;  and,  added 
to  this,  it  was  believed  that  an  old  grudge,  harbored  in  Virginia 
against  Mr.  Lee  for  the  prominent  part  he  had  taken  many  years 
before  in  disuniting  the  offices  of  speaker  and  treasurer,  followed 
him  to  Philadelphia.  The  charges  alleged  against  him  by  his 
enemies  in  Virginia  were,  first,  that  he  had  altered  the  mode  in 
which  his  tenants  should  pay  their  rent  from  money  to  produce, 

(681) 


682  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLOXY   AND 

with  the  design  of  depreciating  the  currency  of  the  country;  and 
secondly,  that  he  had  favored  New  England  to  the  injury  of  Vir 
ginia;  thirdly,  that  as  a  member  of  the  secret  committee  in  con 
gress,  he  had  opposed  laying  their  proceedings  before  congress — 
it  being  thereby  intended  to  insinuate  that  in  so  doing  he  had 
wished  to  conceal  the  embezzlement  of  the  public  money. 

A  letter  from  Richard  Henry  Lee  to  Mr.  Jefferson,  dated  at 
^Philadelphia,  November  3d,  1776,  contains  the  following  para 
graph:  "I  have  been  informed  that  very  malignant  and  very 
scandalous  hints  and  inuendoes  concerning  me  have  been  uttered 
in  the  house.  From  the  justice  of  the  house  I  should  expect 
they  would  not  suffer  the  character  of  an  absent  person  to  be 
reviled  by  any  slanderous  tongue  whatever.  When  I  am  present 
I  shall  be  perfectly  satisfied  with  the  justice  I  am  able  to  do 
myself.  From  your  candor,  sir,  and  knowledge  of  my  political 
movements,  I  hope  such  misstating®  as  may  happen  in  your  pres 
ence  will  be  rectified."  Early  in  June,  1777,  as  well  on  account 
of  his  health  as  for  the  purpose  of  rebutting  the  charges  circu 
lated  against  him,  Mr.  Lee  returned  home;  and  having  been 
elected  to  the  assembly  from  Westmoreland,  he  repaired  to  Hich- 
mond  and  demanded  an  enquiry  into  his  conduct. 

Mann  Page,  Jr.,  and  Francis  Lightfoot  Lee,  owing  to  the  pro 
ceedings  of  the  house  of  delegates  against  Richard  Henry  Lee, 
condemning  him  in  his  absence  without  opportunity  of  defence, 
addressed  a  letter  from  Philadelphia,  dated  June  tenth,  to  the 
speaker,  tendering  the  resignations  of  their  seats  in  congress. 

The  demand  made  by  Richard  Henry  Lee  for  an  enquiry  into 
his  conduct  was  acceded  to,  and  the  senate  on  the  occasion  united 
with  the  house  of  delegates.  Several  persons  were  examined, 
and  Mr.  Lee  was  heard  in  his  own  defence.  It  appeared  that  he 
had  first  proposed  to  make  the  alteration  in  the  payment  of  his 
rents  from  money  to  tobacco  at  a  fixed  valuation,  as  early  as 
August,  1775,  when  the  tenants  on  account  of  the  association 
could  not  sell  their  produce,  and  when  but  little  paper  currency 
had  as  yet  been  issued  for  the  war  of  Revolution,  and,  conse 
quently  the  alteration  could  not  have  been  proposed  for  the  pur 
pose  of  depreciating  a  currency  which  did  not  then,  to  any  sensi 
ble  extent,  exist.  When  in  March,  1776,  the  alteration  in  the 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  683 

rents  was  actually  made,  very  little  paper  money  had  yet  been 
issued.  And  it  appeared  that  in  August  of  that  year  the  tenants 
of  Loudoun  County  themselves  petitioned  the  convention  to  have 
their  money-rents  changed  to  produce.  The  truth  was,  as  Mr. 
Lee  declared,  certain  evil-disposed  men  hated  him  for  the  same 
reasons  on  account  of  which  he  was  devoted  to  destruction  in  the 
British  camp,  which  were,  because  he  had  faithfully  served  his 
country,  and,  in  concert  with  other  generous  friends  to  human 
liberty  and  the  rights  of  America,  had  contributed  to  the  defeat 
of  the  enemy  and  to  the  raising  of  America  triumphant  over  its 
cruel  and  vindictive  foes. 

As  to  the  second  charge,  that  Mr.  Lee  opposed  the  laying  the 
proceedings  of  the  secret  committee  of  congress  before  that  body, 
for  the  purpose  of  concealing  embezzlement  of  the  public  money, 
it  was  well  known  that  he  had  no  sort  of  connection  whatever 
with  any  commercial  business,  and,  therefore,  could  not  propose 
to  himself  any  advantage  from  any  such  source.  But  it  was  very 
probable  that  those  who  themselves  entertained  designs  of  pecu 
lating  upon  the  public  funds,  would  be  glad  to  get  Mr.  Lee  out  of 
their  way.  To  lay  the  proceedings  of  a  secret  committee  before 
congress  would  be  to  defeat  its  very  object  and  contradict  its 
name.  The  third  charge  was  that  he  favored  New  England  at 
the  expense  of  Virginia  and  the  South.  It  was  known  that 
America  could  be  conquered  only  by  disunion.  Mr.  Lee  called 
on  his  accusers  to  show  that  he  ever  had  in  a  single  instance  pre 
ferred  the  interest  of  New  England  to  that  of  Virginia.  Indeed, 
he  knew  not  in  what  respects  their  interests  conflicted.  New 
England  and  Virginia  had  both  exhibited  a  fixed  determination 
against  British  tyranny,  and  their  guilt  was  alike  in  the  eyes  of 
the  common  enemy.  The  majority  of  the  other  colonies  had 
entitled  themselves  to  some  hopes  of  pardon  from  the  tyrant  by 
vacillating  conduct.  Among  the  Middle  and  Southern  States 
there  was,  in  Mr.  Lee's  opinion,  much  enmity  to  Virginia,  owing 
to  jealousy  of  her  wisdom,  vigor,  and  extent  of  territory;  but  he 
had  ever  discovered,  "upon  every  question,  respect  and  love  for 
Virginia  among  the  Eastern  delegates."  It  was  his  consolation, 
that  "the  malignants,  who  would  represent  him  as  an  enemy  to 
his  country,  could  not  make  him  so."  He  gave  his  enemies  credit 


684  ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA. 

for  more  address  than  he  had  supposed  they  possessed,  in  making 
use  of  a  good  principle — rotation  in  office — for  his  ruin ;  and  he 
believed  that  the  act,  limiting  the  term  of  service  to  three  years, 
was  framed  expressly  to  fit  his  case ;  and  thus  a  malicious  slan 
der,  uttered  in  his  absence,  appeared  likely  to  be  successful.*  Mr. 
Lee  had  been  superseded  early  in  the  session  while  absent — a 
flagrant  injustice  against  which  no  reputation  could  be  safe. 
John  Banister,  although  not  very  fond  of  Mr.  Lee,  said  of  his 
speech  on  this  occasion:  "  Certainly  no  defence  was  ever  made 
with  more  graceful  eloquence,  more  manly  firmness,  equalness  of 
temper,  serenity,  calmness,  and  judgment,  than  this  very  accom 
plished  speaker  displayed  on  this  occasion;  and  I  am  now  of 
opinion  he  will  be  re-elected  to  his  former  station  instead  of 
Mr.  George  Mason,  who  has  resigned. "f  Mr.  Lee  is  said  to 
have  shed  tears  while  speaking  on  this  occasion.  The  enquiry 
being  ended,  the  senate  withdrew,  and  in  compliance  with  a  reso 
lution  of  the  house,  the  speaker  returned  Mr.  Lee  their  thanks 
for  the  faithful  services  which  he  had  rendered  his  country  while 
in  congress.  The  speaker  added  his  own  testimony,  arid  said: 
"  Serving  with  you  in  congress,  and  attentively  observing  your 
conduct  there,  I  thought  that  you  manifested  in  the  American 
cause  a  zeal  truly  patriotic;  and  as  far  as  I  could  judge,  exerted 
the  abilities  for  which  you  are  confessedly  distinguished,  to  prose 
cute  the  good  and  prosperity  of  your  own  country  in  particular, 
and  of  the  United  States  in  general."  Thus  Mr.  Lee's  vindica 
tion  of  himself  was  triumphant. 

"Virtue  may  be  assailed,  but  never  hurt; 
Surprised  by  unjust  force,  but  not  inthralled; 
Yea,  even  that  which  mischief  meant  most  harm, 
Shall  in  the  happy  trial  prove  most  glory." 


*  Letter  of  Richard  Henry  Lee  to  Patrick  Henry — among  the  Lee  MSS.  I  am 
indebted  to  N.  F.  Cabell,  Esq.,  for  the  use  of  his  transcripts  of  these  interesting 
MSS.,  •which  are  deposited  in  the  library  of  the  University  of  Virginia. 

f  Life  of  Richard  Henry  Lee,  192 ;  Bland  Papers,  i.  58. 


CHAPTER    XCIII. 


Battle  of  Brandywine  —  Virginia  Brigades  —  Burgoyne's  Expedition  —  His  Sur 
render  —  Daniel  Morgan  —  Washington  at  Valley  Forge  —  Frigate  Randolph  —  • 
Treaty  with  France  —  Clinton  retreats  —  Battle  of  Monmouth  —  General  Lee  — 
Anecdote  of  Colonel  Meade  —  The  Meade  family  —  Colonel  Baylor  —  General 

Clarke. 

IN  the  battle  of  Brandywine,  which  took  place  on  the  llth  of 
September,  1777,  Sir  William  Howe  again  proved  victorious; 
but  the  action  was  well  contested,  and  the  loss  on  both  sides 
heavy.  The  Virginia  brigades,  under  Wayne  and  Weedon,  par 
ticularly  distinguished  themselves.  General  George  Weedon,  be 
fore  the  Revolution,  had  been  an  inn-keeper  at  Fredericksburg. 
The  third  Virginia  regiment,  under  command  of  Colonel  Thomas 
Marshall,  (father  of  the  chief  justice,)  which  had  performed  severe 
duty  in  1776,  was  placed  in  a  wood  on  the  right,  and  in  front  of 
Woodford's  brigade  and  Stephen's  division.  Though  attacked  by 
superior  numbers,  the  regiment  maintained  its  position  until  both 
its  flanks  were  turned,  its  ammunition  nearly  expended,  and  more 
than  half  of  the  officers  and  one-third  of  the  soldiers  were  killed 
or  wounded.  Colonel  Marshall,  whose  horse  had  received  two 
balls,  then  retired  to  resume  his  position  on  the  right  of  his  divi 
sion,  but  it  had  already  retreated.  Among  the  wounded  in  this 
battle  were  La  Fayette  and  Woodford.  The  enemy  passed  the 
night  on  the  field  of  battle.  On  the  twenty-sixth  the  British 
entered  Philadelphia. 

On  the  fourth  of  October  occurred  the  battle  of  Germantown, 
in  which  the  American  forces,  by  a  well-concerted  plan,  attacked 
the  enemy  at  several  points  early  in  the  morning.  The  British 
were  at  first  driven  back,  precipitately,  toward  Philadelphia,  but 
at  length  made  a  successful  stand  at  Chew's  house,  garrisoned  by 
five  companies  of  the  fortieth  regiment,  under  the  command  of 
Colonel  Musgrave.  Lieutenant  Matthew  Smith,  of  Virginia, 
having  volunteered  to  carry  a  flag  of  truce  to  Chew's  house,  was 

(685) 


686  HISTORY  OF  THE  COLONY  AND 

mortally  wounded,  and  died  in  a  few  days.  The  Americans  being 
thrown  into  confusion  in  a  dense  fog,  Washington,  when  victory 
had  seemed  to  be  almost  within  his  grasp,  was  eventually  com 
pelled  to  retreat.  A  British  officer  afterwards  declared  in  parlia 
ment  that  Sir  William  Howe  had  received  information  beforehand 
of  the  intended  attack.  The  ninth  Virginia  regiment  and  part  of 
the  sixth  were  made  prisoners.  Colonel  Matthews,  after  pene 
trating  to  the  centre  of  the  town  with  his  regiment,  was  made 
prisoner.  Major- General  Stephen,  who  commanded  the  right 
division  of  the  left  wing,  was  cashiered  for  misconduct  on  the 
retreat,  and  intoxication.  The  loss  of  the  enemy  was  heavy;  and 
congress  expressed  its  approbation  of  the  plan  of  the  battle  and 
the  courage  displayed  in  its  execution,  and  the  thanks  of  that 
body  were  given  to  the  general  and  the  army. 

In  the  mean  time,  at  the  north,  Burgoyne,  with  a  well-appointed 
army,  had  advanced  from  Canada,  in  order  to  open  a  communi 
cation  between  that  country  and  New  York,  and  to  cut  off  New 
England  from  the  rest  of  the  States.  Washington,  in  a  letter  to 
General  Schuyler,  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  Burgoyne  would, 
eventually,  receive  an  effectual  check ;  that  his  confidence  of  suc 
cess  would  precipitate  his  ruin;  that  his  acting  in  detachment 
would  expose  his  parties  to  great  hazard,  and  prophetically  adds : 
"  Could  we  be  so  happy  as  to  cut  one  of  them  off,  though  it  should 
not  exceed  four,  five,  or  six  hundred  men,  it  would  inspirit  the 
people." 

After  capturing  Ticonderoga,  Burgoyne  moved  toward  the  Hud 
son,  encountering  continual  obstructions  in  his  route  through  a 
wilderness,  and  harassed  by  the  American  troops.  A  strong  de 
tachment  was  overwhelmed  by  Starke  and  his  countrymen  near 
Bennington,  in  Vermont.  After  a  series  of  engagements,  in 
which  he  suffered  a  terrible  loss,  Burgoyne  was  at  length,  on  the 
17th  day  of  October,  1777,  thirteen  days  after  the  battle  of  Ger- 
mantown,  forced  to  surrender  at  Saratoga  to  Gates,  who  had 
shortly  before  succeeded  Schuyler.  Among  those  who  distin 
guished  themselves  at  Saratoga  was  Daniel  Morgan,  with  his  Vir 
ginia  riflemen.  He  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  son  of  a  Welsh 
man,  and  removed  in  his  youth  to  Virginia,  about  1755,  and  made 
his  living  for  a  time  by  driving  a  wagon.  In  Braddock's  expedi- 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  687 

tion,  when  about  twenty-two  years  of  age,  he  served  as  a  private, 
and  was  wounded.  There  is  a  tradition  of  his  having  been 
severely  whipped  on  a  charge  of  contumacy  to  a  British  officer.* 
For  some  years  after  he  was  twenty  years  of  age  he  was  addicted 
to  fighting  and  gambling;  and  the  reputed  scene  of  his  combats, 
in  Clarke  County,  retains  its  name  of  Battletown.  When  the 
revolutionary  war  began  he  was  appointed  a  captain,  and  in  com 
mand  of  a  troop  of  Virginia  horse  he  marched  thence  in  the  sum 
mer,  with  extraordinary  expedition,  to  the  American  army  at 
Cambridge,  Massachusetts.  Washington,  who  knew  him  well, 
and  had  strong  confidence  in  his  bravery  and  patriotism,  detached 
him  to  join  the  expedition  against  Canada;  and  he  exhibited  his 
accustomed  courage  at  Quebec;  and  when  Arnold  was  wounded 
the  command  devolved  on  him.  When  Montgomery  fell,  Morgan 
was  taken  prisoner.  While  in  the  hands  of  the  British  he  was 
offered  the  rank  and  pay  of  a  colonel,  but  he  indignantly  rejected 
them.  Exchanged  in  the  following  year,  he  rejoined  the  army; 
and  in  command  of  a  rifle  corps  rendered  signal  service  at 
Saratoga. 

On  the  thirtieth  day  of  October  Gates'  victory  was  celebrated 
at  Williamsburg  by  a  feu  de  joie,  joyful  shouts,  ringing  of  bells, 
and  illuminations;  and  all  prisoners,  except  deserters,  were  dis 
charged  from  confinement;  and  a  gill  of  rum  was  issued  to  every 
soldier.  The  troops  were  reviewed  by  General  Nelson,  by  the 
speakers  of  both  houses  of  assembly,  and  by  many  of  the  mem 
bers.  Governor  Henry,  by  proclamation,  appointed  a  day  of 
thanksgiving. 

In  December  the  American  army  encamped  at  Valley  Forge, 
on  the  Schuylkill,  near  Philadelphia.  The  winter  was  one  of  ex 
traordinary  rigor ;  the  soldiers  destitute  of  clothing,  and  the  hos 
pitals  filled  with  the  sick.  To  aggravate  Washington's  troubles 
a  cabal  formed  a  design  at  this  time  of  supplanting  him,  and 
making  Gates  commander-in-chief.  But  Washington  stood  un 
shaken  :  the  angry  billows  dash  in  vain  against  the  ocean  rock, 
and  fall  in  empty  murmurs  at  its  base. 


*  The  Rev.  Dr.  Hill  told  Mr.  Grigsby  that  he  had  seen  the  marks  of  the  flog 
ging  on  Morgan's  back. 


688  HISTORY  OF  THE  COLONY  AND 

In  May,  1778,  the  American  frigate  Randolph,  (so  called  in 
honor  of  Peyton  Randolph,  president  of  congress,)  carrying 
thirty-six  guns  and  three  hundred  and  five  men,  sailed  on  a  cruise 
from  Charleston.  The  Yarmouth,  British  man-of-war,  of  sixty- 
four  guns,  discovered  her  and  five  other  vessels,  and  came  up  with 
her  in  the  evening.  Captain  Vincent  hailed  the  Randolph  to 
hoist  colors,  or  he  would  fire  into  her;  on  which  she  hoisted  the 
American  flag,  and  immediately  gave  the  Yarmouth  her  broad 
side,  which  was  returned,  and  in  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  the 
Randolph  blew  up.  Four  men  escaped  upon  a  fragment  of  the 
wreck,  and  subsisted  for  five  days  on  rain  water  alone,  which  they 
sucked  from  a  piece  of  blanket  which  they  had  picked  up.  They 
were  rescued  by  the  Yarmouth.* 

Early  in  this  month  congress  received  despatches  containing  a 
treaty  between  the  king  of  France  and  the  United  States  of 
America.  In  consequence  of  Burgoyne's  surrender  and  of  the 
treaty  with  France,  the  British  army  (under  command  of  Sir  Henry 
Clinton,  wTho  had  relieved  Sir  William  Howe,)  evacuated  Philadel 
phia  in  June,  1778.  Crossing  the  Delaware,  they  marched  for  New 
York.  Washington  pursued  them  across  the  Jerseys,  and  on  the 
twenty-eighth  of  June  occurred  the  battle  of  Monmouth.  The 
result  was  not  decisive ;  many  died  from  heat  and  fatigue ;  the 
Americans  remained  on  the  field  of  battle,  where  Washington 
passed  the  night  in  his  cloak  in  the  midst  of  his  soldiers.  It  was 
during  this  action  that  General  Charles  Lee  retreated  before  the 
British,  who  had  turned  upon  him.  He  was  met  by  Washington, 
who  reprimanded  him,  ordered  the  division  to  be  formed,  and, 
with  the  aid  of  artillery  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Carrington, 
checked  the  enemy's  advance.  General  Lee  was  arrested,  tried, 
and  convicted  of  disobedience  of  orders,  of  making  an  unneces 
sary  and  disorderly  retreat,  and  of  writing  disrespectfully  to  the 
commander-in-chief,  and  suspended  from  the  army  for  one  year. 
Recent  developments  strengthen  the  suspicion  long  entertained 
that  he  acted  traitorously.  It  is  strange  that,  conscious  of  this, 
he  should  have  remained  among  those  whom  he  had  endeavored 
to  betray.  He  had  previously  been  signally  serviceable  in  the 

*  Cooper's  History  of  North  America,  106. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  689 

American  cause;  and  at  the  time  of  his  suspension  there  were 
not  wanting  divers  leading  men  who  thought  him  hardly  dealt 
with.  But  a  man  is  never  better  than  his  principles,  and  Gene 
ral  Lee's  were  bad  from  the  beginning.  La  Fayette  said  that 
Washington  never  appeared  to  better  advantage  than  in  this 
action,  when  roused  by  Lee's  misconduct. 

Colonel  Richard  Kidder  Meade,  the  father  of  Bishop  Meade, 
was  one  of  Washington's  aides-de-camp.  The  following  anecdote 
relative  to  him  is  taken  from  the  Travels  of  Anburey,  who  was  a 
lieutenant  in  the  British  army,  and  in  1779  a  prisoner  of  war  in 
Virginia,  and  visiting  the  lower  country  on  parole:  "  On  my 
way  to  this  place  I  stopt  and  slept  at  Tuckahoe,  where  I  met 
with  Colonel  Meade,  Colonel  Laurens,  and  another  officer  of 
General  Washington's  suite.  More  than  once  did  I  express  a 
wish  that  the  general  himself  had  been  of  the  party,  to  have  seen 
and  conversed  with  a  character  of  whom,  in  all  my  travels  through 
the  various  provinces,  I  never  heard  any  one  speak  disrespectfully 
as  an  individual,  and  whose  public  character  has  been  the  admira 
tion  and  astonishment  of  all  Europe."  *  * 
"  The  colonel  (Meade)  attributed  the  safety  of  his  person  to  the 
swiftness  of  his  horse  at  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  having  been 
fired  at  and  pursued  by  some  British  officers  as  he  was  reconnoi- 
tering.  Upon  the  colonel's  mentioning  this  circumstance  it 
occurred  to  me  he  must  have  been  the  person  that  Sir  Henry 
Clinton's  aide-de-camp  had  fired  at,  and  requesting  to  know  the 
particular  color  of  his  horse,  he  informed  me  it  was  black,  which 
convinced  me  it  was  him;  when  I  related  the  circumstance  of  his 
meeting  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  he  replied  he  recollected  in  the  course 
of  the  day  to  have  met  several  British  officers,  and  one  of  them 
wore  a  star.  Upon  my  mentioning  the  observation  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  had  made  to  his  aide-de-camp,*  the  colonel  laughed,  and 
replied,  had  he  known  it  was  the  commander-in-chief  he  should 
have  made  a  desperate  effort  to  take  him  prisoner." 

The  name  of  Richard  Kidder  is  said  to  be  derived  from  a 
bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells,  who  was  from  the  same  stock  with  the 


*  To  wit,  that  he  ought  by  no  means  to  have  fired  at  the  American,  as  he  pro 
bably  might  have  wished  to  speak  to  him  and  give  him  intelligence. 

44 


690  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

Meades  of  Virginia.  Andrew  Meade,  first  of  the  name  in  Vir 
ginia,  born  in  County  Kerry,  Ireland,  educated  a  Romanist,  came 
over  to  New  York,  and  married  Mary  Latham,  a  Quakeress,  of 
Flushing,  on  Long  Island.  He  afterwards  settled  in  Nansemond, 
Virginia,  and  for  many  years  was  burgess  thereof;  from  which  it 
appears  that  he  must  have  renounced  the  Romish  religion.  He 
was  prosperous,  affluent,  and  hospitable.  He  is  mentioned  by 
Colonel  Byrd  in  his  Journal  of  the  Dividing  Line  run  in  1728.  His 
only  son,  David  Meade,  married,  under  romantic  circumstances, 
Susannah,  daughter  of  Sir  Richard  Everard,  Baronet,  Governor 
of  North  Carolina.  Of  the  sons  of  David  Meade,  Richard  Kid- 
der  Meade  was  aide-de-camp  to  General  Washington;  Everard 
Meade  aide  to  General  Lincoln.  Richard  Kidder,  Everard, 
together  with  an  older  brother,  David,  were  educated  at  Harrow, 
England,  under  the  care  of  Dr.  Thackeray.  Sir  William  Jones, 
Sir  Joseph  Banks,  and  Dr.  Parr,  were  at  the  same  time  scholars 
there. 

In  June,  1778,  Colonel  Arthur  Campbell  wrote  to  the  Rev. 
Charles  Cummings,  of  Washington  County :  "  Yesterday  I  returned 
home,  the  assembly  having  adjourned  until  the  first  Monday  in 
October.  The  acts  passed,  and  a  list  of  their  titles,  I  here  en 
close,  together  with  an  address  of  congress  to  the  people  of 
America,  for  you  to  publish,  agreeable  to  the  resolve.  I  wish 
you  could  make  it  convenient  to  preach  at  the  lower  meeting 
house  in  this  county,  if  it  was  but  a  week-day,  as  the  contents  of 
the  address  are  of  the  most  interesting  nature,  both  as  to  the 
moral  and  political  conduct  of  the  good  people  of  America. 
Providence  is  daily  working  out  strange  deliverances  for  us. 
The  treaty  with  France  is  much  more  advantageous  than  the 
wisest  men  in  this  country  expected.  The  Indians  the  other  day 
were  unexpectedly  discomfited  on  Greenbrier.  I  think  the  over 
throw  was  something  similar  to  what  happened  in  this  county 
about  two  years  ago.  I  must  give  you  the  intelligence  at  full 
length,  as  the  most  hardened  mind  must  see  and  admire  the 

O 

Divine  goodness  in  such  an  interposition." 

The  Rev.  Charles  Cummings,  by  birth  an  Irishman,  resided 
for  some  time  in  the  congregation  of  the  Rev.  James  Waddell,  in 
Lancaster,  and  probably  studied  theology  under  his  care.  Mr. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  691 

Cummings  married  Miss  Milly,  daughter  of  John  Carter,  of  Lan 
caster,  and  in  1773  settled  near  where  Abingdon  now  stands. 
His  meeting-house  was  of  unhewn  logs,  from  eighty  to  a  hundred 
feet  long  and  forty  wide.  Mr.  Cummings  was  of  middle  stature, 
well  formed,  of  great  firmness  and  dignity.  His  voice  was  of 
great  compass,  and  his  articulation  distinct.  At  this  time  the 
inhabitants,  during  the  summer  months,  were  compelled  to  take 
shelter  in  forts  for  protection  against  the  Indians.  The  men 
went  to  church  armed,  taking  their  families  with  them.  The 
armed  congregation,  seated  in  the  log  meeting-house,  presented  a 
singular  spectacle  of  frontier  life.  Mr.  Cummings,  when  he 
ascended  the  steps  of  the  pulpit,  deposited  his  rifle  in  a  corner 
and  laid  aside  his  shot-pouch.  He  was  a  zealous  whig,  and  was 
chairman  of  the  committee  of  safety  of  Washington  County,  formed 
as  early  as  January,  1775.  He  was  a  Presbyterian  of  the  old 
stamp,  a  rigid  Calvinist,  and  a  man  of  exemplary  piety. 

After  the  battle  of  Monmouth  Sir  Henry  Clinton  occupied 
New  York.  The  arrival  of  a  French  fleet  under  D'Estaing  re 
animated  the  hopes  of  the  Americans.  Arthur  Lee  argued 
unfavorably  of  the  removal  of  D'Orvilliers  and  D'Estaing's 
appointment.  Washington  took  a  position  at  White  Plains,  on 
the  Hudson.  About  this  time  Colonel  Baylor's  regiment  of 
cavalry  was  surprised  in  the  night  by  a  British  corps  under 
General  Gray.  Of  one  hundred  and  four  privates  forty  were 
made  prisoners,  and  twenty-seven  killed  or  wounded.  Colonel 
Baylor  was  himself  dangerously  wounded  and  taken  prisoner. 

In  the  year  1778  the  town  of  Abington  was  incorporated. 
Virginia  sent  General  George  Rogers  Clarke  on  an  expedition  to 
the  northwest.  After  enduring  extreme  sufferings  in  marching 
through  a  wilderness,  he  and  his  hardy  followers  captured  Kaskas- 
kias  and  its  governor,  Rocheblave.  In  December,  1778,  Hamilton, 
British  lieutenant-governor  of  Detroit,  under  Sir  Guy  Carleton, 
governor-in-chief,  took  possession  of  the  post  (now  the  town)  of 
Vincennes,  in  Indiana.  Here  he  fortified  himself,  intending  in 
the  ensuing  spring  to  rally  his  Indian  confederates  to  attack  Kas- 
kaskias,  then  in  possession  of  Clarke,  and  to  proceed  up  the  Ohio 
to  Fort  Pitt,  sweeping  Kentucky  in  the  way,  and  finally  over 
running  all  West  Augusta.  This  expedition  was  ordered  by 


692  ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA. 

Carleton.  Clarke's  position  was  too  remote  for  succor,  and  his 
force  too  small  to  withstand  a  siege;  nevertheless,  he  prepared  to 
make  the  best  defence  possible.  At  this  juncture  a  Spanish 
merchant  brought  intelligence  that  Hamilton  had,  by  detaching 
his  Indian  allies,  reduced  the  strength  of  his  garrison  to  eighty 
men,  with  a  few  cannon.  Clarke  immediately  despatched  a  small 
armed  galley,  with  orders  to  force  her  way  and  station  herself  a 
few  miles  below  the  enemy.  In  the  mean  time,  early  in  Feb 
ruary,  1779,  he  marched,  with  one  hundred  and  thirty  men,  upon 
St.  Vincennes:  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  joined  the 
expedition;  the  rest  garrisoned  the  towns.  Impeded  by  rain  and 
high  waters,  his  little  army  were  occupied  for  sixteen  days  in 
reaching  the  fertile  borders  of  the  Wabash,  and  when  within  nine 
miles  of  the  enemy  it  required  five  days  to  cross  "the  drowned 
lands"  near  that  river,  "having  to  wade  often  upwards  of  two 
leagues,  up  to  our  breasts  in  water."  But  for  the  unusual  mildness 
of  the  season  they  must  have  perished.  On  the  evening  of  Feb 
ruary  the  twenty-third  they  reached  dry  land,  and  came  unper- 
ceived  within  sight  of  the  enemy ;  and  an  attack  being  made  at 
seven  o'clock,  the  inhabitants  of  St.  Yincennes  gladly  surrendered 
it,  and  assisted  in  besieging  Hamilton,  who  held  out  in  the 
fort.  On  the  next  day  he  surrendered  the  garrison.  Clarke 
despatching  some  armed  boats  up  the  Wabash,  captured  a  con 
voy,  including  forty  prisoners  and  X10,000  worth  of  goods  and 
stores.  Hamilton,  and  some  officers  and  privates,  were  sent  to 
the  governor  at  Williamsburg.  Colonel  Shelby  about  the  same 
time  attacking  the  Cherokees,  who  had  taken  up  the  tomahawk, 
burnt  eleven  towns  and  a  large  quantity  of  corn,  and  captured 
.£25,000  worth  of  goods. 

The  assembly  of  Virginia  afterwards  presented  to  General 
Clarke  an  honorary  sword,  on  the  scabbard  of  which  was  inscribed : 
"Sic  semper  tyrannis;"  and  on  the  blade:  "A  tribute  to  courage 
and  patriotism,  presented  by  the  State  of  Virginia  to  her  beloved 
son,  General  George  Rogers  Clarke,  who,  by  the  conquest  of  Illi 
nois  and  Vincennes,  extended  her  empire  and  aided  in  defence 
of  her  liberties."  In  his  latter  years  he  was  intemperate. 


CHAPTER    XCVI. 


Condition  of  Affairs  —  Mason's  Letter  —  Convention  Troops  removed  to  Char- 
lottesville  —  Miscellaneous  —  Church  Establishment  abolished  —  Clergy  and 
Churches  —  Suffolk  burnt  —  D'Estaing's  Siege  of  Savannah  —  Lincoln  surrenders 
—  Gates  defeated  at  Camden  —  Sumpter  defeated  —  Battle  of  King's  Mountain  — 
Colonel  Campbell  —  Colonel  Ferguson. 

WASHINGTON  looked  upon  the  early  part  of  1779  as  more 
fraught  with  clanger  than  any  preceding  period  of  the  war,  not 
on  account  of  the  strength  of  the  enemy,  but  owing  to  the  spirit 
of  selfish  speculation,  money-making,  and  stock-jobbing  that  pre 
vailed,  the  depreciation  of  the  paper  currency,  the  States  em 
ploying  their  ablest  men  at  home,  the  idleness  and  dissipation  of 
men  in  public  trust,  and  the  dissensions  in  congress.  The  demo 
ralizing  influences  of  war  were  making  themselves  manifest.* 

Colonel  George  Mercer,  of  Stafford,  who  had  been  compelled 
to  resign  the  office  of  stamp  collector  before  the  commencement 
of  the  revolutionary  struggle,  retired  to  England.  George  Mason, 
who  was  related  to  him,  in  October,  1778,  addressed  him  a  letter, 
in  which  he  said:  "If  I  can  only  live  to  see  the  American  Union 
firmly  fixed,  and  free  governments  well  established  in  our  western 
world,  and  can  leave  to  my  children  but  a  crust  of  bread  and 
liberty,  f  I  shall  die  satisfied,  and  say  with  the  Psalmist:  'Lord! 
now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace.'  God  has  been 


*  From  verses  supposed  to  have  been  written  about  this  time  by  St.  George 
Tucker  :— 

"Virtue  and  Washington  in  vain 
To  glory  call  this  prostrate  train." 

*     *     "Each  eager  votary  hugs  his  reams, 
And  hoards  his  millions  in  his  dreams. 
Kuin  -with  giant  strides  approaches, 
And  quartermasters  loll  in  coaches." 

f  The  expression  is  from  Smollet's  Ode  to  Independence. 

(693) 


694  HISTORY  or  THE  COLONY  AND 

pleased  to  bless  our  endeavors  in  a  just  cause  with  remarkable 
success.  To  us  upon  the  spot,  who  have  seen  step  by  step  the 
progress  of  this  great  contest,  who  know  the  defenceless  state  of 
America,  and  the  numberless  difficulties  we  have  had  to  struggle 
with;  taking  a  retrospective  view  of  what  is  passed,  we  seem  to 
have  been  treading  upon  enchanted  ground." 

Washington,  in  compliance  with  the  resolutions  of  congress, 
had  ordered  the  removal  of  the  convention  troops  of  Saratoga, 
then  quartered  in  Massachusetts,  to  Charlottesville,  Virginia. 
Congress,  whether  from  distrust  in  the  British  prisoners,  or  from 
reasons  of  state,  resolved  not  to  comply  with  the  articles  of  the 
convention,  allowing  the  prisoners  to  embark  for  England  on 
parole,  until  the  convention  should  be  ratified  by  the  English 
government.  Burgoyne  had  sailed  for  England  in  May,  and  from 
that  time  the  command  of  the  British  troops  of  convention, 
quartered  at  Cambridge,  had  devolved  upon  General  Phillips. 
Colonel  Bland,  with  an  escort,  conducted  the  prisoners  of  war  to 
Virginia.  Upon  their  arrival,  in  December,  at  their  place  of  desti 
nation,  on  Colonel  Harvey's  estate,  about  six  miles  from  Char 
lottesville,  they  suffered  many  privations,  being  billeted  in  block- 
Louses  without  windows  or  doors,  and  poorly  defended  from  the 
cold  of  an  uncommonly  rigorous  winter.  But  in  a  short  time 
they  constructed  better  habitations,  and  the  barracks  assumed 
the  appearance  of  a  neat  little  town.  In  the  rear  of  each  house 
they  had  trim  gardens  and  enclosed  places  for  poultry.  The 
army  cleared  a  space  of  six  miles  in  circumference  around  the 
barracks.  A  representation  of  the  barracks  is  given  in  Anburey's 
Travels.  The  officers  were  allowed,  upon  giving  parole,  to  provide 
for  themselves  lodging-places  within  a  circuit  of  a  hundred  miles.* 
Mr.  Jefferson  exhibited  a  generous  hospitality  toward  the  cap 
tives;  and  his  knowledge  of  French,  his  taste  for  music,  his  fine 
conversational  powers,  and  his  fascinating  manners,  contributed 
not  a  little  to  relieve  the  tedium  of  their  captivity.  Governor 
Henry  afforded  them  every  indulgence  in  his  power;  and  the 
amiable  disposition  of  Colonel  Bland,  who  commanded  the  guard 


*  Anburey  mentions  a  Dr.  Faucliee  as  resident  at  Charlottesville — probably 
Foushee. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  695 

placed  over  the  convention  troops,  still  further  ensured  their  quiet 
and  comfort.  General  Phillips,  described  by  Mr.  Jefferson  as 
"the  proudest  man  of  the  proudest  nation  on  earth,"  occupied 
Blenheim,  a  seat  of  Colonel  Carter's;  General  the  Baron  de 
Riedesel  occupied  Colle,  a  residence  belonging  to  Philip  Maz- 
zei,  Mr.  Jefferson's  Italian  neighbor;  and  the  Baroness,  whose 
romantic  sufferings  and  adventures  are  so  well  known,  has  given, 
in  her  Memoirs,  an  entertaining  account  of  her  sojourn  among 
the  picturesque  mountains  of  Albemarle.  Charlottesville  at  this 
period  consisted  of  a  court-house,  a  tavern,  and  about  a  dozen 
dwelling-houses.  * 

Anburey  has  given  a  graphic  picture  of  the  manners,  customs, 
and  the  grotesque  scenes  that  he  witnessed  at  Charlottesville 
and  in  its  vicinity. 

Violent  dissensions  convulsed  congress;  some  of  the  members 
were  suspected  of  treasonable  designs.  Early  in  May,  Richard 
Henry  Lee  wrote  from  Philadelphia  to  Mr.  Jefferson,  hoping  that 
he  "  would  not  be  blamed  by  him  and  his  other  friends  for  send 
ing  his  resignation  to  the  assembly,  and  averring  that  he  had 
been  persecuted  by  the  united  voice  of  toryism,  speculation,  fac 
tion,  envy,  malice,  arid  all  uncharitableness,"  so  that  nothing  but 
the  certain  prospect  of  doing  essential  service  to  his  country  could 
compensate  for  the  injuries  he  received.  But  he  adds :  "It  would 
content  me  indeed  to  sacrifice  every  consideration  to  the  public 
good  that  would  result  from  such  persons  as  yourself,  Mr.  Wythe, 
Mr.  Mason,  and  some  others  being  in  congress.  I  would  struggle 


*  Colonel  Bland,  in  some  verses  written  during  this  year,  alludes  thus  to  Mr. 
Jefferson: — 

On  yonder  height  I  see  a  lofty  dome  ;* 
But,  hapless  fate,  the  master's  not  at  home. 
His  high  aspiring  soul  aloft  had  towered, 
That  like  a  God  he  was  by  men  adored. 
But  envy  now  has  placed  him  in  Jove's  car 
To  rule  the  tempest  of  the  mighty  war, 
That  he,  like  Phaeton,  may  tumble  down, 
And  by  his  fall  astonish  all  the  town. 


*  Monticello. 


696  HISTORY  OF  THE  COLONY  AND 

with  persevering  ardor  through  every  difficulty  in  conjunction 
with  such  associates." 

In  1779  the  legislature  rejected  a  scheme  of  a  general  assess 
ment  for  the  support  of  religion.  Patrick  Henry  was  in  favor  of 
it.  The  glebe-lands  were  also  declared  to  be  public  property; 
and  thus  was  destroyed  the  last  vestige  of  a  religious  establish 
ment  in  Virginia.  During  the  Revolution,  the  loyalist  clergy  of 
Virginia  who  remained,  found  themselves  in  a  deplorable  condi 
tion.  The  prohibition  to  pray  for  the  king  was  strictly  enforced 
upon  them  by  the  incensed  people:  some  ministers  omitted  the 
obnoxious  petitions;  others  abandoned  the  churches  and  offered 
no  prayer  in  public;  while  a  few  appeared  disposed,  if  possible, 
to  resist  the  popular  tide,  but  were  compelled  eventually  to  suc 
cumb  to  it.  In  1775  Virginia  contained  sixty-one  counties, 
ninety-five  parishes,  one  hundred  and  sixty-four  churches  arid 
chapels,  and  ninety-one,  clergymen  of  the  establishment.  During 
the  interval  of  the  war  part  of  the  parishes  were  extinguished, 
and  the  greater  number  of  the  rest  were  deprived  of  ministerial 
help;  but  few  ministers  were  able  to  weather  the  storm  and  re 
main  at  their  former  posts;  the  others  having  been  compelled  to 
seek  precarious  shelter  and  support  in  other  parishes.  Some  of 
the  churches,  venerable  for  age  and  connected  with  so  many  in 
teresting  associations,  were  left  roofless  and  dismantled;  others 
used  as  barracks,  or  stables,  or  lodging-places  of  prisoners  of 
war;  and  the  moss-grown  walls  of  some  were  pulled  down  by 
sacrilegious  hands,  and  books  and  vessels  appurtenant  to  holy 
services  pillaged  and  carried  off. 

Until  this  year  the  British  arms  had  been  chiefly  directed 
against  the  Middle  and  Northern  States;  but  they  were  now 
turned  against  the  South.  Georgia  soon  fell  a  prey  to  the  enemy, 
and  South  Carolina  was  invaded.  In  May  a  squadron  under  Sir 
George  Collier  anchored  in  Hampton  Roads,  and  General  Mat 
thews  took  possession  of  Portsmouth.  The  enemy  destroyed  the 
public  stores  at  Gosport  and  Norfolk,  burnt  Suffolk,  and  destroyed 
upwards  of  a  hundred  vessels,  including  several  armed  ones.  The 
Virginia  navy  had  been  reduced  previously,  and  many  of  the  ves 
sels  ordered  to  be  sold,  and  from  this  time  the  history  of  those 
remaining  is  a  series  of  disasters. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  697 

Upon  the  approach  of  six  hundred  British  infantry  upon  Suf 
folk,  the  militia  and  greater  part  of  the  inhabitants  fled;  few 
could  save  their  effects;  some  who  remained  for  that  purpose 
were  made  prisoners.  The  enemy  fired  the  town,  and  nearly  the 
whole  of  it  was  consumed :  hundreds  of  barrels  of  tar,  pitch,  tur 
pentine,  and  rum,  lay  on  the  wharves,  and  their  heads  being 
staved,  the  contents  flowing  in  commingled  mass  and  catching 
the  blaze,  descended  to  the  river  in  torrents  of  liquid  flame,  and 
the  wind  blowing  violently,  the  splendid  mass  floated  to  the  oppo 
site  shore  in  a  conflagration  that  rose  and  fell  with  the  waves, 
and  there  set  on  fire  the  dry  grass  of  an  extensive  marsh.  This 
broad  sheet  of  fire,  the  crackling  flames  of  the  town,  the  lurid 
smoke,  and  the  occasional  explosion  of  gunpowder  in  the  maga 
zines,  projecting  ignited  fragments  of  timber  like  meteors  in  the 
troubled  air,  presented  altogether  an  awful  spectacle  of  the  hor 
rors  of  civil  war.  The  enemy  shortly  after,  laden  with  plunder, 
embarked  for  New  York. 

While  Sir  Henry  Clinton  was  encamped  near  Haerlem,  and 
Washington  in  the  Highlands  on  the  Hudson,*  Major  Lee,  of 
Virginia,  surprised  in  the  night  a  British  post  at  Paulus  Hook, 
and  with  a  loss  of  two  killed  and  three  wounded,  made  one  hun 
dred  and  fifty-nine  prisoners,  including  three  officers.  Soon  after 
this  a  fleet,  commanded  by  Admiral  Arbuthnot,  arrived  at  New 
York  with  re-enforcements.  D'Estaing  returned  to  the  southern 
coast  of  America  with  a  fleet  of  twenty-two  ships-of-the-line  and 
eleven  frigates,  and  having  on  board  six  thousand  soldiers.  He 
arrived  so  unexpectedly  that  the  British  ship  Experiment  of  fifty 
guns,  and  three  frigates,  fell  into  his  hands.  In  September, 
Savannah,  occupied  by  a  British  force  under  General  Prevost, 
was  besieged  by  the  French  and  Americans,  commanded  by  D'Es 
taing  and  Lincoln. f  In  an  ineffectual  effort  to  storm  the  post 
the  French  and  Americans  suffered  heavy  loss.  The  siege  was 
raised,  and  D'Estaing,  who  had  been  wounded  in  the  action, 
sailed  again  for  the  West  Indies,  after  this  second  abortive  attempt 
to  aid  the  cause  of  independence.  The  condition  of  the  South 
was  now  more  gloomy  than  ever. 


August  eighteenth.  •}•  October  ninth. 


698  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLOXY   AND 

Clinton,  toward  the  close  of  the  year,  embarked  with  a  formid 
able  force  in  Arbuthnot's  fleet,  and  sailed  for  South  Carolina. 
In  April,  1780,  Sir  Henry  kid  siege  to  Charleston;  and  General 
Lincoln,  undertaking  to  defend  the  place,  contrary  to  his  own 
judgment,  and  in  compliance  with  the  entreaties  of  the  inhabit 
ants,  after  an  obstinate  defence  was  compelled  to  capitulate.* 
Shortly  after  this  disaster  Colonel  Buford's  regiment  was  cut  to 
pieces  by  Tarleton.  Georgia  and  South  Carolina  now  succumbed 
to  the  enemy:  it  was  the  bending  of  the  willow  before  the  sweep 
of  the  tempest.  In  June,  General  Gates  was  appointed  by  con 
gress  to  the  command  in  the  South.  Having  collected  an  army 
he  inarched  toward  Camden  in  South  Carolina,  then  held  by  the 
enemy.  While  Gates  was  moving  from  Clermont  toward  that 
place  in  the  night, f  Cornwallis  marched  out  with  a  view  of  attack 
ing  the  American  army  at  Clermont.  Thus  the  two  armies,  each 
essaying  to  surprise  the  other,  met  unexpectedly  in  the  woods,  at 
about  two  o'clock  in  the  morning.  At  the  first  onset  the  Ameri 
can  line  was  thrown  into  disorder ;  but  a  body  of  light  infantry, 
and  in  particular  a  corps  under  command  of  Colonel  Porterfield, 
of  Virginia,  maintained  their  ground  with  constancy.  This  brave 
officer,  refusing  to  give  way,  fell  mortally  wounded.  The  battle 
was  resumed  in  the  morning,  and  Gates'  army  was  utterly  dis 
comfited  :  the  militia  fled  too  soon ;  the  regulars  fought  too  long. 
The  fugitives  retreating  in  promiscuous  disorder,  were  pursued 
by  the  unrelenting  sabres  of  cavalry ;  and  the  horrors  of  the  rout 
baffle  description.  Thus  Gates,  verifying  General  Lee's  predic 
tion,  "turned  his  Northern  laurels  into  Southern  willows."  The 
defeated  general  retired  to  North  Carolina  to  collect  the  scat 
tered  remains  of  his  army.  In  August,  Sumpter  was  overwhelmed 
by  Tarleton;  and  for  a  time  the  British  army  were  in  the  as 
cendant  throughout  the  South. 

CornwallisJ  detached  Colonel  Ferguson,  a  gallant  and  expert 
officer,  across  the  Wateree,  with  one  hundred  and  ten  regulars; 
and  in  a  short  time  tory  recruits  augmented  his  numbers  to  one 
thousand;  and,  confident  of  his  strength,  he  sent  a  menacing 
message  to  the  patriot  leaders  on  the  western  waters.  This  was, 

*  May  twelfth.  |  August  sixteenth.  J  September  first. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  699 

for  the  South,  "the  time  that  tried  men's  souls:"  many  of  the 
leading  patriots  captives  or  exiles,  the  country  subjugated,  British 
and  tory  cruelty  desolating  it,  hope  almost  extinct, — Marion 
alone  holding  out  in  his  fastnesses.  The  spirit  of  the  hardy 
mountaineers  was  aroused,  and  hearing  that  Ferguson  was 
threatening  to  cross  the  mountains,  a  body  of  men  in  arms  were 
concentrated  by  the  twenty-fifth  on  the  banks  of  the  Watauga — 
four  hundred  from  Washington  County,  Virginia,  under  Colonel 
William  Campbell;  the  rest  from  North  Carolina,  under  Colonels 
Shelby,  Sevier,  McDowell,  Cleveland,  and  Winston.  Crossing 
the  mountains  they  advanced  toward  Ferguson,  who  began  to 
retreat,  and  took  up  a  position*  on  an  eminence  of  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet,  called  King's  Mountain.  It  is  situated  in 
the  northern  part  of  South  Carolina,  near  the  North  Carolina 
line,  its  sides  steep  and  rocky,  a  brook  flowing  at  its  foot, — the 
surrounding  scenery  thickly  wooded,  wild,  and  picturesque.  It 
was  resolved  to  pursue  the  enemy  with  nine  hundred  picked  men. 
Near  the  Cowpens,  where  Ferguson  had  encamped  on  the  fourth, 
and  about  thirty  miles  from  King's  Mountain,  the  mountaineers 
were  re-enforced  by  four  hundred  and  sixty  men,  the  greater  part 
of  them  from  South  Carolina,  under  Colonel  Williams.  Here,  at 
about  nine  o'clock  of  the  evening,  Colonel  William  Campbell  was 
appointed  to  the  chief  command.  The  mountain  horsemen  rode 
on  in  the  night  through  a  rain,  with  their  guns  under  their  arms 
to  keep  the  locks  dry;  the  leader  in  front,  and  each  colonel  at 
the  head  of  his  troops.  In  the  morning  they  halted  for  half  an 
hour  to  eat  a  frugal  breakfast,  and  at  twelve  o'clock,  when  the 
sky  cleared,  they  found  themselves  within  three  miles  of  the 
British  camp.  They  halted,  and  the  order  passed  along  the  line : 
"Tie  up  overcoats,  pick  touch-holes,  fresh  prime,  and  be  ready 
to  fight."  At  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  seventh  of 
October  an  express  from  Ferguson  to  Cornwallis  was  captured, 
and  his  despatches,  declaring  his  position  on  King's  Mountain 
impregnable,  were  read  to  the  troops.  Galloping  off  they  came 
in  twenty  minutes  within  sight  of  the  British  camp.  They  dis 
mounted  on  the  banks  of  the  little  stream,  tied  their  horses  to  the 

*  October  sixth. 


700  ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA. 

limbs  of  trees,  and  left  them  in  charge  of  a  small  guard.  The 
force  being  divided,  the  mountain  was  surrounded.  As  each 
column  moved  on  to  the  attack  it  was  driven  back  a  short  dis 
tance  by  the  charge  of  the  British,  who  were  soon  compelled  to 
wheel,  in  order  to  face  another  column  advancing  on  the  opposite 
side.  Ferguson,  finding  his  troops  hemmed  in  and  huddled 
together  on  the  summit  of  the  mountain,  fought  with  desperate 
valor,  and  fell,  charging  at  the  head  of  his  men  and  cheering  them 
on.  The  white  flag  was  now  raised.  Of  Ferguson's  force, 
amounting  to  rather  more  than  eleven  hundred  men,  two  hundred 
and  forty  were  killed  and  two  hundred  wounded;  upwards  of 
seven  hundred  were  taken  prisoners,  with  all  the  arms,  ammuni 
tion,  and  camp  equipage.  The  loss  of  the  patriots  was  thirty 
killed  and  fifty  wounded.  The  gallant  Williams  was  slain,  as 
also  was  Major  Chronicle,  and  several  other  officers.  The  battle 
lasted  one  hour.  A  number  of  the  tories  were  hung  on  the  next 
day.  The  sword  used  by  Colonel  Campbell  on  this  occasion  is 
preserved  in  possession  of  William  Campbell  Preston,  of  South 
Carolina,  the  orator,  his  grandson;  it  is  more  than  two  centuries 
old,  and  was  wielded  by  the  ancestors  of  Colonel  Campbell  in 
Scotland  in  the  wars  of  the  Pretenders.  One  of  the  rifles  em 
ployed  at  King's  Mountain  is  also  preserved.  This  battle  was 
the  turning-point  of  the  war  in  the  South. 

Colonel  William  Campbell  was  a  native  of  Augusta  County, 
and  removed  early  to  the  County  of  Washington.  Fame  has 
awarded  him  the  title  of  "the  hero  of  King's  Mountain." 
Colonel  Ferguson  was  an  excellent  marksman,  and  brought  the 
art  of  rifle  shooting  to  high  perfection.  He  invented  a  gun  of 
that  kind  which  was  said  to  surpass  anything  of  the  sort  before 
known,  and  he  was  said  to  have  outdone  even  the  Indians  in  firing 
and  loading  and  hitting  the  mark,  standing  or  lying,  and  in  no 
matter  what  position  of  the  body.  It  was  reported  that  General 
Washington  owed  his  life,  at  the  battle  of  Brandywine,  to  Fergu 
son's  ignorance  of  his  person,  as  he  was  within  his  reach.*  He 
afterwards,  upon  discovering  the  fact,  remarked  that  he  was  not 
sorry  that  he  did  not  know  him. 

*  Dodsley's  Annual  Register  for  1781. 


CHAPTER    XCV. 

rrso. 
Arthur  Lee — Deane — Franklin — Madison. 

IN  the  year  1780  Arthur  Lee  returned  to  America  after  a  long 
absence.  He  was  born  in  Westmoreland  County,  Virginia,  on 
the  20th  of  December,  1740,  being  the  youngest  of  five  brothers, 
all  of  whom  became  eminent.  After  passing  some  time  at  Eton 
he  entered  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  where  he  took  the  de 
gree  of  doctor  of  medicine  about  1765.  The  other  students  from 
Virginia  there  at  the  same  time  were  Field,  Blair,  Bankhead,  and 
Gilmer — the  earliest  pioneers  in  this  profession  in  the  colony,  at 
a  time  when  the  apothecary,  physician,  and  surgeon  were  united 
in  the  same  person,  and  when  quackery  enjoyed  full  license. 
Arthur  Lee's  extreme  aversion  to  slavery  and  to  negroes,  and  the 
lamentable  state  of  dependence  to  which  he  foresaw  that  his  own 
country  would  be  doomed  for  many  years,  made  him  dread  to 
return;  and  he  even  thought  of  settling  in  England,  which  he 
looked  upon  as  "the  Eden  of  the  world,  the  land  of  liberty  and 
independence."  Yet  he  was  conscious  of  such  a  want  of  confi 
dence  in  himself  as  unfitted  him  for  taking  up  his  abode  and 
embarking  in  a  profession  in  a  land  of  strangers.*  Gladly 
quitting  Scotland,  which  he  disliked  extremely,  Dr.  Lee  travelled 
through  Europe,  and  then  returned  to  Virginia,  and  commenced 
the  practice  of  physic  at  Williamsburg.  Here  he  could  not  fail 
to  view  with  interest  the  stirring  events  of  the  day ;  and  although 
successful  in  his  medical  practice,  the  bent  of  his  genius  induced 
him  to  return  to  London  for  the  purpose  of  studying  the  law  in 
the  Temple,  and  fitting  himself  for  taking  a  part  in  public  affairs. 
At  this  time  he  became  the  intimate  friend  of  Sir  William  Jones. 
In  London  he  associated  himself  with  Wilkes,  and  other  oppo- 

*  MS.  letter  of  Arthur  Lee,  Edinburgh,  March  20,  1765. 

(701) 


702  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

nents  of  the  government,  and  prevailed  on  them  to  favor  the 
cause  of  the  colonies.  In  1768  Dr.  Lee  was  appointed  political 
agent  of  Massachusetts.  In  1769  he  wrote  the  Monitor's  Let 
ters,  and  for  some  years  was  a  frequent  writer  in  the  Public 
Advertiser,  over  the  signature  of  Junius  Americanus ;  and  he  held 
an  amicable  discussion  with  Junius  on  American  matters.*  That 
writer  remarked  of  him:  "My  American  namesake  is  plainly  a 
man  of  abilities."  His  writings  procured  for  him  the  friendship 
of  Burke,  Dr.  Price,  and  other  leading  men.  He  became 
acquainted  with  the  celebrated  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson.  In  1770 
Arthur  Lee  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  he  enjoyed  a  lucrative 
practice  for  some  years.  In  the  spring  of  1774  he  set  out  on  a 
tour  through  France  and  Italy;  and  while  at  Paris  published  an 
"Appeal  to  the  People  of  Great  Britain."  During  the  same 
year  he  succeeded  Dr.  Franklin  as  agent  of  Massachusetts ;  and 
in  the  following  he  was  agent  for  Virginia.  The  secret  commit 
tee  of  congress  appointed  him  their  London  correspondent ;  and 
through  the  French  ambassador  there  he  obtained  early  assur 
ances  of  aid  from  France  to  the  colonies.  In  August  he  pre 
sented  the  second  petition  of  congress  to  the  king.  He  was 
afterwards  made  commissioner  to  France  in  conjunction  with 
Deane  and  Franklin;  and  he  joined  them  at  Paris  in  December, 
1776,  and  assisted  in  making  the  treaty  of  alliance.  Discord 
ensuing  between  Dr.  Lee  and  the  other  commissioners,  involved 
them,  especially  Lee  and  Deane,  in  a  controversy,  which  engen 
dered  an  inveterate  hostility,  and  gave  rise  to  factions  in  con 
gress,  in  which  the  French  minister,  Gerard,  became  implicated, 
and  which  endangered  the  cause  of  independence.  Deane,  who, 
in  the  guise  of  a  merchant,  conducted  the  public  business,  was  subtle 
and  unscrupulous.  Mr.  Lee  had  exposed  the  peculations  of  some 
of  the  agents  employed  in  conducting  the  commercial  details  of 
the  public  business;  and  this  interference  gave  rise  to  many 
aspersions  upon  him,  which  were  encouraged  by  the  countenance 
which  congress  appeared  to  lend  Deane  and  those  associated 
with  him.  Deane,  at  length,  recalled  by  congress  in  November, 


*  See  Woodfall's  Junius,  i.  102,  where  Arthur  Lee  is  erroneously  called  Dr. 
Charles  Lee. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  703 

1777,  readied  America  in  the  following  summer,  and  gave  an 
account  of  his  transactions  to  congress,  making  an  artful  defence 
against  Arthur  Lee's  accusations.  Deane  published  virulent, 
attacks  upon  him  and  Richard  Henry  Lee,  and  they  retorted  with 
indignant  severity. 

Congress  coming  to  no  determination  in  the  matter,  Deane 
appealed  to  the  public,  in  December,  in  an  address  to  the  "  Free 
and  Virtuous  Citizens  of  America."  In  1780  he  repaired  to 
Paris  to  adjust  his  accounts,  but  never  did  so;  and  after  refusing 
ten  thousand  dollars  offered  him  by  congress  to  cover  his 
expenses,  he  fell  into  pecuniary  straits,  became  alienated  from  his 
country,  (if  he  had  been  true  before,  which  was  doubted,)  writing 
home  letters  representing  the  American  cause  as  desperate,  and 
favoring  immediate  accommodation  with  the  enemy.  These  let 
ters  were  intercepted  by  the  enemy  and  published,  and  his  real 
character  was  now  made  manifest.  Mr.  Jay,  who  had  been  his 
friend  and  supporter,  hearing  this  at  Madrid,  took  down  his  por 
trait  and  burnt  it.  Deane  appears  afterwards  to  have  associated 
with  the  traitor  Arnold.  Deane  died  in  extreme  poverty  at  Deal, 
England,  (1789.)  He  certainly  rendered  the  colonies  great  ser 
vice  at  one  time,*  and  found  a  strong  party  in  congress  in  his 
support,  including  men  of  both  sections  and  of  high  character. 
Mr.  Paca,  of  Maryland,  and  Mr.  Drayton,  of  South  Carolina, 
protested  against  the  further  continuance  of  Dr.  Lee  in  the  place 
of  commissioner  in  France  and  Spain.  Dr.  Lee's  dissensions 
with  Dr.  Franklin  resulted  in  bitter  enmity.  Dr.  Lee  charged 
Franklin  with  vanity,  inflated  by  French  flattery,  with  overween 
ing  and  dictatorial  arrogance,  with  connivance  at  fraud  and  cor 
ruption,  and  with  being  under  French  influence.  William  Lee 
and  lliclmrd  Henry  sympathized  warmly  with  Arthur  in  these 
disputes.  John  Adams  sided  with  the  Lees.  Arthur  Lee,  in 
1780,  resigning  his  post,  returned  to  America,  and  prepared  to 
vindicate  himself  before  congress,  but  that  body  expressed  their 
full  confidence  in  his  patriotism.  In  1781  he  was  elected  to  the 
assembly  of  Virginia,  and  returned  to  congress,  where  he  con 
tinued  to  represent  the  State  for  several  years.  He  was  a  pure, 

*  Flanders'  Lives  of  Chief  Justices,  art.  JAY. 


704  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLONY  AND 

earnest,  incorruptible  patriot,  love  of  country  being  his  ruling 
passion.  Of  a  jealous  disposition,  and  melancholy,  discontented 
temperament;  of  polite  manners  and  strong  passions.  He  was 
well  skilled  in  Greek,  Latin,  French,  Spanish,  and  Italian.  He 
never  married.  He  meditated  writing  a  history  of  the  American 
Revolution.  In  a  letter  to  General  Washington,  dated  at  Berlin, 
in  June,  1777,  he  says:  "It  is  my  intention  to  write  a  history  of 
this  civil  contention.  The  share  you  have  had  in  it  will  form  an 
interesting  and  important  part.  It  will  be  in  your  power  to  pre 
serve  a  variety  of  materials,  papers,  and  anecdotes  for  such  a 
work.  May  I  venture  to  hope  that  you  may  think  me  so  far 
worthy  of  your  confidence  as  to  preserve  them  for  me?  Dubious 
parts  of  history  can  be  cleared  only  by  such  documents,  and  we 
shall  want  every  authentic  record  to  vouch  against  the  forgeries 
which  will  be  offered  to  the  world. "* 

William  Lee,  brother  of  Arthur,  was  born  in  Virginia,  about 
the  year  1737.  Sent  to  London  as  Virginia's  agent  before  the 
Revolution,  he  took  up  his  residence  there.  Being  a  zealous 
whig,  he  was  elected,  in  1773,  one  of  the  sheriifs  of  London.  At 
the  commencement  of  the  Revolution  he  retired  to  France,  and 
afterwards  was  appointed  by  congress  their  commissioner  at 
Vienna  and  Berlin.  An  able  man,  and  an  ardent  and  inflexible 
patriot,  by  communicating  important  intelligence,  and  by  his 
diplomatic  agency,  he  rendered  invaluable  services  to  his  country. 
As  a  writer  he  was  little  inferior  to  Arthur. 

During  the  year  1780  James  Madison  took  his  seat  in  congress. 
He  was  born  in  March,  1751,  0.  S.,  in  the  County  of  Caroline, 
Virginia,  on  the  Rappahannock  River,  near  Port  Royal,  the  son 
of  James  Madison,  of  Orange  County,  and  Nelly  Conway,  his 
wife.  At  the  age  of  twelve  young  Madison  was  at  school  under 
Donald  Robertson,  a  distinguished  teacher  in  the  neighborhood, 
and  afterwards  under  the  Rev.  Thomas  Martin,  the  parish  minis 
ter,  a  private  tutor  in  his  father's  family.  He  was  next  sent  to 
the  College  of  New  Jersey,  of  which  Dr.  Witherspoon  was  then 
president.  Here  Mr.  Madison  received  the  degree  of  bachelor 
of  arts  in  the  autumn  of  1771.  He  had  impaired  his  health  at 

*  Arthur  Lee's  Life,  i.  88. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  705 

college  by  too  close  application ;  nevertheless,  on  his  return  home 
he  pursued  a  systematic  course  of  reading.  Shortly  after  his 
return  he  signed  resolutions  of  his  county  approving  of  Henry's 
proceedings  in  the  affair  of  the  gunpowder.  He  became  a  mem 
ber  of  the  convention  in  May,  1776,  and  it  was  during  this  ses 
sion  that  the  body  unanimously  instructed  the  deputies  of  Virgi 
nia  in  congress  to  propose  a  declaration  of  independence.  He 
did  not  enter  into  public  debate  during  this  session.  At  the  next 
election  he  was  defeated,  his  successful  opponent  being  Colonel 
Charles  Porter,  who  was  subsequently  his  frequent  colleague  in 
the  house  of  delegates.  Mr.  Madison  was  at  the  ensuing  session 
appointed  a  member  of  the  council  of  state,  and  this  place  he 
held  till  1779,  when  he  was  elected  to  congress.  While  he  was  of 
the  council  Patrick  Henry  and  Mr.  Jefferson  were  governors. 
Mr.  Madison's  knowledge  of  French,  of  which  Governor  Henry 
was  ignorant,  rendered  him  particularly  serviceable  in  the  fre 
quent  correspondence  held  with  French  officers:  he  wrote  so 
much  for  Governor  Henry  that  he  was  called  "  the  governor's 
secretary."  Mr.  Madison  took  his  seat  in  congress  in  March, 
1780,  and  continued  a  leading  member  until  the  fall  of  1783, 
when  his  congressional  term  expired  by  limitation.  Such  was 
the  commencement  of  the  career  of  this  man  so  illustrious  for  his 
genius,  his  learning,  and  his  virtue,  and  who  was  destined  to  pass 
through  every  eminent  station,  and  to  fill  all  with  honor  to  him 
self  and  benefit  to  his  country  and  the  world.  As  a  writer,  a 
debater,  a  statesman,  and  a  patriot,  he  was  of  the  first  order,  and 
his  name  goes  down  to  posterity  one  of  the  brightest  of  those 
that  adorn  the  annals  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived.* 


*  The  Life  of  Madison,  by  the  Honorable  William  C.  Rives,  is  a  recent  import 
ant  addition  to  Virginia  biography. 

45 


CHAPTER    XCVL 


Logan  —  Leslie's  Invasion  —  Removal  of  Convention  Troops. 

IN  the  fall  of  1779  Logan,  the  Indian  chief,  had  again  resumed 
his  onslaughts  on  the  banks  of  the  Holston.  In  June,  1780, 
when  Captain  Bird,  of  Detroit,  long  the  headquarters  of  British 
and  Indian  barbarity,  invaded  Kentucky,  Logan  joined  in  the 
bloody  raid.  He  was  now  about  fifty-five  years  of  age.  Not 
long  after  this  inroad,  Logan,  at  an  Indian  council  held  at  Detroit, 
while  phrenzied  by  liquor,  prostrated  his  wife  by  a  sudden  blow, 
and  she  fell  apparently  dead.  Supposing  that  he  had  killed  her, 
he  fled  to  escape  the  penalty  of  blood.  While  travelling  alone 
on  horseback  he  was  all  at  once  overtaken,  in  the  wilderness 
between  Detroit  and  Sandusky,  by  a-troop  of  Indians,  with  their 
squaws  and  children,  in  the  midst  of  whom  he  recognized  his 
relative  Tod-hah-dohs.  Imagining  that  the  avenger  was  at  hand, 
Logan  frantically  exclaimed  that  the  whole  party  should  fall  by 
his  weapons.  Tod-hah-dohs  perceiving  the  danger,  and  observing 
that  Logan  was  well  armed,  felt  the  necessity  of  prompt  action; 
and  while  Logan  was  leaping  from  his  horse  to  execute  his  threat, 
Tod-hah-dohs  levelled  a  shot-gun  within  a  few  feet  of  him  and 
killed  him  on  the  spot.  Tod-hah-dohs,  or  the  Searcher,  originally 
from  Conestoga,  and  probably  a  son  of  Logan's  sister  who  lived 
there,  was  better  known  as  Captain  Logan.  He  left  children, 
(two  of  whom  have  been  seen  by  Mr.  Lyman  C.  Draper;)  so  that 
in  spite  of  Logan's  speech  some  of  his  blood,  at  least  collaterally, 
still  runs  in  human  veins.  Logan's  wife  recovered  from  the  blow 
given  her  by  her  husband,  and  returned  to  her  own  people.* 

On  the  2d  of  October,  1780,  Major  Andre  was  executed  as 
a  spy. 

*  Brantz  Mayer's  Discourse  on  Logan  and  Cresap,  60. 

(706) 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  707 

Beverley  Robinson,  a  son  of  the  Honorable  John  Robinson,  of 
Virginia,  president  of  the  colony,  removed  to  New  York,  and 
married  Susanna,  daughter  of  Frederick  Philipse,  Esq.,  who 
owned  a  vast  landed  estate  on  the  Hudson.  When  the  Revolu 
tion  commenced,  Beverley  Robinson  desired  to  remain  in  retire 
ment,  being  opposed  to  the  measures  of  the  ministry,  and  to  the 
separation  of  the  colonies  from  the  mother  country.  The  importu 
nity  of  friends  induced  him  to  enter  the  military  service  of  the 
crown,  and  he  became  colonel  of  the  Loyal  American  Regiment. 
He  was  implicated  in  Arnold's  treason,  and  accompanied  Andre 
in  the  Vulture.  Andre,  when  captured,  was  taken  to  Colonel 
Robinson's  house,  which  had  been  confiscated,  and  then  occupied 
by  Washington.  Robinson  was  sent  by  Sir  Henry  Clinton  as  a 
witness  in  behalf  of  Andre. 

Prince  William  Henry,  afterwards  William  the  Fourth,  was  a 
guest  of  Colonel  Robinson,  in  New  York,  during  the  revolu 
tionary  war.  Several  of  his  descendants,  and  those  of  Captain 
Roger  Morris,  have  attained  distinction.  Among  them  Sir 
Frederick  Philipse  Robinson,  son  of  Colonel  Beverley  Robinson, 
was  an  officer  of  rank  under  Wellington,  and  saw  hard  service  in 
the  Peninsular  war,  and  was  dangerously  wounded  at  the  siege  of 
St.  Sebastians.  In  the  war  of  1812  he  led  the  British  in  the 
attack  on  Plattsburg,  under  Prevost.* 

On  the  twentieth  of  October,  a  British  fleet,  in  accordance 
with  intelligence  which  had  been  communicated  by  spies  and 
deserters,  made  its  appearance  in  the  Chesapeake.  General 
Leslie  was  at  the  head  of  the  troops  aboard.  Having  landed, 
they  began  to  fortify  Portsmouth.  Their  highest  post  was  Suf 
folk,  and  they  occupied  the  line  between  Nansemond  River  and 
the  Dismal  Swamp.  A  person  of  suspicious  appearance,  endea 
voring  to  pass  through  the  country  from  Portsmouth  toward 
North  Carolina,  was  apprehended;  and  upon  its  being  proposed 
to  search  him  he  readily  consented,  but  at  the  same  time  he  was 
observed  to  put  his  hand  into  his  pocket  and  carry  something 
toward  his  mouth,  as  if  it  were  a  quid  of  tobacco.  Upon  exami 
nation  it  proved  to  be  a  letter,  written  on  silk-paper,  and  rolled 

*  Sabine's  Loyalists,  562. 


708  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

up  in  gold-beaters'  skin,  and  nicely  tied  at  eacli  end,  so  as  to  be 
no  larger  than  a  goose-quill.     The  letter  was  as  follows : — 

"  To  LORD  CORNWALLIS  : — 

"MY  LORD, — I  have  been  here  near  a  week,  establishing  a  post. 
I  wrote  to  you  to  Charleston,  and  by  another  messenger  by  land. 
I  cannot  hear  with  certainty  where  you  are.  I  wait  your  orders. 
The  bearer  is  to  be  handsomely  rewarded  if  he  brings  rne  any 
note  or  mark  from  your  lordship.  A.  L. 

"  Portsmouth,  Virginia,  November  4,  1780." 

It  was  a  source  of  mortification  to  Governor  Jefferson  and 
other  patriots  that  the  State  was  unable  to  defend  herself  for 
want  of  arms.  In  compliance  with  the  call  of  the  executive, 
General  Nelson  made  an  effort  to  collect  the  militia  of  the  lower 
counties,  and  to  secure  at  least  the  pass  at  the  Great  Bridge ;  but 
his  exertions  were  ineffectual,  as  the  alarmed  inhabitants  made  it 
their  first  business  to  secure  their  families  and  property  from  dan 
ger.  General  Lawson,  who  had  at  this  time  raised  a  corps  of  five 
hundred  volunteers  to  march  to  the  aid  of  South  Carolina,  was 
called  on  to  aid  in  defending  his  own  State,  and  General  Stevens 
was  preparing  to  march  with  a  detachment  of  the  Southern  army 
to  her  aid  when*  Leslie  sailed  for  South  Carolina  to  re-enforce 
Cornwallis.  Leslie  during  his  stay  had  abstained  entirely  from 
depredation  and  violence.  Many  negroes  who  had  gone  over  to 
him  were  left  behind,  either  from  choice  or  from  want  of  ship- 
room.  The  chief  injury  resulting  from  this  invasion  was  the  loss 
of  cattle  collected  for  the  use  of  the  Southern  army.  Another 
consequence  of  it  was  the  removal  of  the  troops  of  convention 
from  the  neighborhood  of  Charlottesville.  They  marched  early 
in  October,  and  crossing  the  Blue  Ridge  proceeded  along  the 
valley  to  Winchester,  where  they  were  quartered  in  barracks. 
Some  of  the  men  occupied  a  church,  and  about  sixty  were  confined 
in  jail,  probably  to  prevent  desertion.  The  troops  were  thence 
removed  to  Fredericktown,  Maryland,  and  afterwards  to  Lancas 
ter,  Pennsylvania.  The  German  troops  of  convention  remained 

*  November  fifteenth. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  709 

longer  in  Albemarlc:  they  were  removed  early  in  1781,  and  quar 
tered  at  Winchester,  and  the  Warm  Springs,  in  Berkley. 

The  assembly  of  Virginia  was  preparing,  in  the  winter  of  this 
year,  to  weather,  as  well  as  possible,  the  storm  which  was  gather 
ing  against  her;  but  without  Northern  assistance  she  was  hardly 
able  to  cope  with  the  enemy.  She  wanted  clothes,  arms,  ammu 
nition,  tents,  and  other  warlike  stores.  Ten  millions  of  paper 
dollars  were  issued  from  necessity,  but  it  was  evident  that  it 
would  be  as  transient,  as  a  dream  at  the  present,  and  pernicious 
in  its  consequences;  yet  without  it  no  resistance  could  be  made 
to  the  enemy. 


CHAPTER    XCVII. 


Arnold's  Invasion. 

TOWARD  the  close  of  December,  1780,  a  fleet  appeared  within 
the  capes  of  the  Chesapeake,  with  a  force  detached  by  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  from  New  York,  under  command  of  the  traitor  Arnold. 
A  frigate  in  advance  having  captured  some  small  vessels,  Arnold. 
with  the  aid  of  them,  pushed  on  at  once  up  the  James.  Attempt 
ing  to  land  at  Burwell's  Ferry,  (the  Grove  Landing,)  his  boats 
were  beaten  off  by  one  hundred  and  fifty  militia  of  Williamsburg 
and  James  City,  under  Colonel  Innes  and  General  Nelson.  Nel 
son,  on  this  occasion,  retorted  a  verbal  defiance  in  answer  to  a 
letter  with  which  Arnold  had  ushered  in  his  invasion.* 

Leaving  a  frigate  and  some  transports  at  Burwell's  Ferry, 
Arnold  proceededf  up  the  river  to  Westover.  Here  landing  a 
force  of  less  than  eight  hundred  men,  including  a  small  party  of 
badly  mounted  cavalry,  he  marched  for  Richmond  at  two  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day.  Nelson,  in  the  mean  while, 
with  a  handful  of  militia,  badly  supplied  with  ammunition,  had 
marched  up  the  right  bank  of  the  James  River,  but  arrived  too 
late  to  offer  any  opposition  to  the  landing  of  the  enemy.  Arnold, 
at  one  o'clock  of  the  next  day  after  he  marched  from  Westover, 
entered  the  infant  capital  without  having  encountered  any  resist 
ance,  although  his  route  was  very  favorable  for  it.  The  energetic 
Simcoe,  with  a  detachment,  proceeded  a  few  miles  beyond  Rich 
mond  and  destroyed  the  foundry,  emptied  the  contents  of  the 
powder  magazine,  struck  off  the  trunnions  of  the  cannon,  and  set 

*  In  a  series  of  replies  made  by  Mr.  Jefferson  to  strictures  thrown  out  upon 
liis  conduct  of  affairs  at  this  juncture,  the  following  occurs:  "Query  —  Why 
publish  Arnold's  letter  without  General  Nelson's  answer?  Answer  —  Ask  the 
printer.  He  got  neither  from  the  executive." 

f  January  4th,  1781. 

(T10) 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  711 

fire  to  the  warehouses  and  mills,  the  effect  of  the  conflagration 
being  heightened  by  occasional  explosions  of  gunpowder.  Many 
small  arms  and  a  stock  of  military  supplies  were  destroyed,  and 
five  tons  of  gunpowder  thrown  into  the  river.  At  Richmond 
the  public  stores  fell  a  prey ;  private  property  was  plundered  and 
destroyed;  the  soldiers  broke  into  houses  and  procured  rum ;  and 
several  buildings  were  burnt.  Part  of  the  records  of  the  auditor's 
office,  and  the  books  and  papers  of  the  council  office  shared  the 
same  fate. 

Governor  Jefferson  used  every  effort  in  his  power  to  remove 
the  public  stores,  and  part  were  rescued  by  being  removed  across 
the  river  at  Westham.  Late  on  the  night  of  the  fourth  he  went 
to  Tuckahoe,  and  on  the  next  day  went  down  to  Manchester, 
opposite  Richmond,  where  the  busy  movements  of  the  enemy 
were  in  fall  view.  When  they  advanced  upon  that  place  only 
two  hundred  militia  were  embodied — too  small  a  number  to  make 
any  resistance.  The  governor,  having  repaired  to  Colonel 
Fleming's,  in  Chesterfield,  to  meet  Steuben,  received  there  a 
message  from  Arnold,  offering  not  to  burn  Richmond,  on  condi 
tion  that  British  vessels  should  be  permitted  to  come  to  it  unmo 
lested  and  take  away  the  tobacco.  The  proposition  was  rejected. 

The  inhabitants  of  Richmond  were,  for  the  most  part,  Scotch 
factors,  who  lived  in  small  tenements  scattered  here  and  there 
between  the  river  and  the  hill,  some  on  the  declivities,  a  few  on 
the  summit.  Arnold  withdrew  from  Richmond  about  mid-day  on 
the  sixth,  encamped  that  night,  as  he  had  on  the  march  up,  at 
Four-mile  Creek,  and  on  the  next  day  at  Berkley  and  Westover. 

Arthur  Lee  wrote,  on  the  twenty-first  of  March,  from  Green- 
spring  to  Colonel  Bland,  as  follows:  "Most  certainly  you  would 
have  heard  from  me  could  I  have  found  any  conveyance  but  the 
tory-post  the  wisdom  of  our  people  has  established,  or  could  I 
have  given  you  a  pleasing  account  of  the  situation  of  our  affairs 
here.  But  in  truth,  it  is  impossible  to  conceive  a  more  hopeless 
state  than  what  we  are  in.  Laws  without  wisdom  or  justice, 
governments  without  system  or  order,  complex  and  heavy  taxes 
to  raise  money  which  is  squandered  away  no  one  knows  how,  or 
wherefore,  not  half  the  troops  being  raised,  or  those  which  are 
raised  being  provided  neither  with  arms,  clothes,  nor  provisions. 


712  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

Twelve  millions  were  spent  in  tivo  months,  and  when  the  enemy 
came,  there  was  neither  man,  horse,  musket,  cannon,  wagon,  boat, 
or  any  one  thing  in  the  world  that  could  be  found  for  our  defence. 
In  this  situation  it  need  not  surprise  you  that  Arnold,  with  a 
handful  of  bad  troops,  should  march  about  the  country,  take  and 
destroy  what  he  pleased,  feast  with  his  tory  friends,  settle  a  regu 
lar  correspondence  with  them,  which  he  carried  on  for  some  time 
in  vessels  sent  up  the  river  and  unnoticed,  till  one  happening  to 
run  aground  discovered  Mrs.  Byrd's  correspondence,  which, 
however,  will  produce  neither  good  to  us  nor  injury  to  her.  I 
have  reason  to  think  she  will  not  be  tried  at  all,  means  having 
been  taken  to  keep  the  witnesses  out  of  the  way."* 

Mrs.  Maria  Byrd,  of  Westover,  was  a  sister  of  Thomas 
Willing,  Esq.,  director  of  the  Bank  of  North  America,  and 
partner  of  Robert  Morris,  and  a  strenuous  opponent  of  American 
independence.  A  sister  of  Mrs.  Byrd  married  Captain  Walter 
Sterling,  of  the  British  navy.  Samuel  Inglis,  Esq.,  some  time 
resident  in  Virginia  as  factor  of  the  house  of  Willing  &  Morris, 
under  the  firm  of  Inglis  &  Willing,  was  a  decided  opponent  of  inde 
pendence.  He  married  the  daughter  of  William  Aitcheson,  Esq., 
of  Norfolk,  a  Scotch  tory,  and  was  brother  of  Captain  Inglis,  of 
the  British  navy.f 

Simcoe,  patroling  in  the  night,  surprised  a  party  of  militia  at 
Charles  City  Court-house,  where,  after  some  confused  firing,  the 
militia  fled  with  small  loss;  some  few  attempting  to  escape,  were 
drowned  in  a  mill-pond.  Sergeant  Adams,  of  Simcoe's  Regi 
ment,  was  mortally  wounded,  and  dying  shortly  afterwards,  was 
buried  at  Westover,  wrapped  in  some  American  colors  taken  a  few 
days  before  at  Hoods.  Nelson,  re-enforced  at  Holt's  Forge  by 
a  party  of  Gloucester  militia  under  Colonel  John  Page,  finding 
his  force  not  exceeding  four  hundred  men,  retreated.  On  that 
nightj  the  British  embarked  at  Westover,  and  dropped  down  the 
James  to  Flower-de-Hundred.  Here  Simcoe  was  detached  with 


*  MS.  letter  of  Arthur  Lee  in  my  possession. 

•j-  MS.   of   Colonel  Theodorick   Bland,  Jr.      Arnold's  visits   to  Westover  are 
referred  to  in  Edgehill,  a  novel,  by  James  E.  Heath.  Esq. 
J  January  tenth. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  713 

a  force  to  dislodge  some  militia  at  Eland's  Mills,  and  after 
advancing  about  two  miles,  the  advance  guard,  in  a  dense  wood, 
were  fired  on  by  some  Americans  posted  at  the  forks  of  the  road 
in  front.  The  British  lost  twenty  men  killed  and  wounded;  but, 
charging,  put  the  militia  to  flight. 

Arnold  sending  a  detachment  ashore  at  Fort  Hoods,  a  skirmish 
ensued  with  two  hundred  and  forty  men  in  ambuscade,  under 
Colonel  George  Rogers  Clarke.  The  enemy  lost  seventeen  killed 
and  thirteen  wounded  at  the  first  fire,  when  Clarke  being  charged, 
found  it  necessary  to  retreat.  John  Marshall  was  present  at  this 
affair.  The  enemy  dismantled  the  fort  and  carried  off  the  heavy 
artillery.  Nelson,  in  the  mean  time,  by  a  forced  march,  reached 
Williamsburg  just  before  the  fleet  came  to  off  Jamestown. 
Arnold,  however,  landed  part  of  his  forces  at  Cobham,  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river,  and  marched  down,  his  ships  keeping 
pace  with  and  occasionally  re-enforcing  him.  On  the  next  day 
Nelson  paraded  about  four  hundred  militia  at  Bur  well's  Ferry  to 
oppose  the  landing  of  the  enemy.  Re-enforcements  arriving, 
augmented  his  force  to  twelve  hundred ;  but  the  enemy  was  now 
beyond  their  reach.  Colonel  Griffin  and  Colonel  Temple,  with  a 
party  of  light  horse,  had  hovered  near  the  enemy's  lines  at  West- 
over,  and  followed  the  fleet  as  it  went  down  the  river.  In  this 
party  were  Colonels  William  Nelson,  Gregory  Smith,  Holt 
Richardson,  Major  Buller  Claiborne,  General  Lincoln's  aid,  and 
Majors  Bur  well,  Ragsdale,  and  others,  together  with  a  number  of 
young  gentlemen.  Arnold  returned  to  Portsmouth  on  the 
twentieth  of  January  without  having  encountered  any  serious 
interruption. 

Thus  it  happened  that  while  the  regular  troops  of  Virginia 
were  serving  at  a  distance  in  other  States,  the  militia,  after  a  five 
years'  war,  was  still  so  unarmed  and  undisciplined  that  no  effective 
resistance  was  made  to  this  daring  invasion. 

About  the  time  when  Arnold  reached  Portsmouth,  some  of  his 
artillery-men,  foraging  on  the  road  toward  the  Great  Bridge,  were 
attacked,  their  wagons  captured  and  their  officer  wounded. 
Simcoe,  with  a  handful  of  yagers  and  Queen's  Rangers,  was 
detached  for  the  purpose  of  recovering  the  wagons.  Ferrying 
across  to  Herbert's  Point  they  advanced  about  a  mile,  when  "  an 


714  ANCIENT   DOMINION    01   VIRGINIA. 

artillery-man,  who  had  escaped  and  lay  in  the  bushes,  came  out 
and  informed  him  that  Lieutenant  Rynd  lay  not  far  off.  Simcoe 
found  him  shockingly  mangled  and  mortally  wounded;  he  sent 
to  a  neighboring  farm  for  an  ox-cart,  on  which  the  unfortunate 
young  gentleman  wras  placed.  The  rain  continued  in  a  violent 
manner,  which  precluded  all  pursuit  of  the  enemy;  it  now  grew 
more  tempestuous,  and  ended  in  a  perfect  hurricane,  accompanied 
with  incessant  lightning.  This  small  party  slowly  moved  back 
toward  Herbert's  Ferry;  it  was  with  difficulty  that  the  drivers 
and  attendants  on  the  cart  could  find  their  way;  the  soldiers 
marched  on  with  bayonets  fixed,  linked  in  ranks  together,  cover 
ing  the  road.  The  creaking  of  the  wagon  and  the  groans  of  the 
youth  added  to  the  horror  of  the  night;  the  road  was  no  longer 
to  be  traced  when  it  quitted  the  woods,  and  it  was  a  great  satis 
faction  that  a  flash  of  lightning,  which  glared  among  the  ruins  of 
Norfolk,  disclosed  Herbert's  house.  Here  a  boat  was  procured, 
in  which  the  unhappy  youth  was  conveyed  to  the  hospital-ship, 
where  he  died  the  next  day."* 

*  Simcoe,  171. 


CHAPTER    XCVIIL 
irsi. 

Greene,  Commander  of  Southern  Army — Morgan's  Victory  at  Cowpens — Arnold 
at  Portsmouth — Battle  of  Guilford — Re-enforced  by  Phillips — The  Enemy  at 
Petersburg — Devastations — Phillips  proceeds  down  James  River — Returns  to 
Petersburg — His  Death — Succeeded  by  Arnold — Simcoe — Virginia  Navy — 
John  Tyler — John  Banister. 

Ix  accordance  with  a  resolution  of  congress,  passed  in  Novem 
ber,  1780,  General  Gates  was  superseded,  and  Washington,  ^vho 
was  required  to  appoint  an  officer  to  fill  the  vacant  post,  selected 
General  Nathaniel  Greene,  of  Rhode  Island.  He  reached  Char 
lotte,  the  headquarters  of  the  Southern  army,  early  in  December. 
About  this  time  Lee's  legion  was  ordered  into  South  Carolina, 
to  a  point  west  of  the  Catawba.  Cornwallis,  whose  headquarters 
were  at  Winnsborough,  detached  Tarleton  in  pursuit  of  Morgan, 
who  retreated  to  the  Cowpens,  and  resolved  to  risk  a  battle  there. 
Tarleton  leaving  his  baggage  behind  him  well  guarded,  started, 
with  his  accustomed  celerity,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,*  in 
pursuit.  Before  day  Morgan  received  intelligence  of  his  ap 
proach,  and  prepared  for  action.  He  drew  up  his  regulars  and 
Triplett's  corps,  reckoned  not  inferior  to  them,  and  about  four 
or  five  hundred  men,  under  Howard,  on  an  eminence  in  an  open 
wood.  In  their  rear,  on  the  declivity  of  the  hill,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Washington  was  posted  with  his  cavalry  and  some  mounted 
Georgia  militia  as  a  reserve ;  and  with  these  two  corps  Morgan 
remained  in  person.  The  front  line  was  composed  of  militia, 
under  Pickens.  Major  McDowell,  Avith  a  battalion  of  North 
Carolina  volunteers,  and  Major  Cunningham,  with  a  battalion  of 
Georgia  volunteers,  were  advanced  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
yards  in  front  of  this  line.  Morgan's  whole  force  amounted  to 
eight  hundred  men.  Soon  after  the  troops  were  disposed,  the 


*  February  17th,  1781. 

(715) 


716  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

British  van  appeared  in  sight,  and  Tarleton  forming  his  line  of 
battle,  his  troops  rushed  forward  to  the  attack,  shouting.  Mor 
gan's  first  line  soon  retreated  into  the  rear  of  the  second.  The 
British  advanced  in  spite  of  a  firm  resistance;  Tarleton  ordered 
up  his  reserve,  and  Howard's  infantry  being  outflanked,  Morgan 
rode  up  and  directed  that  corps  to  retreat  over  the  summit  of  the 
hill,  about  one  hundred  yards,  to  the  cavalry.  The  British,  now 
confident  of  victory,  pressed  on,  in  some  disorder,  and  when  the 
Americans  halted,  were  within  thirty  yards  of  them.  At  Howard's 
order,  his  men  turning,  faced  the  enemy,  and  poured  in,  unex 
pectedly,  a  deadly  fire.  Howard,  perceiving  that  the  enemy's 
ranks  were  thrown  into  some  confusion,  ordered  a  charge  with 
the  bayonet,  and  the  British  line  was  broken.  The  cavalry  on 
their  right  was  at  the  same  time  routed  by  Washington.  Howard 
and  Washington  pressed  their  advantage  until  the  artillery  and 
greater  part  of  the  infantry  surrendered;  but  Washington  pur 
suing  too  eagerly,  received  a  temporary  check,  and  sustained  a 
heavier  loss  in  this  part  of  the  action  than  in  any  other.  How 
ever,  the  infantry  advancing  to  support  him,  Tarleton  resumed  his 
retreat.* 

In  this  battle  one  hundred  British,  including  ten  commissioned 
officers,  were  killed;  twenty-nine  commissioned  officers  and  five 
hundred  privates  made  prisoners.  A  large  quantity  of  arms  and 
baggage  and  one  hundred  dragoon  horses  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  victors.  Morgan  lost  less  than  eighty  men  in  killed  and 
wounded. 

Tarleton  retreated  toward  Cornwallis,  whose  headquarters  were 
now  twenty-five  miles  distant.  In  this  action  Cormvallis  had  lost 
one-fifth  of  his  number  and  the  flower  of  his  army.  But  Greene 
was  not  strong  enough  to  press  the  advantage;  and  Morgan, 


*  In  the  pursuit,  Washington  advanced  near  thirty  yards  in  front  of  his  men. 
Three  British  officers  observing  this  charged  upon  him.  The  officer  on  his 
right  aimed  a  blow  to  cut  him  down,  when  an  American  sergeant  intercepted  it 
"by  disabling  his  sword  arm.  The  officer  on  his  left  was  about  to  make  a  stroke 
at  him,  when  a  waiter  saved  him  by  wounding  the  assailant  with  a  ball  from  a 
pistol.  The  officer  in  the  centre,  believed  to  be  Tarleton,  now  made  a  thrust  at 
him,  which  he  parried,  upon  which  the  officer  retreated  a  few  paces  and  then 
discharged  a  pistol  at  him,  which  wounded  his  horse. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF    VIRGINIA.  717 

apprehensive  of  being  intercepted  by  Cornwallis,  abandoned  the 
captured  baggage,  interring  the  arms,  and  leaving  his  wounded 
under  the  protection  of  a  flag,  hastened  to  the  Catawba,  which  he 
recrossed  on  the  twenty-third.  The  prisoners  were  sent  by  Gene 
ral  Greene,  under  escort  of  Stevens'  brigade  of  Virginia  militia 
to  Charlottesville. 

In  the  mean  while  Arnold,  ensconced,  like  a  vulture,  was  pre 
vented  from  planning  new  schemes  of  devastation  by  apprehen 
sions  that  he  now  began  to  entertain  for  his  own  safety.*  Richard 
Henry  Lee  wrote:  "But  surely,  if  secrecy  and  despatch  were 
used,  one  ship-of-the-line  and  two  frigates  would  be  the  means 
of  delivering  Arnold  and  his  people  into  our  hands;  since  the 
strongest  ship  here  is  a  forty-four,  which  covers  all  their  opera 
tions.  If  I  am  rightly  informed,  the  militia  now  in  arms  are 
strong  enough  to  smother  these  invaders  in  a  moment  if  a  marine 
force  was  here  to  second  the  land  operations." 

February  the  ninth  a  French  sixty-four  gun-ship,  with  two 
frigates,  under  Monsieur  De  Tilley,  sailed  for  the  Chesapeake, 
and  arriving  by  the  thirteenth  threatened  Portsmouth.  But  the 
ship-of-the-line  proving  too  large  to  operate  against  the  post,  De 
Tilley,  in  a  few  days,  sailed  back  for  Rhode  Island.  It  was  a 
great  disappointment  to  the  Virginians  that  the  French  admiral 
could  not  be  persuaded  to  send  a  force  competent  to  capture  the 
traitor.  Governor  Jefferson,  in  a  letter  to  General  Muhlenburg, 
offered  five  thousand  guineas  for  his  capture ;  and  suggested  that 
men  might  be  employed  to  effect  this  by  entering  his  quarters  in 
the  garb  of  friends — a  measure  not  to  be  justified  even  toward 
Benedict  Arnold. 

After  the  battle  of  the  Cowpens,  Greene,  closely  pursued  by 
Cornwallis,  retreated  across  the  Dan  into  Virginia.  His  lordship 
then  proceeded  to  Hillsborough,  then  the  capital  of  North  Caro 
lina,  where  he  invited  the  inhabitants  to  repair  to  the  royal  stand 
ard.  Greene,  re-enforced  by  a  body  of  Virginia  militia  under 
General  Stevens,  soon  re-entered  North  Carolina,  where  numerous 
tories  were  embodying  themselves  to  join  Cornwallis.  On  the 
twenty-fifth  of  February,  Lee,  with  his  cavalry,  by  stratagem  sur- 

*  January  26th,  1781. 


718  HISTORY   OF   THE   COLONY  AND 

prising  a  body  of  royalists  under  Colonel  Pyle,  cut  them  to  pieces, 
On  the  fifteenth  of  March  occurred  the  battle  of  Guilford. 
Greene's  army  was  much  superior  in  numbers,  but  consisted 
mainly  of  militia  and  new  levies.  The  cavalry  of  Lee  and  Wash 
ington  was  excellent,  but  the  ground  was  unfavorable  for  their 
action.  The  officers  under  Greene  were  mostly  veteran.  The 
Virginia  militia  were  commanded  by  Generals  Stevens  and  Law- 
son,  and  by  Colonels  Preston,  Campbell,  and  Lynch ;  those  of 
North  Carolina  by  Generals  Butler  and  Eaton.  Of  the  conti 
nentals  one  Maryland  regiment  alone  was  veteran.  Guilford 
court-house,  near  the  great  Salisbury  road,  stood  on  a  hill  which 
descends  eastward,  gradually,  with  an  undulating  slope  for  half  a 
mile,  terminating  in  a  little  vale  intersected  by  a  rivulet.  On 
the  right  of  the  road  the  ground  was  open,  with  some  copses  of 
wood ;  on  the  left  a  forest.  Greene,  with  not  quite  two  thousand 
regulars,  was  posted  at  the  court-house;  in  the  field  to  the  right 
of  the  road,  the  two  regiments  of  Virginia  under  Hugcr,  the  two 
of  Maryland  under  Williams.  Three  hundred  yards  in  advance 
of  the  regulars  were  stationed  the  Virginia  militia,  crossing  at 
right  angles  the  great  road ;  and  as  far  in  front  of  them  and  across 
the  same  road  the  North  Carolina  militia  were  formed :  the 
Virginia  line  in  the  woods;  the  Carolinians  partly  in  the  forest 
and  partly  on  its  edge,  behind  a  strong  rail-fence,  in  front  of 
which  lay  an  open  field.  Two  pieces  of  artillery,  under  Captain 
Singleton,  were  placed  in  the  road  a  few  yards  in  advance  of  tho 
first  line.  The  right  flank  was  guarded  by  Washington's  cavalry, 
a  veteran  Delaware  company  under  Kirkwood,  and  Colonel  Lynch 
with  a  battalion  of  Virginia  militia.  The  left  was  guarded  by 
Lee's  legion  and  Campbell's  riflemen.  At  about  ten  o'clock  in 
the  forenoon,  after  some  firing  of  artillery,  the  British,  reaching 
the  rivulet,  deployed  into  line  of  battle,  the  right  commanded  by 
Leslie,  the  left  by  Webster.  The  North  Carolina  militia,  unable 
to  stand  the  shock,  a  few  excepted,  broke,  threw  away  their  arms, 
and. fled  precipitately  through  the  woods.  The  Virginia  line  re 
ceived  the  enemy  with  more  firmness,  but  the  greater  part  of  them 
were  compelled  to  retreat,  which  was  accelerated  by  the  fall  of 
General  Stevens,  who  was  wounded  in  the  thigh.  The  struggle 
between  the  enemy  and  the  continentals  was  stoutly  contested, 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  719 

but  the  second  Maryland  regiment  unexpectedly  giving  way, 
Greene  was  compelled  to  retreat.  Cornwallis  pursued  but  a  snort 
distance.  The  American  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  amounted 
to  thirty  officers  and  four  hundred  privates.  The  British  loss 
amounted  to  five  hundred  and  thirty-two,  including  several  valu 
able  officers.  Lieutenant- Colonel  Stuart  of  the  guards  was  killed ; 
Colonel  Webster  mortally  wounded.  The  total  number  of  Greene's 
army  was  forty-five  hundred,  of  whom  thirty  hundred  were  actually 
en^ao-ed.  Cornwallis'  force,  according  to  American  accounts. 

o    o  /  o  ' 

numbered  two  thousand;  according  to  his  statement,  to  only  four 
teen  hundred  and  forty-five.  After  this  disastrous  victory  Lord 
Cornwallis  found  it  necessary  to  retire  toward  Wilmington. 

In  the  mean  while  Arnold's  anxiety  for  his  safety  at  Ports 
mouth  was  relieved  by  the  arrival*  of  a  re-enforcement  under 
General  Phillips.  This  accomplished  and  able  but  proud  and 
passionate  officer,  exasperated  by  a  tedious  captivity,  upon  his 
exchange  had  been,  indulged  by  Sir  Henry  Clinton  in  a  desire  to 
invade  Virginia,  and  wreak  his  vengeance  on  a  State  where  he 
had  been  so  long  detained  (unjustly  as  he,  not  without  some 
reason,  believed)  a  prisoner  of  war.  Having  united  Arnold's 
force  with  his  own,  Phillips  left  Portsmouth, f  and  on  the  follow 
ing  day  the  army  landed  at  Burwell's  Ferry,  from  which  the 
militia  fied.  Phillips,  with  the  main  body,  marched  upon  Wil- 
liamsburg,  and  entered  it  without  -serious  opposition.  Simcoe, 
with  a  small  party  of  cavalry,  early  next  morning  surprised  a 
few  artillery-men  at  Yorktown,  (the  rest  escaping  across  the  river 
in  a  boat,)  and  burnt  "a  range  of  the  rebel  barracks."  The 
British  sloop,  Bonetta,  anchored  off  the  town.  How  little  did 
the  parties  engaged  in  this  little  episode  anticipate  the  great 
event  which  was  destined  soon  to  make  that  ground  classic !  The 
Bonetta,  too,  was  destined  to  return  to  that  picturesque  place  to 
play  her  part  in  the  closing  scene.  Phillips,  embarking  at  Bar 
ret's  Ferry,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Chickahominy,  issued  "the 
strictest  orders  to  prevent  privateers,  the  bane  and  disgrace  of 
the  country  which  employs  them;"  but  these  orders  were  disre 
garded.  When  off  Westover,  he  issued  further  orders,  saying: 

*  March  twenty-seventh.  |  April  eighteenth. 


720  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

"A  third  object  of  the  present  expedition  is  to  gain  Petersburg, 
for  the  purpose  of  destroying  the  enemy's  stores  at  that  place, 
and  it  is  public  stores  alone  that  are  intended  to  be  seized."  A 
body  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  men  under  Phillips  landed  at 
City  Point,*  and  passed  the  night  there;  and  on  the  next  morn 
ing  (Wednesday)  marched  upon  Petersburg,  by  way  of  Colonel 
Banister's  Whitehall  plantation,  where  they  halted  in  the  heat 
of  the  day  and  refreshed  themselves.  Steuben,  with  a  thousand 
men,  disputed  the  entry  of  the  town.  At  about  two  o'clock  the 
British  advanced  in  two  columns  by  the  old  road  leading  by  the 
Blandford  Church,  and  were  opposed  by  a  party  of  militia  posted 
on  the  heights,  just  beyond  Blandford,  under  Captain  House,  of 
Brunswick,  and  Colonel  Dick.  The  enemy  were  twice  broken, 
and  ran  like  sheep,  and  during  two  hours  advanced  only  one  mile. 
At  length  the  battalion  of  Americans  posted  at  the  Bollingbrook 
warehouses,  near  the  Blandford  Bridge,  being  flanked  by  four 
pieces  of  artillery,  were  compelled  to  retire  over  the  Appomattox, 
taking  up  Pocahontas  Bridge  as  soon  as  they  had  crossed  it,  ten 
men  being  killed  in  ascending  the  hill.  On  this  hill  Steuben  had 
placed  some  troops  and  cannon  to  cover  his  retreat.  The  Ameri 
can  loss,  killed,  wounded,  and  taken,  in  this  affair  was  estimated 
at  sixty ;  that  of  the  British  probably  not  less,  there  having  been, 
according  to  Colonel  Banister,  not  less  than  fourteen  killed ;  their 
wounded  were  sent  down  the  river  in  gun-boats.  Abercrombie, 
who  commanded  the  British  infantry  on  this  occasion,  was  the 
same  who  afterwards  fell  in  Egypt.  Phillips,  taking  possession 
of  Petersburg,  made  his  headquarters  at  Bollingbrook,  a  private 
residence,  on  an  eminence  overlooking  the  river.  He  destroyed, 
next  day,  a  large  quantity  of  tobacco,  the  people  removing  it 
from  the  warehouses  to  save  it  from  the  flames.  One  of  them 
was  set  fire  to  by  a  soldier  and  burnt.  The  enemy  also  destroyed 
several  vessels.  The  bridge  over  the  Appomattox  being  readily 
repaired,  Abercrombie,  with  a  detachment,  passed  over  on  the 
twenty-sixth,  and  took  possession  of  the  heights  opposite  the 
town,  known  as  Archer's  Hill.  Phillips,  with  his  whole  army, 
crossing  on  the  same  day,  burnt  the  bridge,  and  proceeded  to 

*  April  twenty- third. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  721 

commit  devastations  at  Chesterfield  Court-house,  Osbornes,  and 
at  Warwick,  destroying  the  American  vessels,  and  shipping  off 
the  tobacco.  This  being  private  property,  its  destruction  was  in 
violation  of  his  recent  order.  At  Manchester  a  detachment 
destroyed  the  warehouses  and  tobacco,  and  several  dwelling- 
houses,  the  militia  and  inhabitants  of  Richmond  being  quiet  spec 
tators  of  the  scene.  Proceeding  from  Osbornes  to  Bermuda 
Hundred,  the  British  embarked  there  and  sailed  down  the  river 
as  far  as  Hog  Island,  where  Phillips,  receiving  orders  by  an 
advice-boat,  returned  up  the  river,  as  far  as  Brandon,  the  seat  of 
Benjamin  Harrison,  where  the  troops  landed  in  a  gale  of  wind. 
Colonel  Theodorick  Bland,  Sr.,  received  the  following  protection: 
"It  is  Major-General  Phillips'  positive  orders  that  no  part  of  the 
property  of  Colonel  Theodorick  Bland  receive  any  injury  from 
his  majesty's  troops. 

"April  25th,  1781. 
"  J.  W.  NOBLE,  aide-de-camp  Major-General  Phillips. 

"Major-General  Phillips  is  very  happy  to  show  this  favor  on 
account  of  Colonel  Bland  Junior's  many  civilities  to  the  troops 
of  convention  at  Charlottesville." 

Notwithstanding  this,  Colonel  Bland' s  place  of  residence, 
Farmingdell,  in  Prince  George  County,  was  plundered  by  the 
British  troops :  his  furniture  broken  to  pieces ;  china-ware  pounded 
up;  tobacco,  corn,  and  stock  destroyed,  and  negroes  taken  off. 
General  Phillips  being  taken  ill,  found  it  necessary  to  travel  in  a 
carriage,  which  was  procured  for  him  by  Simcoe. 

Part  of  the  troops  were  sent*  to  City  Point  in  boats ;  the  rest 
marched  upon  Petersburg,  arrived  there  late  in  the  night,  and 
surprised  a  party  of  American  officers  engaged  in  collecting  boats 
for  La  Fayette  to  cross  his  army.f  La  Fayette,  with  a  strong 
escort,  appeared  on  the  heights  opposite  Petersburg,  and  the 
artillery,  under  Colonel  Girnat,  cannonaded  the  enemy's  quarters. 
Bollingbrook,  where  General  Phillips  lay  ill  of  a  bilious  fever, 
being  exposed  to  the  fire,  it  was  found  necessary  to  remove  him 
into  the  cellar,  and  it  is  commonly  reported  that  he  died  while  the 
firing  was  going  on.  This  mistake  appears  to  have  originated 

*  May  ninth.  f  Tenth. 

46 


722  HISTORY  or  THE  COLONY  AND 

with  Anburey,  who,  in  his  Travels,  mentions  that  during  the 
cannonade,  the  British  general,  then  at  the  point  of  death,  ex 
claimed,  "My  God,  'tis  cruel:  they  will  not  let  me  die  in  peace!" 
Anburey,  being  himself  a  prisoner  of  war,  was  not  in  favorable 
circumstances  for  obtaining  accurate  information  on  this  subject. 
It  appears  that  the  cannonading  took  place  three  days  before  the 
death  of  General  Phillips.  He  died  on  the  thirteenth.  La 
Fayette,  aware  that  Bollingbrook  was  headquarters,  directed 
some  shot  particularly  at  that  house,  which,  from  its  elevated 
site,  afforded  a  conspicuous  mark.  This  proceeding  was  provoked 
by  the  horrid  series  of  devastations  which  Phillips  had  just  per 
petrated  in  company  of  the  traitor  Arnold.  Two  balls  struck 
the  house,  it  is  said,  one  passing  through  it.  General  Phillips 
lies  buried  in  the  old  Blandford  Churchyard.  Miller,*  a  historian 
of  his  own  country,  observes  that  it  would  have  been  a  fortunate 
circumstance  for  his  fame  "  had  he  died  three  weeks  sooner  than 
he  did."t 

Upon  the  death  of  General  Phillips  the  command  devolved 
on  Arnold,  and  he  sent  an  officer  with  a  flag  and  a  letter  to  La 
Fayette.  As  soon  as  he  saw  Arnold's  name  subscribed  to  the 
letter  he  refused  to  read  it,  and  told  the  officer  that  he  would  hold 
no  intercourse  whatever  with  Arnold;  but  with  any  other  officer 
he  should  be  ever  ready  to  interchange  the  civilities  which  the 
circumstances  of  the  two  armies  might  render  desirable.  Wash 
ington  highly  approved  of  this  proceeding. 

Already  before  the  death  of  General  Phillips,  Simcoe  had  been 
detached  from  Petersburg  to  meet  Cornwallis,  who  was  advancing 
from  North  Carolina.  Simcoe,  on  his  route  to  the  Roanoke, 
captured,  some  miles  to  the  south  of  the  Nottoway  River,  a  Colo 
nel  Gee,  at  his  residence,  "a  rebel  militia  officer,"  who,  refusing 


*  Hist,  of  England. 

f  Bollingbrook,  deriving  its  name  from  the  family  of  Boiling,  -who  owned  much 
of  the  land  on  which  the  town  of  Petersburg  was  built,  consisted  of  two  frame 
buildings,  or  wings,  standing  apart,  it  having  been  designed  to  connect  them  by 
a  main  building,  which,  however,  was  never  done.  The  eastern  tenement  was 
burned  down  some  years  ago,  and  thus  was  lost  an  interesting  memento  of  the 
Revolution.  A  representation  of  it  may  be  seen  in  Lossing's  "Field  Book  of  the 
Revolution." 


ANCIENT  .DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  723 

to  give  Ins  parole,  was  sent  prisoner  to  Major  Armstrong.  An 
other  "rebel,"  Colonel  Hicks,  mistaking  Simcoe's  party  for  an 
advanced  guard  of  La  Fayette's  army,  was  also  made  prisoner. 
At  Hicks'  Ford,  a  captain  and  thirty  militia-men  were  taken  by  a 
ruse  de  guerre,  and  compelled  to  give  their  paroles.  Here  Sim- 
coc,  on  his  return  toward  Petersburg,  met  with  Tarleton  and  his 
"legion  clothed  in  white." 

During  this  year  (1781)  Captain  Harris,  with  the  little  brig 
Mosquito,  after  taking  two  prizes,  in  a  voyage  to  the  West  Indies 
was  captured  by  the  British  frigate  Ariadne,  and  carried  into 
Barbadoes.  The  men  were  confined  there  in  jail  and  prison-ships : 
the  officers  taken  to  England  and  incarcerated  in  Fortune  Jail,  at 
Gosport.  Driven  by  cruel  usage  to  make  a  desperate  attempt  at 
escape,  they  succeeded,  and  returned  to  America,  and  again  bore 
arms  against  the  enemy.  Among  them  were  Lieutenant  Cham- 
berlayne,  Midshipman  Alexander  Moore,  Alexander  Dick,  cap 
tain  of  marines,  and  George  Catlett,  lieutenant  of  marines. 
Shortly  after  the  capture  of  the  Mosquito,  the  Raleigh  fell  into 
the  enemy's  hands,  and  her  crew  were  no  less  maltreated.  The 
brig  Jefferson,  under  command  of  Captain  Markham,  captured 
several  prizes. 

Among  those  distinguished  for  their  gallantry  in  the  little  navy 
of  Virginia  was  Captain  Samuel  Barren,  (son  of  Commodore 
James  Barren,)  afterwards  of  the  United  States  navy.  Captain 
John  Cowper,  of  Nansemond  County,  was  in  command  of  the 
Dolphin  brig,  with  a  crew  of  seventy-five  men.  Embarking  on 
a  cruise,  he  nailed  his  flag  to  the  mast-head,  and  declared  that  he 
would  never  strike  it  to  an  enemy.  Engaging  shortly  after  with 
two  British  vessels,  she  was  seen  no  more,  and  it  is  supposed  that 
she  sunk  during  the  action. 

John  Tyler  was  born  at  his  father's  residence,  near  Williams- 
burg,  in  James  City  County,  in  1748.  His  father,  whose  name 
he  bore,  was  marshal  for  the  colony,  and  his  mother  was  the 
daughter  of  Doctor  Contesse,  one  of  the  Protestants  driven  from 
France  by  the  revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes,  and  who  found 
a  home  in  Virginia.  John  Tyler,  the  younger  of  the  two  sons  of 
this  union,  (the  elder  of  whom  died  young,)  enjoyed  frequent  op 
portunities  of  hearing  the  debates  in  the  house  of  burgesses,  and 


724  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

heard  Patrick  Henry  in  the  stormy  discussion  on  his  resolutions 
in  1765,  and  in  the  decline  of  life  still  related  with  animation  his 
recollections  of  that  debate.  He  became  so  decided  an  opponent 
of  the  tyrannical  pretensions  of  the  mother  country  that  his 
father  often  predicted  that,  sooner  or  later,  he  would  be  executed 
for  high  treason.  Mr.  Tyler  studied  the  law  under  Mr.  Robert 
Carter  Nicholas,  and  while  thus  engaged  formed  an  acquaintance 
with  Thomas  Jefferson  which  ripened  into  a  friendship  terminated 
only  by  death.  The  society  of  the  ardent  Jeiferson  fanned  the 
flame  of  young  Tyler's  patriotism,  and  he  became  at  an  early 
day  the  advocate  of  independence.  About  the  year  1774,  having 
obtained  his  license,  he  removed  to  Charles  City,  where  he  took 
up  his  permanent  abode.  Successful  in  the  practice  of  the  law, 
he  was  after  a  brief  interval  elected  a  delegate  from  that  county. 
He  was  re-elected  for  several  years,  his  colleague  for  the  greater 
part  of  that  time  being  Benjamin  Harrison,  Jr.,  of  Berkley, 
whom  Mr.  Tyler  succeeded  as  speaker  of  the  house  of  burgesses. 
After  the  lapse  of  many  years  Mr.  Tyler's  son,  of  the  same  name, 
succeeded  General  William  Henry  Harrison,  son  of  Benjamin 
Harrison,  Jr.,  in  the  Presidency  of  the  Union.  Mr.  Tyler,  the 
revolutionary  patriot,  while  a  member  of  the  assembly,  contracted 
an  intimate  friendship  with  Patrick  Henry,  for  whom  he  enter 
tained  an  almost  idolizing  veneration.  They  corresponded  for 
many  years.  Mr.  Tyler  participated  largely  in  the  debates,  and 
on  all  occasions  exhibited  himself  a  devoted  patriot,  and  thorough 
bred  republican.  In  subsequent  years  he  was  governor  of  Vir 
ginia  and  judge  of  the  United  States  district  court.  In  private 
life  his  virtues  won  regard,  in  public  his  integrity  and  talents 
commanded  the  confidence  of  his  country. 

John  Banister  was  the  son  of  an  eminent  botanist,  of  the  same 
name,  who  settled  in  Virginia  toward  the  close  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  and  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  plants.  In  one  of 
his  botanical  excursions,  near  the  falls  of  the  Roanoke,  he  fell 
from  a  rock  and  was  killed.  As  a  naturalist  he  was  esteemed 
not  inferior  to  Bartram.  John  Banister,  the  son,  was  educated 
in  England,  and  bred  to  the  law  at  the  Temple.  He  was  a  bur 
gess  of  the  assembly,  and  afterwards  a  distinguished  member  of 
the  convention  of  1776.  In  the  following  year  he  was  an  active 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  725 

member  of  the  assembly.  He  visited  the  headquarters  of  the 
American  army  about  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Germantown. 
In  1778-9  he  was  a  member  of  congress  at  York,  and  at  Phila 
delphia,  and  in  September  visited  headquarters  as  member  of  the 
committee  of  arrangement.  He  was  one  of  the  framers  of  the 
articles  of  confederation.  In  1781  he  was  lieutenant-colonel  of 
cavalry  under  General  Lawson.  The  two  other  colonels  in  the 
brigade  were  John  Mercer,  afterwards  governor  of  Maryland, 
and  James  Monroe,  subsequently  President  of  the  United  States. 
Lawson's  corps  was  dissolved  when  Leslie  retired  from  Virginia, 
and  thus  the  horse  commanded  by  Colonel  Banister  was  lost  to 
the  State,  at  a  time  when  cavalry  was  so  pressingly  required. 
During  the  invasions  which  Virginia  was  subjected  to,  Colonel 
Banister  was  actively  engaged  in  the  efforts  made  to  repel  the 
enemy.  Proprietor  of  a  large  estate,  he  suffered  repeated  and 
heavy  losses  from  the  depredations  of  the  British.  At  one  time, 
it  is  said,  he  supplied  a  body  of  troops,  on  their  way  to  the  South, 
with  blankets  at  his  own  expense. 

A  miniature  likeness  of  him  is  said  to  be  preserved  by  his 
descendants  in  Amelia  County.  Of  an  excellent  and  well  culti 
vated  mind,  and  refined  manners,  he  was  in  private  life  amiable 
and  upright,  in  public  generous,  patriotic,  and  enlightened.  As 
a  writer  he  may  be  ranked  with  the  first  of  his  day.  A  number 
of  his  letters  have  been  published  in  the  Bland  Papers,  and 
several,  addressed  to  Washington,  in  Sparks'  Revolutionary  Cor 
respondence. 

Colonel  Banister  resided  near  Petersburg,  at  Battersea,  which 
house  he  built.  Chastellux  visited  it  in  1781.  Colonel  Banister 
married,  first,  Mary,  daughter  of  Colonel  Theodorick  Bland,  Sr. 
Of  this  union  there  were  three  children ;  but  this  whole  branch  is 
extinct.  Colonel  Banister's  second  wife  was  Anne,  sister  of 
Judge  Blair,  of  the  federal  court.  There  were  two  sons  of  this 
marriage :  Theodorick  Blair,  and  John  Monro.  Theodorick  Blair 
Banister  married  Signora  Tabb.  Children  surviving,  (1856:) 
Monro,  Tudor,  Yelverton,  and  two  daughters.  John  Monro 
Banister  married  Mary  B.  Boiling.  Children  surviving:  Wil 
liam  C.  Banister,  the  Kev.  John  Monro  Banister,  and  three 
daughters. 


CHAPTER    XCIX. 


Cornwallis  at  Petersburg  —  La  Fayette  retreats  —  Simcoe's  Expedition  —  Tarle- 
ton's  Expedition  —  Cornwallis  marches  toward  Point  of  Fork  —  Devastations  of 
the  Enemy  —  Peter  Francisco  —  La  Fayette  re-enforced  by  Wayne  —  Cornwallis 
retires  —  Followed  by  La  Fayette  —  Skirmish  at  Spencer's  Plantation  —  Action 
near  Jamestown  —  La  Fayette. 

CORNWALLIS  marched*  from  Wilmington  for  Petersburg.  To 
facilitate  the  passage  of  the  rivers,  two  boats,  mounted  on  car 
riages,  accompanied  the  army.  Tarleton  led  the  advance.  While 
the  army  was  yet  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Roanoke,  Cornwallis, 
who  had  passed  it,  upon  overtaking  Tarleton's  detachment, 
ordered  them  to  be  dismounted  and  formed  in  line  for  the  inspec 
tion  of  the  inhabitants,  to  enable  them  to  discover  the  men  who 
had  committed  certain  horrid  outrages  on  the  preceding  evening. 
A  sergeant  and  a  dragoon  being  pointed  out  as  the  offenders, 
were  remanded  to  Halifax,  condemned  by  a  court-martial,  and 
executed.  His  lordship  was  prompted  to  such  acts  of  discipline 
not  only  by  his  moderation  and  humanity,  but  also  by  a  desire  to 
avoid  any  new  exasperation  of  the  people,  and  by  a  hope  of 
alluring  the  loyalists  to  his  standard.  On  the  19th  of  May,  1781, 
he  reached  Petersburg,  and  with  the  remnant  of  his  Carolina 
army  he  now  united  the  troops  under  Arnold,  consisting  of 
a  detachment  of  royal  artillery,  two  battalions  of  light  in 
fantry,  the  76th  and  80th  British  regiments,  the  Hessian  regi 
ment  of  the  Prince  Hereditaire,  Simcoe's  corps  of  cavalry  and 
infantry,  called  the  "Queen's  Rangers,"  chiefly  tories,  one  hun 
dred  yagers,  and  Arnold's  American  legion,  likewise  tories,  the 
whole  amounting  to  about  two  thousand  five  hundred  men,  which, 
together  with  the  Carolina  army,  made  his  lordship's  aggregate 
force  at  Petersburg  about  four  thousand  five  hundred.  The 


*  April  twenty-fifth. 
(726) 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  727 

entire  field  force  now  under  his  command  in  Virginia  was  not 
less  than  seven  thousand  three  hundred,  including  four  hundred 
dragoons  and  seven  or  eight  hundred  mounted  infantry.  He 
received  intelligence  from  Lord  Rawdon  of  his  having  defeated 
Greene,  at  Hobkirk's  Hill.  Cornwallis  remained  three  or  four  days 
at  Petersburg.  Light  troops  and  spies  being  despatched  to  discover 
La  Fayette's  position,  he  was  found  posted  near  Wilton,  on  the 
James  River,  a  few  miles  below  Richmond,  with  a  thousand  regu 
lars  and  three  thousand  militia,  the  main  body  of  them  under 
command  of  General  Nelson.  La  Fayette  was  expecting  re-en 
forcements  of  militia  and  Wayne's  Pennsylvania  Brigade.  In 
compliance  with  the  orders  of  Governor  Jefferson,  continental 
officers  were  substituted  in  the  higher  commands  of  the  militia. 
Three  corps  of  light  infantry,  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  each,  of 
select  militia  marksmen,  were  placed  under  command  of  Majors 
Call,  Willis,  and  Dick  of  the  continental  line.  La  Fayette's 
cavalry  comprised  only  the  remnant  of  Armand's  corps,  sixty  in 
number,  and  a  troop  of  volunteer  dragoons  under  Captain  Carter 
Page,  late  of  Baylor's  Regiment.  General  Weedon,  not  now  in 
service,  owing  to  a  diminution  in  the  number  of  officers,  was  re 
quested  to  collect  a  corps  of  militia  to  protect  a  manufactory  of 
arms  at  Falmouth,  opposite  Fredericksburg.  Tarleton  patroled 
from  Petersburg  as  far  as  Warwick,  and,  surprising  a  body  of 
militia,  captured  fifty  of  them.  In  the  mean  while  General 
Leslie  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  James  with  a  re-enforcement 
sent  by  Clinton  from  New  York.  Cornwallis,  upon  receiving  in 
telligence  of  it,  ordered  Leslie  to  repair  to  Portsmouth  with  the 
17th  British  Regiment,  two  battalions  of  Anspach,  and  the  43d, 
to  join  the  main  army.  His  lordship  now  proceeded  with  his 
forces  to  Macocks,  on  the  James,  opposite  to  Westover,  where, 
being  joined  by  the  43d,  he  crossed  over,  the  passage  occupying 
nearly  three  days,  the  horses  swimming  by  aid  of  boats,  the  river 
there  being  two  miles  wide. 

Arnold  obtained  leave  io  return  to  New  York,  "where  business 
of  consequence  demanded  his  attendance."  The  British  officers 
had  found  it  irksome  to  serve  under  him.  Cornwallis  afterwards 
told  La  Fayette  that  as  soon  as  he  joined  the  army  in  Virginia, 
he  took  the  first  occasion  to  send  Arnold  down  to  Ports- 


728  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

mouth,  and  expressed  disgust  at  associating  with  a  person  of  his 
character. 

The  force  concentrated  by  Cornwallis  amounted  to  eight  thou 
sand.  La  Fayette,  hearing  of  this  movement  of  the  enemy, 
crossed  the  Chickahominy  and  retreated  toward  Frederieksburg, 
with  a  view  of  protecting  the  arsenal  at  Falmouth  and  of  meeting 
Wayne.  Cornwallis  pursued  with  celerity,  but  finding  La  Fayette 
beyond  his  reach,  gave  out  the  chase,  and  encamped  on  the  banks  of 
the  North  Anna,  in  Hanover.  La  Fayette,  who  had  been  hotly  pur 
sued  by  Tarleton,  retreated  precipitately  beyond  Fredericksburg ; 
and  it  was  on  this  occasion  that  Cornwallis,  in  a  letter,  said  of  La 
Fayette:  "The  boy  cannot  escape  me."  The  Marquis  de  Chas- 
tellux  says:  "All  I  learnt  by  a  conversation  with  Mr.  Bird*  was 
that  he  had  been  pillaged  by  the  English  when  they  passed  his 
house  in  their  march  from  Westover  in  pursuit  of  Monsieur  de  la 
Fayette,  and  in  returning  to  Williamsburg,  after  endeavoring 
in  vain  to  come  up  with  him.  It  was  comparatively  nothing  to 
see  their  fruits,  fowls,  and  cattle  carried  away  by  the  light  troops, 
which  formed  the  van-guard;  the  army  collected  what  the  van 
guard  had  left;  even  the  officers  seized  the  rum  and  all  kinds  of 
provisions  without  paying  a  farthing  for  them;  this  hurricane, 
which  destroyed  everything  in  its  passage,  was  followed  by  a 
scourge  yet  more  terrible :  a  numerous  rabble,  under  the  title  of 
Refugees  and  Loyalists,  followed  the  army,  not  to  assist  in  the 
field,  but  to  partake  of  the  plunder.  The  furniture  and  clothes 
of  the  inhabitants  were  in  general  the  sole  booty  left  to  satisfy 
their  avidity;  after  they  had  emptied  the  houses,  they  stript  the 
proprietors,  and  Mr.  Bird  repeated  with  indignation  that  they 
had  taken  from  him  by  force  the  very  boots  from  off  his  legs." 
"Mr.  Tilghman,  our  landlord,f  though  he  lamented  his  misfortune 
in  having  lodged  and  boarded  Lord  Cornwallis  and  his  retinue 
without  his  lordship's  having  made  him  the  least  recompense, 
could  not  yet  help  laughing  at  the  fright  which  the  unexpected 
arrival  of  Tarleton  spread  among  a  considerable  number  of  gen 
tlemen  who  had  come  to  hear  the  news,  and  were  assembled  at 


*  Landlord  of  the  Ordinary  in  New  Kent. 
f  At  Hanover  Court-house. 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  729 

the  court-house.  A  negro  on  horseback  caine  full  gallop  to  let 
them  know  that  Tarleton  was  not  above  three  miles  off.  The 
resolution  of  retreating  was  soon  taken;  but  the  alarm  was  so 
sudden  and  the  confusion  so  great  that  every  one  mounted  the 
first  horse  he  could  find,  so  that  few  of  those  curious  gentlemen 
returned  upon  their  own  horses." 

From  his  army  encamped  in  Hanover,  Cornwallis  detached 
Simcoe  with  five  hundred  men,  Queen's  Rangers  and  yagers,  with 
a  three-pounder,  the  cavalry  amounting  to  one  hundred.  The 
object  of  this  expedition  was  to  destroy  the  arsenal  lately  erected 
at  the  Point  of  Fork,  and  the  military  stores  there.  The  Point 
of  Fork  is  contained  between  the  Rivanna  and  the  James,  in  the 
County  of  Fluvanna.  At  the  same  time  his  lordship  detached 
Tarleton  with  his  legion,  and  one  company  of  the  23d  Regiment, 
with  the  design  of  capturing  Governor  Jefferson, and  the  members 
of  the  assembly,,  then  convened  at  Charlottesville,  and  also  of 
destroying  military  stores. 

During  the  recent  incursions  of  Phillips  and  Arnold  a  state 
arsenal  had  been  established  at  the  Point  of  Fork,  and  military 
stores  collected  there  with  a  view  to  the  prosecution  of  the  war 
in  the  Carolinas.  The  protection  of  this  post  had  been  entrusted 
to  Baron  Steuben,  who  had  acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  military 
art  under  Frederick  the  Great.  Steuben's  force  consisted  of  be 
tween  five  and  six  hundred  new  levies,  (originally  intended  for 
the  Southern  army,)  and  a  few  militia  under  General  Lawson. 
Cornwallis  informed  Simcoe  that  the  baron's  force  was  only  three 
or  four  hundred;  but  Simcoe  held  the  earl's  military  intelligence 
in  slight  respect.  Thus  he  says:*  "He  had  received  no  advices 
from  Lord  Cornwallis,  whose  general  intelligence  he  knew  to  be 
very  bad."  "The  slightest  reliance  was  not  to  be  placed  on  any 
patroles  from  his  lordship's  army." 

Lieutenant  Spencer,  with  twenty  hussars,  formed  Simcoe's  ad 
vanced  guard  of  chosen  men  mounted  on  fleet  horses.  Simcoe 
crossing  the  South  Anna,  pushed  on  writh  his  usual  rapidity  by 
Bird's  Ordinary  toward  Napier's  Ford  on  the  Rivanna.  Corn 
wallis,  with  the  main  body,  followed  in  Simcoe's  route.  No  in- 


Simcoe's  Journal,  226. 


730  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

habitant  of  the  country  coming  within  view  escaped  capture. 
From  some  of  the  prisoners  intelligence  was  obtained  that  Steu- 
ben  was  at  the  Point  of  Fork  and  in  the  act  of  crossing  to  tho 
south  side  of  the  James.  The  baron  adopted  this  measure  in 
consequence  of  intelligence  of  Tarleton's  incursion.  Within  two 
miles  of  Steuben's  camp  a  patrol  of  dragoons  appeared,  was  chased 
and  taken ;  it  consisted  of  a  French  officer  and  four  of  Armand's 
corps.  The  advanced  men  of  Spencer's  guard  changed  clothes 
with  the  prisoners  for  the  purpose  of  attempting  to  surprise  the 
baron  at  the  only  house  at  the  Point  of  Fork.  Just  as  Simcoe 
was  about  to  give  the  -order  to  his  men  to  lay  down  their  knap 
sacks  in  preparation  for  an  engagement,  the  advanced  guard 
brought  in  a  prisoner,  Mr.  Farley,  Steuben's  aid,  who  had  mis 
taken  them  for  the  patrol  which  had  just  been  captured.  He 
assured  Simcoe  that  he  had  seen  every  man  over  the  James 
before  he  left  the  Point  of  Fork,  and  this  was  confirmed  by 
some  captured  wagoners.  Simcoe's  cavalry  advancing,  plainly 
saw  the  baron's  force  on  the  opposite  side.  About  thirty  of 
Steuben's  people,  collected  on  the  bank  where  the  embarcution 
had  taken  place,  were  captured.  Simcoe,  thus  disappointed,  em 
ployed  stratagem  to  persuade  the  baron  that  the  party  was  Earl 
Cornwallis'  whole  army,  so  as  to  cause  the  arms  and  stores  that 
covered  the  opposite  banks  to  be  abandoned.  Captain  Hutchin- 
son,  with  the  71st  Regiment  clothed  in  red,  was  directed  to 
approach  the  banks  of  the  James,  while  the  baggage  and 
women  halted  in  the  woods  on  the  summit  of  a  hill,  where  they 
made  the  appearance  of  a  numerous  corps,  the  woods  mystifying 
their  numbers,  and  numerous  camp-fires  aiding  the  deception. 
The  three-pounder  was  carried  down  and  one  shot  fired,  by  which 
was  killed  the  horse  of  one  of  Steuben's  orderly  dragoons.  The 
baron  was  encamped  on  the  heights  on  the  opposite  shore,  about 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  back  from  the  river.  He  had  passed 
the  river  in  consequence  of  intelligence  of  Tarleton's  incursion, 
which  he  apprehended  was  aimed  at  him.  The  river  was  broad 
and  unfordable,  and  Steuben  was  in  possession  of  all  the  boats. 
Simcoe  himself  was  now  in  an  exposed  position ;  but  his  anxiety 
was  relieved  when  the  baron's  people  were  heard  at  night  destroy 
ing  their  boats  with  great  noise.  At  midnight  they  made  up  their 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  731 

camp  fires.  Soon  after  a  deserter  and  a  little  drummer-boy 
passed  over  in  a  canoe,  and  gave  information  that  Steuben  had 
marched  off  on  the  road  by  Cumberland  Court-house  toward 
North  Carolina.  The  drummer-boy  belonged  to  the  71st  Regi 
ment  ;  he  had  been  taken  prisoner  at  the  Cowpens,  had  enlisted 
in  Morgan's  army,  and  now  making  his  escape  happened  to  be 
received  by  a  picket-guard  which  his  own  father  commanded.  On 
the  following  day,  by  aid  of  some  canoes,  Simcoe  sent  across  the 
river  Captain  Stevenson  with  twenty  light  infantry,  and  Cornet 
Wolsey  with  four  hussars,  who  carried  their  saddles  with  them. 
The  infantry  detachment  were  ordered  to  bring  off  such  supplies 
as  Simcoe  might  need,  and  to  destroy  the  remainder.  The  hus 
sars  were  directed  to  mount  upon  such  straggling  horses  as  they 
could  find,  and  patrol  in  Steuben's  wake.  Both  orders  were  exe 
cuted  ;  the  stores  were  destroyed  and  Steuben's  retreat  accelerated. 
Simcoe  in  the  mean  while  employed  his  men  in  constructing  a. 
raft  by  which  he  might  pass  the  Rivanna.  There  was  destroyed 
here  a  large  quantity  of  arms,  the  greater  part  of  them,  however, 
out  of  repair,  together  with  ammunition  and  military  stores.  The 
quantity  and  value  of  property  destroyed  were  exaggerated  by 
the  enemy;  as  also  was  Steuben's  force.  Simcoe  took  away  a 
mortar,  five  brass  howitzers,  and  four  long  brass  nine-ponnders, 
all  French,  mounted  afterwards  at  Yorktown.  According  to  his 
opinion  a  small  guard  left  by  Steuben  would  have  protected  these 
stores.  The  disaster  was  probably  owing  to  a  want  of  accurate 
military  intelligence.  Simcoe  held  Steuben's  military  qualifica 
tions  in  high  estimation;  but  his  opinion  of  La  Fayette  was  the 
reverse. 

Mean  while  Tarleton,  passing  rapidly  along  the  road  by  Louisa 
Court-house,  met  with  some  wagons  laden  with  clothing  for  the 
Southern  army,  and  burnt  them.  Learning  that  a  number  of 
gentlemen,  who  had  escaped  from  the  lower  country,  were  assem 
bled,  some  at  Dr.  Walker's,  the  others  at  Mr.  John  Walker's,* 
Tarleton,  instead  of  advancing  at  once  upon  Charlottesville, 
despatched  Captain  Kinloch  with  a  party  to  Mr.  John  Walker's, 


*  Belvoir,  about  seven  miles  from  Charlottesville,  and  the  residence  of  the  late 
Judge  Hugh  Xelson.     The  house  has  been  burnt  down. 


732  HISTORY    OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

while  he  proceeded  with  the  rest  to  the  doctor's  mansion,  where 
lie  surprised  Colonel  John  Syme,  half-brother  to  Patrick  Henry, 
Judge  Lyons,  and  some  other  gentlemen  who  were  found  asleep, 
it  being  early  in  the  morning.*  Captain  Kinloch  captured 
Francis  Kinloch,  his  relative,  a  delegate  to  congress  from  South 
Carolina,  together  with  William  and  Robert  Nelson,  brothers  to 
General  Thomas  Nelson.  There  is  a  family  tradition  that  when 
this  Captain  Kinloch  was  about  to  leave  England,  the  ladies  of 
his  family  begged  him  not  to  kill  his  cousin  in  America,  and  that 
he  replied,  "No,  but  I  will  be  sure  to  take  him  prisoner,"  which 
playful  prediction  was  now  fulfilled,  f  A  Mr.  Jouitte,  mounted  on 
a  fleet  horse,  conveyed  intelligence  of  Tarleton's  approach  to 
Charlottesville,  so  that  the  greater  part  of  the  members  of  the 
assembly  escaped. J  Tarleton,  after  a  delay  of  some  hours, 
entered  Charlottesville ;  seven  of  the  delegates  fell  into  his  hands, 
and  the  public  stores  were  destroyed.  Captain  McCleod,  with  a 
troop  of  horse,  visited  Monticello  with  a  view  of  capturing  Mr. 
Jefferson;  but  he  had  about  sunrise  received  information  of 
Tarleton's  approach.  Some  members  of  the  assembly,  and  the 
speakers  of  both  houses,  who  were  his  guests,  hastened  to  Char 
lottesville;  Mrs.  Jefferson  and  her  children  hurried  off  in  a  car 
riage,  and  Mr.  Jefferson  followed  afterwards  on  horseback,  a  few 
minutes  before  McCleod  reached  the  house.  The  magnificent 
panorama  of  mountain  scenery  visible  there  must  have  afforded 
him  and  his  dragoons  some  compensation  for  the  disappointment. 
While  Tarleton  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  Charlottesville,  some 
British  and  Hessian  prisoners  of  the  convention  troops  cantoned 


*  It  is  said  that  as  one  of  the  gentlemen,  who  was  rather  embonpoint,  and  who 
in  this  emergency  had  found  time  to  put  on  nothing  but  his  breeches,  ran  across 
the  yard  in  full  view  of  the  British  dragoons,  they  burst  into  a  fit  of  laughter  at 
so  extraordinary  a  phenomenon. 

f  Francis  Kinloch,  of  Kensington,  South  Carolina,  meeting,  in  passing,  with 
Eliza,  only  daughter  of  Mr.  John  Walker,  who  was  also  at  Philadelphia  attend 
ing  congress,  is  said  to  have  fallen  in  love  with  her  at  first  sight,  she  having  at 
the  moment  just  come  from  her  hair-dresser,  and  he  afterwards  married  her;  and 
Eliza,  only  daughter  of  that  union,  became  the  wife  of  the  late  Judge  Hugh  Nel 
son,  United  States  Minister  at  Madrid. 

J  The  general  assembly  presented  him  with  a  horse  fully  caparisoned  and  a 
pair  of  pistols  for  his  vigilance  and  activity. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  733 

with  the  planters,  joined  him.  The  prisoners  of  distinction,  whom 
he  had  captured,  were  treated  with  lenity,  being  detained  only  a 
few  days  on  their  parole  not  to  escape;  "the  lower  class  were 
secured  as  prisoners  of  war."  The  prisoners  of  note  were  released 
at  Elkhill,  a  plantation  of  Mr.  Jefferson's,  where  Cornwallis  for 
ten  days  made  his  headquarters.  This  plantation  was  laid  waste 
by  the  enemy.  Wherever  his  lordship's  army  went,  plantations 
were  despoiled,  and  private  houses  plundered.  During  the  six 
months  of  his  stay  in  Virginia  she  lost  thirty  thousand  slaves,  of 
whom  the  greater  part  died  of  small-pox  and  camp  fever;  and 
the  rest  were  shipped  to  the  West  Indies,  Nova  Scotia,  etc.  The 
devastations  committed  during  these  six  months  were  estimated 
at  upwards  of  thirteen  millions  of  dollars.* 

Peter  Francisco,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  celebrated  for  his 
physical  strength  and  personal  prowess,  lived  long  in  the  County 
of  Buckingham,  Virginia,  and  died  there.  His  origin  is  obscure : 
he  supposed  that  he  was  a  Portuguese  by  birth,  and  that  he  was 
kidnapped  when  an  infant,  and  carried  to  Ireland.  He  had  no 
recollection  of  his  parents,  and  the  first  knowledge  that  he 
retained  of  himself  was  of  being  in  that  country  when  a  small 
boy.  Resolving  to  come  to  America,  he  indented"1  himself  to  a 
sea-captain  for  seven  years,  in  payment  of  his  passage.  On 
arriving  in  Virginia  he  was  indented  to  Anthony  Winston,  Esq., 
of  Buckingham,  and  labored  on  his  estate  until  the  breaking 
out  of  the  Revolution.  Being  then  at  the  age  of  sixteen  he  ob 
tained  permission  to  enlist  in  the  army.  At  the  storming  of  Stony 
Point  he  was  the  next,  after  Major  Gibbon,  to  enter  the  fortress, 
and  he  received  a  bayonet  wound  in  the  thigh.  He  was  present 
in  the  battles  of  Brandywine,  Momnouth,  the  Cowpens,  Camden, 
and  Guilford  Court-house.  In  the  last-mentioned  action,  where 
he  belonged  to  Colonel  Washington's  dragoons,  his  strong  arm 
levelled  eleven  of  the  enemy.  His  bravery  was  equal  to  his 
strength. 

During  the  year  1781,  while  reconnoitring  alone,  and  stopping 
at  a  house  in  Amelia,  now  Nottoway,  he  was  made  prisoner  by  a 
detachment  of  Tarleton's  dragoons.  But  availing  himself  of  a 

*  Burk,  iv. 


734  HISTORY  OP  THE  COLONY  AND 

favorable  opportunity,  when  one  of  the  British  was  stooping  to 
take  off  his  silver  shoe-buckles,  Francisco  'wounded  him  with  his 
own  sword,  and  another,  and  by  a  ruse  frightened  off  the  rest  of 
the  party,  who  fled,  leaving  their  horses,  although  Tarleton's  corps 
was  in  full  view.  This  exploit  was  illustrated  by  an  engraving, 
published  in  1814,  a  favorite  ornament  of  the  drawing-room. 
Peter  Francisco  was  in  height  six  feet  and  one  inch:  his  weight 
was  two  hundred  and  sixty  pounds:  his  strength  Herculean.  He 
used  a  sword  of  extraordinary  size.  His  complexion  was  that  of 
a  native  of  the  south  of  Europe,  his  eye  dark,  his  whole  appear 
ance  massive,  unique,  and  remarkable.  An  excellent  portrait  of 
him  was  made  by  Harding.  John  Randolph,  of  Roanoke,  brought 
the  attention  of  congress  to  Peter  Francisco's  military  services 
in  an  interesting  memoir,  and  applied  for  a  pension  for  him.  He 
was  in  old  age  made  sergeant-at-arms  to  the  house  of  delegates.* 
The  condition  of  affairs  in  Virginia  in  the  summer  of  1781  was 
gloomy,  humiliating,  apparently  almost  desperate.  After  a  war 
of  five  years  the  State  was  still  unfortified,  unarmed,  unprepared. 
But  it  was  asked,  did  not  every  Virginian  possess  a  gun  of  some 
kind,  and  was  it  not  with  such  arms  that  the  battles  of  Bunker 
Hill  and  of  the  Cowpens  were  fought?  Virginia  had  entered 
upon  the  war  when  she  was  already  loaded  with  debt,  and 
exhausted  by  her  Indian  war,  and  by  her  non-importation  policy, 
before  the  war  began.  Intersected  by  rivers,  she  wras  everywhere 
exposed  to  the  inroads  of  the  enemy ;  and  a  dense  slave  popula 
tion  obstructed  the  prompt  movement  of  the  militia.  The  dark 
ness  of  the  future  was  relieved  by  a  single  ray  of  hope  derived 
from  the  uncertain  rumors  of  the  sailing  of  a  French  fleet  for 
America;  but  frequent  disappointment  rendered  hope  of  help 
from  that  quarter  precarious.  The  bulk  of  the  people  were 
staunch  whigs  and  well  affected  to  the  French  alliance ;  but  they 
were  growing  despondent,  and  some  were  even  beginning  to  fear 
that  France  was  prolonging  the  war  so  as  to  wreaken  America  as 
well  as  Great  Britain,  and  to  render  the  new  confederation  de 
pendent  upon  its  allies.  With  the  aid  of  a  superior  French  fleet 
there  could  be  no  doubt  of  the  successful  issue  of  the  war;  with- 

*  Howe's  Hist.  Coll.  of  Va.,  207. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  735 

out  that  aid,  there  was  too  much  reason  to  fear  that  the  people 
could  not  be  kept  much  longer  firm,  in  so  unequal  a  contest. 

La  Fayette,  joined  by  Wayne's  brigade,  eight  or  nine  hundred 
strong,  marched  toward  Albemarle  old  court-house,  where  some 
magazines  remained  uninjured  by  the  British,  and  he  succeeded 
in  saving  them  from  Tarleton's  grasp.  La  Fayette  at  this  place 
was  joined  by  Colonel  Campbell,  the  hero  of  King's  Mountain, 
with  his  riflemen.  Cornwallis,  in  accordance  with  advices  from 
Clinton,  retired  to  the  lower  country,  and  was  followed  by  La 
Fayette,  who  had,  in  the  mean  time,  above  Richmond  been  re- 
enforced  by  Steuben  with  his  new  levies  and  some  militia.  Corn 
wallis  halted  for  a  few  days  at  Richmond ;  Simcoe  being  posted 
at  Westham;  Tarleton  at  the  Meadow  Bridge.  La  Fayette's 
army  amounted  to  four  thousand  five  hundred,  of  whom  one-half 
were  regular ;  and  of  these,  fifteen  hundred  were  veterans ;  he  was 
still  inferior  to  his  lordship  in  numbers,  by  one-third,  and  very 
deficient  in  cavalry.  Cornwallis,  leaving  the  picturesque  hills  of 
Richmond  on  the  20th  of  June,  1781,  reached  Williamsburg  on 
the  twenty-fifth.  La  Fayette  followed,  and  passing  Richmond 
arrived  at  New  Kent  Court-house  on  the  day  after  the  British 
general  had  left  it.  La  Fayette  took  up  a  position  on  Tyre's 
plantation,  twenty  miles  from  Williamsburg.  Cornwallis  having 
detached  Simcoe  to  destroy  some  boats  and  stores  on  the  Chicka- 
hominy,  he  performed  the  service  with  his  accustomed  prompt 
ness.  La  Fayette  discovering  Simcoe's  movement,  detached 
Colonel  Butler,  of  the  Pennsylvania  line,  in  quest  of  him.  But 
ler's  van  consisted  of  the  rifle  corps  under  Majors  Call  and  Willis 
and  the  cavalry;  the  whole  detachment,  not  exceeding  one  hun 
dred  and  twenty  effectives,  was  led  by  Major  McPherson,  of 
Pennsylvania.  Having  mounted  some  infantry  behind  the  rem 
nant  of  Armand's  dragoons,  he  overtook  Simcoe,  on  his  return, 
near  Spencer's  plantation,  about  six  miles  above  Williamsburg, 
at  the  forks  of  the  roads  leading  to  that  place  and  to  Jamestown. 
The  ground  there,  in  Simcoe's  phrase,  was  "admirably  adapted 
to  the  chicanery  of  action."  The  suddenness  of  McPherson's 
attack  threw  the  yagers  into  confusion,  but  they  were  firmly  sup 
ported  by  the  Queen's  Rangers,  to  whom  the  alarm  was  given  by 
trumpeter  Barney,  exclaiming:  "Draw  your  swords,  Rangers; 


736  HISTORY   OF   THE    COLOXY   AND 

the  rebels  are  coming!"  Barney  himself  captured  a  French 
officer.  Call  and  Willis  having  now  joined  McPherson,  a  warm 
conflict  ensued;  and  Simcoe  found  occasion  for  all  his  resources. 
The  advanced  party  of  Butler's  corps  was  repulsed,  and  fell  back 
in  confusion  upon  the  continentals,  and  Simcoe,  satisfied  with  this 
advantage,  retired.  Both  parties  claimed  the  advantage  in  this 
rencontre,  the  loss  of  the  British  being  eleven  killed  and  twenty- 
six  wounded;  that  of  the  Americans  was  not  reported,  except 
that  three  officers  and  twenty-eight  privates  were  made  prisoners; 
the  number  of  their  killed  and  wounded  probably  exceeded  that 
of  the  British.*  Lieutenant- Colonel  Simcoe  considered  this 
action  as  "the  climax  of  a  campaign  of  five  years."  Major 
McPherson  was  unhorsed,  but  crept  into  a  swamp,  and  so  escaped. 
Simcoe,  after  retreating  two  miles  toward  Williamsburg,  met 
Cornwallis  with  the  advance  of  his  army  coming  to  his  relief. 
Colonel  Butler,  the  American  commander  in  this  affair,  was  the 
same  who  afterwards  fell  at  St.  Clair's  defeat. 

Late  in  June,  Cornwallis,  with  an  escort  of  cavalry  under  Sim 
coe,  visited  Yorktown  for  the  purpose  of  examining  the  capabili 
ties  of  that  post;  and  his  lordship  formed  an  unfavorable  opinion 
of  it.  The  party  was  ineffectually  fired  at  from  Gloucester 
Point,  and  returned  on  the  same  day  to  Williamsburg,  After 
halting  here  nine  days,  Cornwallisf  marched,  and  encamped  near 
Jamestown  Island,  for  the  purpose  of  crossing  the  James  and 
proceeding  to  Portsmouth.  The  Queen's  Rangers  passed  over 
the  river  in  the  evening  of  the  same  day  to  cover  the  baggage 
which  was  now  transported.  La  Fayette,  as  Cornwallis  had  pre 
dicted,  now  advanced  with  the  hope  of  striking  at  the  rear-guard 
only,  of  the  enemy,  supposing,  upon  imperfect  intelligence,  that 
the  main  body  had  already  crossed.  Accordingly,  about  sunsetj 
La  Fayette  attacked  Cornwallis  near  Greenspring,  and  after  a 
warm  conflict  was  compelled  to  retreat,  having  discovered  that  he 
was  engaged  by  the  main  body  of  the  British.  Of  the  continen 
tals  one  hundred  and  eighteen  were  killed,  wounded,  or  taken. 
Some  cannon  also  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  The  British 


*  Simcoe,  227.     Plan  of  the  skirmish  opposite  236. 

f  Fourth  of  July.  J  July  6th,  1781, 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  737 

state  their  loss  at  five  officers  and  seventy  privates  killed  and 
wounded.  Cormvallis  now  crossed  the  James  unmolested  and 
marched*  for  Portsmouth. 

La  Fayette,  re-enforced  by  some  dragoons  from  Baltimore, 
retired  to  a  strong  position  near  the  head  of  York  River.  The 
militia  had  already  been  discharged. 

*  July  ninth. 


47 


CHAPTER    C. 


Capture  of  the  Patriot  —  The  Barrens  and  Captain  Starlius  —  Battle  of  the  Barges. 

WHILE  the  British  men-of-war  and  transports  were  assembled 
in  Hampton  Roads,  in  co-operation  with  Cornwallis,  in  the  spring 
and  summer  of  1781,  the  small  craft  were  engaged  in  frequent 
depredations,  going  up  the  James  as  far  as  Jamestown,  and  look 
ing  into  the  smaller  streams  for  plunder.  To  aiford  some  little 
relief  to  the  distressed  inhabitants,  for  the  most  part  women,  the 
men  being  at  sea,  or  in  the  army,  or  prisoners,  it  was  determined 
to  employ  the  only  vessel  then  afloat  belonging  to  the  State  —  the 
schooner  Patriot.  She  was  small,  and  mounted  only  eight  two- 
pounders;  but  she  had  more  than  once  captured  vessels  of  twice 
her  calibre.  Captain  Watkins  having  received  his  orders,  pro 
ceeded  at  once  down  the  James  River  upon  this  service.  For 
some  weeks  a  sloop,  supposed  to  be  a  privateer,  had  been  commit 
ting  depredations,  and  Watkins  determined  to  overhaul  her.  Two 
young  Virginians  were  on  the  north  side  of  the  James,  in  the 
County  of  Elizabeth  City,  endeavoring  day  after  day  to  cross  the 
river  and  find  a  safer  refuge  on  the  south  side  of  it.  Daily 
emerging  from  a  small  house,  "in  the  great  gust-wood,"  where 
they  found  temporary  shelter,  they  repaired  to  the  river  side,  dis 
tant  about  three  miles,  looking  out  for  some  craft  to  convey  them 
across.  In  company  of  the  two  brothers  was  a  negro,  a  native 
of  Africa,  who  had  been  brought  to  Virginia  in  his  youth,  and 
had  soon  evinced  an  ardent  attachment  to  it.  He  was  an  expert 
pilot,  and  a  devoted  "patriot."  On  a  Sunday  morning,  as  the 
trio  stood  on  the  river  bank,  at  a  point  in  Warwick  County,  they 
espied  the  schooner  Patriot  in  chase  of  the  plundering  sloop,  and 
apparently  gaining  fast  upon  her.  The  negro,  known  as  Captain 
Starlins,  at  this  spectacle,  gave  noisy  utterance  to  his  extrava 
gant  joy,  hopping  about  and  clapping  together  his  uplifted  hands. 
The  three  hoped  soon  to  witness  the  capture  of  the  sloop  ;  but  it 
(738) 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA,  739 

turned  out  that  she  was  purposely  retarded  in  her  course  by  a 
drag  thrown  out  over  her  starboard  bow,  and  the  Patriot  coming 
alongside  of  her,  there  suddenly  up  jumped  fifty  marines,  and  in 
a  moment  the  Patriot  was  captured.*  The  three  spectators  be 
held  the  catastrophe  with  intense  disappointment.  From  the 
zenith  of  hope  Captain  Starlins  had  been  suddenly  plunged  souse 
down  to  the  nadir  of  despair.  He  and  the  younger  of  the  brothers 
burst  into  tears,  while  the  older  brother,  fifteen  years  of  age, 
although  no  less  grieved,  had  more  command  over  his  sensibilities. 
Giving  a  parting  look  to  the  unfortunate  schooner  as  she  dis 
appeared  in  the  hazy  distance,  they  retraced  their  steps.  AVat- 
kins  and  those  under  him  were  sent  off  to  Charleston,  and  confined 
in  the  provost  prison,  where  he  died.  The  Patriot  was  taken 
round  to  Yorktown.  Captain  Mark  Starlins  died  a  slave  a  few 
years  after,  and  just  before  the  passage  of  a  law  giving  freedom 
to  those  men  of  color  who  had  served  the  patriotic  cause.  His 
shivery,  however,  appears  to  have  been  merely  nominal;  for  his 
master  fully  appreciated  his  noble  character,  and  which  was  held 
in  high  estimation  by  all  worthy  citizens,  especially  by  all  the 
navy  officers  of  Virginia.  The  two  brothers  were  the  Barrens, 
afterwards  distinguished  in  the  United  States  naval  service. f 

In  1782  Maryland  sent  out  Commodore  Whaley,  with  some 
barges,  to  protect  the  Eastern  Shore  of  that  State  against  buca- 
necring  crafts  manned  by  British  sailors,  and  tories,  and  negroes. 
Receiving  information  of  the  appearance  of  a  flotilla  of  such 
barges  in  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  under  command  of  a  Commodore 
Kid,  a  Scotchman,  Whaley,  deeming  them  too  strong  for  him, 
solicited  aid  from  Colonel  John  Cropper,  commander  of  Accomac 
County,  who,  with  a  party  of  volunteers,  re-enforced  him.  Colo 
nel  Cropper,  with  several  Accomac  gentlemen,  went  on  board 


*  Such  is  the  account  given  by  Commodore  Barron  from  his  early  recollec 
tions.  It  appears,  however,  that  he  and  his  companions  were  misled  by  appear 
ances,  and  that  the  Patriot  was  engaged  with  the  British  sloop  for  two  hours, 
and  twice  attempted  to  boai'd  her,  but  ineffectually.  At  length  the  sloop  cut 
away  the  Patriot's  main  halliards,  and  her  main-sail  fell  to  the  deck;  when,  re 
ceiving  a  broadside,  and  being  no  longer  manageable,  the  Patriot  struck  her 
colors. — [  Va.  Navy  of  Revolution,  S.  Lit.  Messr.f  1857,  p.  147.] 

f  Ya.  Hist.  Register,  i.  ll>7. 


740  HISTORY  OF  THE  COLONY  AND 

the  Protector,  the  commodore's  barge.  Whaley  having  requested 
those  in  the  other  barges  to  support  him  in  case  the  enemy  should 
make  a  push  at  him,  they  promised  to  do  so,  "  or  all  sink  to 
gether."  The  enemy's  barges  were  descried  in  the  morning  of 
the  thirtieth  of  November,  in  Cagey's  Straits :  they  soon  hove  to, 
and  formed  in  line.  The  action  commenced  at  half-past  nine 
o'clock,  and  lasted  twenty-five  minutes.  The  foremost  of  Whaley's 
barges  having  fired  a  few  shot  at  long  distance,  retreated.  He, 
nevertheless,  with  the  Protector  advanced  to  within  fifty  yards  of 
the  enemy,  exposed  to  their  fire,  and  returning  it  warmly.  A  gun 
ner,  in  handing  an  eighteen-pounder  cartridge  out  of  the  chest,  hap 
pened  to  break  it,  and  the  spilt  powder,  although  water  had  been 
poured  upon  it,  caught  fire  from  the  flash  of  the  small  arms,  and 
the  chest  exploded,  producing  great  confusion  on  board,  killing 
two  or  three,  and  causing  a  number  of  men,  some  with  their 
clothes  on  fire,  to  jump  overboard.  The  enemy,  encouraged  by 
this,  pushed  on  with  redoubled  fury,  and  Whaley  was  deserted  by 
his  other  five  barges,  who  fled  ingloriously,  leaving  their  com 
mander  to  his  fate.  Three  of  Kid's  barges  were  already  along 
side  of  him,  when  a  second  ammunition  chest  exploded,  renewing 
the  scene  of  disaster  and  confusion.  Lieutenant  Handy  enquired 
of  Whaley  whether  it  would  not  be  better  to  strike :  he  replied 
that  he  should  not  strike.  Colonel  Cropper  describes  the  action 
at  this  time  as  "a  continual  shower  of  musket  bullets,  pikes,  cold 
shot,  cutlasses,  and  iron  stantials,  for  eight  or  ten  minutes."  The 
Protector  being  overpowered  by  numbers,  most  of  the  men  being 
driven  from  their  quarters,  she  was  surrendered,  the  general  cry 
being  for  quarter,  which,  however,  the  enemy  refused.  The 
barge  was  now  boarded  by  the  blacks  with  brutal  cruelty.  In 
this  action  all  the  Protector's  officers  were  either  killed  or 
wounded.  Whaley  fell,  killed  by  a  musket  ball;  Captain  Handy 
fell  fighting  with  one  arm,  after  the  other  had  been  broken. 
Lieutenant  Handy  was  severely  wounded.  Of  the  sixty-five  men 
that  went  into  action  in  the  Protector  twenty-five  were  killed  or 
drowned,  and  twenty-nine  wounded,  some  mortally.  Of  the  Ac- 
comae  volunteers  Captain  Christian  was  killed  with  a  musket 
ball.  Captain  William  Snead,  Mr.  John  Reville,  and  Colonel 
Cropper,  were  wounded.  Among  those  thrown  into  the  water 


ANCIENT    DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA. 

by  tlic  explosion  was  AYilliam  Gibb,  a  Scotchman,  for  many  years 
deputy  clerk  of  Accomac.  He  could  not  swim,  and  was  sinking 
when  his  friend,  Captain  Parker,  seized  him  by  the  hair,  and 
kept  him  afloat  until  they  both  were  picked  up  by  the  enemy. 
As  long  as  Gibb  lived,  which  was  forty-five  years  thereafter,  he 
had  an  annual  feast  at  his  house  on  the  thirtieth  of  November, 
the  anniversary  of  the  Battle  of  the  Barges.* 

Colonel  Cropper  at  the  age  of  nineteen  was  captain  of  the 
9th  Virginia  Regiment  in  the  continental  line:  and  in  1776  was 
made  major  in  the  5th  Regiment. f  He  was  with  Washington  in 
the  Jerseys,  and  present  at  the  battles  of  Monmouth  and  Brandy- 
wine.  For  his  good  conduct  in  the  latter  he  was  promoted. 

*  I  am  indebted  to  Dr.  Levin  S.  Joynes  for  some  MSS.  relative  to  the  Battle 
of  the  Barges. 

f  Levin  Joynes,  of  Accomac,  became  at  the  same  time  major  in  the  9th,  and 
Thomas  Snead,  of  the  same  county,  major  in  the  7th  Eegiment. 


CHAPTER    CI. 

1-781. 

Washington — Cornwallis  occupies  Yorktown — Battle  of  Eutaw  Springs — Henry 
Lee — Washington  invests  Yorktown — Capitulation. 

IN  the  North,  Washington  retained  a  self-possessed  mind.  So 
the  eagle  from  his  mountain  watch-tower  looks  down  and  surveys 
with  serene  eye  the  tempest  and  the  storm  forming  beneath  his 
feet.  Re-enforced  by  the  French  troops  under  Rochambeau,  and 
a  fleet,  he  was  concerting  measures  to  expel  Clinton  from  New 
York,  believing  that  in  this  way  he  could  give  the  enemy  the 
more  fatal  blow,  and  afford  the  South  the  more  effectual  relief. 
But  he  resolved,  in  case  he  should  find  this  design  impracticable, 
to  transfer  the  scene  of  war  to  the  South.  Cornwallis  was  ad 
vised  by  Sir  Henry  to  select  a  post  on  the  Chesapeake,  conve 
nient  for  wintering  a  fleet — either  Yorktown  or  Old  Point. 
Washington  requested  La  Fayette  to  endeavor  to  prevent  Corn 
wallis  from  marching  to  Charleston,  and  Wayne  was,  accordingly, 
despatched  to  the  south  side  of  the  James  to  watch  his  move 
ments.*  Cornwallis  having  selected  Yorktown,  occupied  it  and 
Gloucester  Point,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  York,  and  proceeded 
to  fortify  them. 

Early  in  August,  Washington  received  from  the  Count  de 
Barras  the  information  that  the  Count  de  Grassc  might  be  ex 
pected  shortly  to  reach  the  Chesapeake  with  a  formidable  fleet. 
Washington  now  determined  to  transfer  the  war  to  the  South; 
but  to  deceive  Clinton  he  made  his  arrangements  secretly,  and 
continued  his  apparent  preparations  against  New  York.  Corn 
wallis  concentrated  the  whole  British  force  in  Virginia  at  York- 
town  and  Gloucester  Point  by  the  twenty-second  of  August. 
The  latter  post  was  held  by  the  80th  Regiment,  the  Hessian 

*  August  2d,  1781. 

(742) 


ANCIENT    DOMINION   OF   VIRGINIA.  743 

regiment  of  the  Prince  Hereditaire,  and  the  Queen's  Rangers — 
the  whole  under  command  of  the  brave  and  energetic  Colonel 
Dundas,  of  the  artillery.  Tarleton,  with  his  cavalry,  afterwards 
passed  over  to  Gloucester  Point.  La  Fayette,  in  consequence  of 
the  movements  of  the  enemy,  broke  up  his  camp  on  the  Pamun- 
key,  and  drew  nearer  to  Yorktown.  Washington,  having  con 
certed  with  the  French  commanders  a  plan  of  operations,  with 
the  combined  American  and  French  forces,  marched  for  Virginia, 
the  army  being  put  in  motion  on  the  nineteenth,  and  having 
completed  the  passage  of  the  Hudson  on  the  twenty-fifth.  Sir 
Henry  Clinton  did  not  suspect  that  the  movement  was  for  the 
South  until  the  third  of  September. 

On  the  thirtieth  of  August,  De  Grasse,  with  twenty-eight  ships 
of  the  line  and  several  frigates,  arrived  from  the  West  Indies, 
and  entered  the  Chesapeake.  At  Cape  Henry  he  found  an  officer 
despatched  by  La  Fayette  with  intelligence  of  the  situation  of 
the  two  armies.  On  the  following  day  his  advanced  ships  blocked 
up  the  mouth  of  the  York.  While  the  French  fleet  lay  at  anchor 
just  within  the  Chesapeake,  a  squadron  was  descried  early  in  the 
morning  of  September  the  fifth,  consisting  of  nineteen  ships-of- 
the-line,  under  Admiral  Graves.  De  Grasse  immediately  formed 
his  line  and  put  to  sea;  and  a  partial  engagement  occurred. 
Several  ships  were  damaged,  but  the  result  was  indecisive.  For 
some  days  the  fleets  continued  within  view  of  each  other,  after 
which  De  Grasse  returned  to  his  moorings  within  the  capes. 
Here  he  found*  De  Barras  with  a  squadron  newly  arrived  from 
Rhode  Island,  bringing  artillery  and  stores  proper  for  carrying 
on  a  siege.  Graves  looking  in  at  the  capes  found  the  French 
fleet  too  strong  for  him,  and  returned  to  New  York.  La  Fayette 
made  his  headquarters  at  Williamsburg,  twelve  miles  from 
Yorktown. 

On  the  8th  of  September,  1781,  the  battle  of  Eutaw  Springs, 
in  South  Carolina,  took  place.  The  British  army,  commanded  by 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Stuart,  being  encamped  at  that  place,  Greene 
marched  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  to  attack  the  enemy, 
seven  miles  distant.  Upon  approaching  them  Greene  formed  his 

*  September  tenth. 


744  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

first  line  of  militia  under  Marion  and  Pickens.  The  second  was 
composed  of  continental  infantry  and  the  North  Carolina 
Brigade,  commanded  by  General  Sumncr,  on  the  right;  the  Vir 
ginians,  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Campbell,  in  the  centre;  the 
Marylanders,  under  Colonel  Williams,  on  the  left.  Lee's  legion 
covered  the  right  flank;  South  Carolinians,  under  Colonel  Hen 
derson,  the  left;  and  Washington's  cavalry,  with  Kirkwood's 
infantry,  formed  the  reserve.  Captain  Gaines,  with  two  three- 
pounders,  was  attached  to  the  first  line,  and  Captain  Brown,  with 
two  sixes,  to  the  second. 

The  British  were  drawn  up  across  the  road  obliquely, — in  a 
wood,  on  the  heights  near  the  Eutaw  Springs,  having  their  right 
flank  on  Eutaw  Creek.  The  flanks  were  protected  by  infantry 
and  cavalry;  and  a  body  of  infantry  was  held  in  reserve.  The 
British  advanced  party  was  soon  driven  in.  The  militia,  after 
maintaining  themselves  firmly  for  awhile,  were  compelled  to  re 
tire  before  the  advancing  enemy,  and  their  place  was  filled  by 
Sumner's  North  Carolina  Brigade,  which,  supported  by  Lee  and 
Henderson  on  the  flanks,  went  into  action  with  great  intrepidity. 
The  British  fell  back  to  their  first  ground.  Henderson  was  disa 
bled  by  a  wound.  At  Sumner's  brigade  giving  way  the  British 
rushed  forward  in  some  disorder.  Greene  directed  Williams  and 
Campbell  to  charge  with  the  bayonet,  and  Washington  to  bring 
up  the  reserve.  Williams  charged  without  firing  a  musket;  but 
Campbell's  regiment,  chiefly  new  levies,  returned  the  enemy's 
fire  as  they  advanced.  Lee  now  ordered  Captain  Rudolph,  of  the 
legion  infantry,  to  turn  the  enemy's  flank,  and  give  them  a  raking 
fire.  This  being  done,  the  British  left  was  broken,  and,  driven  off 
the  field  retreated  through  their  tented  camp  toward  Eutaw 
Creek,  where  was  a  brick  house,  into  which  a  part  of  them  threw 
themselves.  The  Americans  pursuing  closely,  took  three  hundred 
prisoners  and  two  pieces  of  cannon. 

Washington  charging  the  enemy's  right  with  his  cavalry  suf 
fered  a  heavy  loss.  He  himself  had  his  horse  killed,  and  was 
wounded  and  made  prisoner.  The  enemy  now  rallied,  and  Greene, 
finding  it  impossible  to  dislodge  them,  retired.  It  was  an  ex 
tremely  hard-fought  battle.  The  loss  of  the  Americans  was  five 
hundred  and  fifty-five,  including  sixty  officers.  One  hundred  and 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  745 

thirty  were  killed.  Seventeen  officers  were  killed,  and  four  mor 
tally  wounded.  Among  the  slain  was  Lieutenant-Colonel  Camp 
bell,  who  fell  while  leading  the  Virginia  Brigade  on  to  the  charge. 
This  excellent  officer,  on  being  told  just  before  he  expired,  that 
the  Americans  were  victorious,  exclaimed,  "  Then  I  die  con 
tented."  The  loss  of  the  British  was  six  hundred  and  ninety- 
three,  of  whom  eighty-five  were  killed  on  the  field.  Greene  made 
five  hundred  prisoners.  The  combatants  were  about  equal  in 
number,  and  the  question  of  victory  was  left  undecided.  Greene 
was,  as  a  military  leader,  esteemed  as  second  only  to  General 
Washington. 

Henry  Lee  was  born  in  Westmoreland,  Virginia,  on  the  29th 
of  January,  1756,  being  son  of  Colonel  Henry  Lee*  and  Mary 
Bland,  of  Jordans.  Henry  receiving  his  early  education  from  a 
private  tutor  at  home,  afterwards  pursued  his  studies  at  the  Col 
lege  of  New  Jersey,  under  the  presidency  of  Dr.  Witherspoon, 
and  graduated  there  in  1774,  in  his  eighteenth  year.  While 
in  college,  Dr.  Shippen  predicted  his  future  distinction.  In  1776, 
when  twenty  years  of  age,  on  the  nomination  of  Patrick  Henry, 
he  was  appointed  a  captain  in  Colonel  Bland's  regiment  of 
cavalry.  In  September  of  the  following  year  the  regiment  joined 
the  main  army,  where  Lee,  by  his  discipline,  vigilance,  and  effi 
ciency,  soon  won  the  confidence  of  Washington,  who  selected  him 
and  his  company  for  a  body-guard  at  the  battle  of  Germantown. 
While  Lee  lay  near  the  British  lines,  a  numerous  body  of  cavalry 
surprised  him  in  his  quarters,  a  stone  house,  where  he  had  with 
him  but  ten  men.  Yet  with  these  he  made  a  gallant  defence, 
and  obliged  the  enemy  to  retreat,  after  having  lost  four  men 
killed,  together  with  several  horses,  and  an  officer  with  three 
privates  wounded.  Of  his  own  party,  besides  the  patrols  and 
quartermaster-sergeant,  who  were  made  prisoners  out  of  the 
house,  he  had  but  two  wounded.  Washington  complimented  Lee 
on  his  gallantry  in  this  little  affair,  and  congress  shortly  after 
promoted  him  to  the  rank  of  major  with  the  command  of  an  inde 
pendent  partisan  corps  of  horse.  July  19th,  1779,  he  surprised 
the  British  garrison  at  Paulus  Hook,  and  was  rewarded  by  con- 

*  For  many  years  a  member  of  the  house  of  burgesses. 


746  HISTORY   OF    THE    COLONY   AND 

gross  with  a  gold  medal.  Early  in  1780  Leo,  now  lieutenant- 
colonel,  with  his  legion,  consisting  of  cavalry  and  infantry,  joined 
the  army  of  the  South,  under  General  Greene.  In  his  retreat 
before  Cornwallis,  Lee's  legion  formed  part  of  the  rear-guard  of 
the  American  army.  During  the  retreat,  Lee  charged  success 
fully  upon  Tarleton's  dragoons.  After  Greene  had  effected  his 
escape,  he  detached  Lee,  with  Pickens,  to  watch  the  movements  of 
Cornwallis.  Lee,  with  his  legion,  by  a  stratagem  surprised  four 
hundred  armed  loyalists  under  Colonel  Pyle,  of  whom  ninety 
were  killed  and  many  wounded. 

At  the  battle  of  Guilford  Lee's  legion  distinguished  itself. 
When  Cornwallis  retired  to  AYilmington,  it  was  by  Lee's  advice 
that  Greene  moved  at  once  into  South  Carolina.  Lee,  detached 
with  his  legion,  joined  the  militia  under  Marion.  Several  forts 
speedily  surrendered.  Lee  now  joined  Pickens,  for  the  purpose 
of  attacking  Fort  Augusta,  which  was  reduced.  In  the  unfortu 
nate  assault  upon  Fort  Ninety-Six,  Lee  was  entirely  successful  in 
the  part  of  the  attack  intrusted  to  his  care.  At  the  battle  of  the 
Eutaw  Springs  he  bore  a  distinguished  part;  and  General  Greene 
declared  that  his  services  had  been  greater  than  those  of  any  other 
man  attached  to  the  Southern  army.  As  a  partisan  officer  he. 
was  unsurpassed.  He  was  a  soldier,  an  orator,  and  a  writer; 
and  in  his  Memoirs  has  given  a  graphic  picture  of  the  war  in  the 
South.  He  was  about  five  feet  nine  inches  high,  well  proportioned, 
of  an  open,  pleasant  countenance,  and  of  a  dark  complexion.  His 
manners  were  frank  and  engaging,  his  disposition  generous  and 
hospitable.  He  was  twice  married:  first  to  Matilda,  daughter 
of  Philip  Ludwell  Lee,  by  whom  he  had  a  son,  Henry,  and  a 
daughter,  Lucy;  and  afterwards  to  Ann,  daughter  of  Charles 
Carter,  of  Shirley,  by  whom  he  had  three  sons,  Charles  Carter, 
Robert,  and  Smith,  and  two  daughters,  Ann  and  Mildred.  Gene 
ral  Henry  Lee  resided  at  Stratford.  His  statue  is  to  be  placed 
on  the  Richmond  Monument.  Among  the  officers  of  Lee's  legion 
were  Armstrong,  Rudolph,  Eggleston,  and  Carrington. 

Washington,  accompanied  by  Rochambeau  and  the  Marquis  De 
Chastellux,  reaching  Yorktown  on  the  fourteenth  of  September, 
and  repairing  on  board  the  Ville  de  Paris,  the  admiral's  ship, 
arranged  the  plan  of  the  siege.  By  the  twenty-fifth,  the  combined 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA.  747 

army,  amounting  to  twelve  thousand  men,  together  with  five  thou 
sand  militia  under  General  Nelson,  was  concentrated  at  Williams- 
burg.  The  allies  advanced  upon  York  and  invested  it,  the  Ameri 
cans  forming  the  right  below  the  town,  the  French  the  left  above  it, 
and  each  extending  from  the  borders  of  the  river,  so  as  to  completely 
circumvent  the  town.  General  De  Choisy  invested  Gloucester  Point 
with  three  thousand  men.  The  enemy's  communication  by  water 
was  entirely  cut  off  by  ships  stationed  at  the  mouth  of  the  river, 
some  ten  miles  below  Yorktown.  Cornwallis,  some  time  before 
this,  finding  his  situation  growing  so  critical,  had  anxiously  soli 
cited  aid  from  Sir  Henry  Clinton ;  and  it  was  promised,  but  never 
arrived.  Washington  was  assisted  during  the  siege  by  Lincoln, 
Steuben,  La  Fayette,  Knox,  and  others.  The  French  were  com 
manded  by  General  the  Count  De  Rochambeau.  On  the  twenty- 
ninth  the  British  commenced  a  cannonade,  and  during  the  night 
abandoned  some  redoubts,  and  retired  within  the  town.  Colonel 
Scammel,  while  reconnoitring  the  ground  just  abandoned  by  the 
enemy,  was  .surprised  by  a  party  of  horse,  and,  after  he  had  sur 
rendered,  received  a  wound  from  a  Hessian,  of  which  he  died  in  a 
few  days,  greatly  lamented.  On  the  third  of  October,  in  a  skir 
mish  before  Gloucester  Point,  Tarleton  was  unhorsed,  and  narrowly 
escaped  being  made  prisoner.  The  British  sent  out  from  York- 
town  a  large  number  of  negroes  infected  with  the  small-pox.  On 
the  night  of  the  seventh  the  first  parallel  was  extended  two  miles 
in  length,  and  within  six  hundred  yards  of  the  British  lines.  By 
the  evening  of  the  ninth,  several  batteries  being  completed,  Wash 
ington  himself  put  the  match  to  the  first  gun,  and  a  heavy  fire 
was  opened,  and  the  cannonade  continued  till  the  fifteenth. 
Cornwallis  was  driven  from  Secretary  Nelson's  house. 

Upon  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution,  the  Secretary  had 
retired  from  public  affairs.  He  lived  at  Yorktown,  where  he  had 
erected  a  handsome  house.  Cornwallis  made  his  headquarters  in 
this  house,  which  stood  near  the  defensive  works.  It  soon  at 
tracted  the  attention  of  the  French  artillery,  and  was  almost 
entirely  demolished.  Secretary  Nelson  was  in  it  when  the  first 
shot  killed  one  of  his  negroes  at  a  little  distance  from  him. 
What  increased  his  solicitude  was  that  he  had  two  sons  in  the 
American  army ;  so  that  every  shot,  whether  fired  from  the  town 


748  HISTOKY  OF  THE  COLONY  AND 

or  from  the  trenches,  might  prove  equally  fatal  to  him.  "When  a 
flag  was  sent  in  to  request  that  he  might  be  conveyed  within  the 
American  lines,  one  of  his  sons  was  observed  gazing  wistfully  at 
the  gate  of  the  town  by  which  his  father,  then  disabled  by  the 
gout,  was  to  come  out.  Cornwallis  permitted  his  withdrawal, 
and  he  was  taken  to  Washington's  headquarters.  Upon  alighting, 
with  a  serene  countenance  he  related  to  the  officers  who  stood 
around  him  what  had  been  the  effect  of  their  batteries,  and  how 
much  his  mansion  had  suffered  from  the  first  shot.  A  red-hot 
ball  from  a  French  battery  set  fire  to  the  Charon,  a  British 
forty-four  gun-ship,  and  two  or  three  smaller  vessels,  which  were 
consumed  in  the  night.  They  were  enrobed  in  fire,  which  ran 
like  lightning  over  the  rigging  and  to  the  tops  of  the  masts.  A 
second  parallel  was  completed,  and  batteries  erected  within  three 
hundred  yards  of  the  enemy's  works.  The  British  had  two  re 
doubts  about  three  hundred  yards  in  front  of  their  lines,  and  it 
was  resolved  to  take  them  by  assault.  The  one  on  the  left  of 
the  enemy  bordering  the  banks  of  the  river  was  assigned  to  a 
brigade  of  light  infantry  under  La  Fayette,  the  advanced  corps 
being  conducted  by  Colonel  Alexander  Hamilton,  assisted  by 
Colonel  Grimat.  The  attack  commenced  at  eight  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  and  the  assailants  entered  the  fort  with  the  point  of  the 
bayonet,  without  firing  a  gun.  The  American  loss  was  eight 
killed  and  thirty  wounded.  Major  Campbell,  who  commanded 
the  redoubt,  was  wounded  and  made  prisoner,  with  about  thirty 
soldiers ;  the  rest  escaped.  During  the  assault,  the  British  kept 
up  a  fire  along  their  whole  line.  Washington,  Lincoln,  and  Knox, 
having  dismounted,  stood  in  an  exposed  position  awaiting  the 
result.  The  other  redoubt,  on  the  right  of  the  British,  was  taken 
at  the  same  time  by  a  detachment  of  the  French  commanded  by 
Baron  De  Viomenil.  He  lost  about  one  hundred  men  killed  and 
wounded.  Of  the  enemy  at  this  redoubt  eighteen  were  killed  and 
forty-five  captured,  including  three  officers. 

By  this  time  many  of  the  British  guns  were  silenced,  and  their 
works  were  becoming  ruinous.  About  four  o'clock  in  the  morn 
ing  of  the  sixteenth,  Colonel  Abercrombie,  with  four  hundred  men, 
made  a  sortie  against  two  unfinished  redoubts  occupied  by  the 
French ;  the  British,  after  spiking  some  cannon,  were  driven  back, 


ANCIENT    DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  749 

with  a  small  loss  on  each  side.  One  hundred  pieces  of  heavy 
artillery  were  now  in  full  play  against  the  enemy,  and  he  had 
nearly  ceased  firing.  In  this  extremity.  Lord  Cornwallis  formed 
a  desperate  design  of  attempting  to  force  his  way  to  New  York, 
his  plan  being  to  leave  his  sick  and  baggage  behind,  to  cross 
over  the  York  River  in  the  night  to  Gloucester  Point  with  his 
effective  force,  and,  overwhelming  De  Choisy  there,  his  lordship 
intended  to  mount  his  men  on  captured  horses,  and,  by  forced 
marches,  gain  the  fords  of  the  rivers,  and  thus  make  his  way 
through  Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  and  Jersey,  to  New  York. 
Boats  were  in  readiness  under  other  pretexts,  at  ten  o'clock  of 
the  night  of  the  sixteenth,  and  the  arrangements  were  con 
ducted  with  so  much  secrecy  that  the  first  division  arrived  at 
Gloucester  Point  unperceived,  and  part  of  the  troops  were  landed, 
when  a  violent  storm  drove  the  boats  down  the  river,  and  it  was 
not  till  daylight  that  they  returned  to  Yorktown.  The  plan 
being  frustrated,  the  boats  were  sent  to  bring  back  the  soldiers, 
and  they  were  relanded  on  the  south  side  during  the  forenoon. 
At  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  of  the  seventeenth,  the  Bri 
tish  beat  a  parley,  and  by  a  flag  requested  a  cessation  of  hostili 
ties  for  twenty-four  hours,  to  settle  terms  for  the  surrender  of 
the  posts.  Washington  granted  a  suspension  of  hostilities  for 
two  hours  for  the  reception  of  his  lordship's  proposals  in  writing. 
These  having  been  received,  the  suspension  was  prolonged.  The 
commissioners  for  adjusting  the  terms  of  the  capitulation  were 
the  Viscount  De  Noailles  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Laurens,  in  be 
half  of  the  allies;  and  Colonel  Dundas  and  Major  Ross,  in  behalf 
of  the  British.  The  place  of  meeting  was  Moore's  House,  at 
Temple  Farm,  in  the  rear  of  the  first  parallel.  A  rough  draft 
of  the  articles  of  capitulation  was  made  on  the  eighteenth,  to  be 
submitted  to  the  respective  generals.  Washington  sent  a  fair 
transcript  of  the  articles  to  Lord  Cornwallis  early  on  the  morning 
of  the  nineteenth,  together  with  a  letter  restricting  the  interval 
allowed  for  signing  the  capitulation  to  eleven  o'clock,  and  that 
for  the  actual  surrender  to  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  that 
day.  His  lordship  acquiesced,  and  on  the  19th  of  October,  1781, 
the  British  army  surrendered.  At  about  twelve  o'clock  the  com 
bined  army  was  drawn  up  along  a  road  in  two  lines,  about  twenty 


750  HISTORY    OF   THE    COLONY   AND 

yards  apart,  and  extending  more  than  a  mile,  the  Americans  on 
the  right,  the  French  on  the  left.  At  the  head  of  the  American 
line  Washington  appeared  on  horseback,  surrounded  by  his  aids 
and  the  American  staff;  at  the  head  of  the  French  line  and  oppo 
site  to  Washington  was  posted  Count  Rochambeau,  surrounded 
in  the  same  way.  At  two  o'clock  the  captive  army  advanced 
between  the  allied  lines  in  column,  slowly,  and  in  exact  order. 
Profound  silence  reigned  during  this  scene,*  which  recalled  to 
mind  the  aAvful  vicissitudes  of  human  fortune,  awoke  commisera 
tion  for  the  captives,  and  suggested  the  consequences  of  this  great 
event.  Lord  Cornwallis,  under  the  pretext  of  indisposition,  de 
clined  being  present,  and  his  place  was  filled  by  General  O'Hara. 
This  gallant  officer,  mounted  on  a  fine  charger,  upon  reaching 
the  head  of  the  line,  mistook  Count  Rochambeau,  on  his  left,  for 
the  commander-in-chief ;  but  quickly  discovering  his  error,  flew 
across  the  road  to  Washington,  asked  pardon  for  his  mistake, 
apologized  for  the  absence  of  Lord  Cornwallis,  and  begged  to 
know  his  further  pleasure.  Washington  courteously  referred  him 
to  General  Lincoln,  who  had  been  compelled  to  surrender  at 
Charleston,  for  his  guidance.  Returning  to  the  head  of  the 
column,  it  moved  under  the  guidance  of  Lincoln  to  the  field 
selected  for  laying  down  the  arms.  The  men  manifested  their 
embittered  feelings,  and  Colonel  Abercrombie  was  observed  to 
hide  his  face  when  his  men  threw  down  their  muskets. 

The  post  at  Gloucester  Point  was  surrendered  about  the  same 
time.  The  command  of  the  British  there  had  recently  been 
assumed  by  Tarleton,  Dundas  being  required  to  be  present  on 
the  south  side  of  the  river.  Tarleton,  before  the  surrender, 
waited  on  General  De  Choisy,  and  made  known  to  him  the  appre 
hensions  which  he  entertained  for  his  personal  safety,  in  case  he 
should  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  American  militia,  and  requested 
his  protection.  The  danger  was  imaginary;  and  the  general 
readily  agreed  to  ensure  his  safety.  Tarleton  surrendered 
his  force  to  the  legion  of  the  Duke  De  Lauzun  and  Mercer's 


*  Lee's  Memoirs,  370.  Colonel  Lee,  despatched  by  Greene  to  the  North  on 
public  business,  happened  to  be  present  during  the  siege  and  at  the  surrender, 
and  has  given  a  graphic  description  of  them. 


ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF    VIRGINIA.  751 

corps,  the  residue  of  the  allied  detachment  not  even  being  pre 
sent  to  witness  the  spectacle.  The  number  of  prisoners  sur 
rendered  at  the  two  posts  was  upwards  of  seven  thousand,  who, 
with  the  artillery,  arms,  military  chest,  and  stores,  were  given 
up  to  Washington,  the  ships  and  seamen  to  Count  De  Grasse. 
The  loss  sustained  by  the  garrison  during  the  siege  of  eleven 
days  amounted  to  five  hundred  and  fifty-two,  including  six  officers. 

The  allied  force  amounted  to  sixteen  thousand  men,  being,  conti- 

o' 

nentals  five  thousand  five  hundred,  French  seven  thousand, 
militia  three  thousand  five  hundred.  Loss  in  killed  and  wounded 
during  the  siege,  about  three  hundred. 

In  the  adjustment  of  the  articles  of  capitulation,  Cornwallis  had 
insisted  strenuously  upon  two  points:  first,  that  the  prisoners  of 
war  should  be  allowed  to  return  to  Europe,  upon  condition  of  not 
serving  against  the  United  States  or  France,  until  exchanged; 
second,  security  for  American  citizens  who  had  joined  the  British 
armies.  Both  were  rejected;  but  the  latter  was  virtually  ad 
mitted,  by  permitting  his  lordship  to  send  away  the  Bonetta  with 
despatches  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  free  from  search.  In  this  way 
his  lordship  conveyed  away  the  most  obnoxious  loyalists  securely 
to  New  York ;  but  Lord  Cornwallis,  in  soliciting  this  favor,  pledged 
himself  that  no  officer  should  go  in  this  way  without  Washington's 
consent.  In  his  orders  of  the  twentieth,  the  commander-in-chief 
congratulated  the  army  on  this  glorious  event,  and  declared  that 
it  was  owing  to  the  assistance  of  the  French  allies.  He  returned 
his  profound  acknowledgments  to  them,  mentioning  with  special 
honor  Count  De  Rochambeau,  the  Baron  De  Viomenil,  the  Cheva 
lier  De  Chastellux,  the  Marquis  De  St.  Simon,  the  Count  De 
Viomenil,  and  General  De  Choisy.  The  gallant  French  troops 
shared  in  the  applause  bestowed  on  the  whole  army.  Generals 
Lincoln,  La  Fayette,  Steuben,  and  Knox,  together  with  Colonels 
Carney,  and  D' Abbeville,  received  the  highest  praise.  The  ser 
vices  of  the  gallant  and  patriotic  General  Nelson,  commander  of 
the  militia,  were  recognized  with  no  less  distinction.  A  general 
amnesty  was  granted;  and  all  belonging  to  the  army  that  were 
under  arrest  were  pardoned  and  restored  to  the  ranks,  that  they 
might  participate  in  the  universal  joy.  Washington  concluded 
the  order  in  these  words:  "Divine  service  shall  be  performed 


752  ANCIENT   DOMINION    OF   VIRGINIA. 

to-morrow  in  the  different  brigades  and  divisions.  The  commander- 
in-chief  recommends  to  all  the  troops  that  are  not  upon  duty  to 
assist  at  it  with  a  serious  deportment  and  that  sensibility  of  heart 
which  the  recollection  of  the  surprising  and  particular  interposi 
tion  of  Providence  in  our  favor  claims." 

Sir  Henry  Clinton,  with  a  fleet  of  twenty-five  ships-of-the-line, 
two  fifty  gun-ships,  and  eight  frigates,  commanded  by  Admiral 
Digby,  and  having  on  board  seven  thousand  chosen  troops,  ap 
peared  off  the  capes  of  Virginia  on  the  twenty-fourth — they 
having  sailed  from  Sandy  Hook  on  the  very  day  of  the  surrender. 
Sir  Henry  finding  that  he  had  arrived  too  late,  set  sail  on  the 
twenty-ninth,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Chesapeake,  and  returned 
to  New  York. 

As  the  drama  of  the  Revolution  was  opened  in  Virginia  by 
Henry,  so  it  was  now  virtually  terminated  here  by  Washington 
and  his  companions  in  arms.  With  this  glorious  event  closes  this 
history  of  the  Colony  and  Ancient  Dominion  of  Virginia. 


INDEX. 


ACCOMAO,  55,  261,  305. 

Adams,  John,  02 1,  652. 

Adams,  Samuel,  568,  581. 

Agriculture,  H49,  614. 

Albemarle  colony,  258. 

Albemarle,  Earl  of,  goveraor-in-chief, 
450. 

Alexander.  Archibald,  429,  490. 

Alexandria.  B ruddock  quartered  at, 
472. 

Algonquin  tribes,  269. 

Amadas,  Captain.  21. 

Amsterdam,  Xew,  captured  by  Argall, 
111. 

Audros,  Sir  Edmund,  governor,  347  ; 
charges  against  him,  356  ;  remanded 
to  England.  357. 

Appomattox  River  discovered,  65, 
268,  307. 

Appomattox  town,  107,  264. 

Appomattox  Indians.  40,  307. 

Argall.  Captain  Samuel,  captures 
Pocahontas,  107 ;  his  expedition 
against  the  French  in  Acadia,  111 ; 
reduces  Dutch  fort  at  Manhattan, 
111  ;  governor  of  Virginia,  124;  his 
tyranny,  127  ;  departure  from  Vir 
ginia.  129  ;  is  knighted,  129. 

Arlington,  Earl  of,  274. 

Armada.  Spanish,  27. 

Arnold.  Benedict,  invades  Virginia, 
710;  returns  to  Portsmouth,  713 ; 
his  position  there,  717  ;  joins  Phil 
lips  in  second  invasion,  719  ;  suc 
ceeds  Phillips.  722  ;  La  Fayette  re 
fuses  to  correspond  with,  722  ; 
returns  to  Xew  York,  727. 

Assembly  of  Virginia  first  held,  139  ; 
petitions  the  king,  172  ;  the  holding 
of,  disallowed  by  Charles  the  First, 
179  ;  Charles  the  First  desires  as 


sembly  to  be  called,  181 ;  declara 
tion  of.  against  restoration  of  Vir 
ginia  Company,  200 ;  loyalty  of,  213, 
251 ;  supreme  power  claimed  by, 
238  ;  sends  address  to  Charles  the 
Second,  251  ;  demonstrations  of  its 
loyalty,  253;  proceedings  of,  during 
Bacon's  Rebellion,  296-7;  journals 
of,  seized.  320  ;  "  Bacon's  Laws" 
repealed  by,  322  ;  Culpepper  calls 
one  ;  Beverley,  clerk  of,  persecuted. 
335  ;  opposes  governor's  negative, 
and  is  prorogued.  339  ;  Nicholson 
refuses  to. call,  345  ;  held  in  college, 
364 ;  ceremony  of  opening,  364 ; 
acts  of,  376  ;  Spotswood  dissolves, 
395  ;  Spotswood  prorogues,  399  ; 
loyalty  of,  417  ;  passes  relief  acts, 
507,  509 ;  resolutions  of,  against 
stamp  act.  540-41 ;  thanks  of.  given 
to  Washington,  504 ;  remonstrates 
against  proceedings  of  British  go 
vernment,  543  ;  Botetourt  dissolves 
557  ;  he  calls  together,  558  ;  dis 
approves  of  Episcopate,  561 ;  pro 
ceedings  of,  570  ;  Dun  more  dis 
solves,  573  ;  votes  thanks  to  Dun- 
more  for  his  conduct  of  Indian  war, 
594  ;  first  under  republican  consti 
tution,  672;  proceedings  of,  681. 

BACOX,  NATHAMEL,  JR.,  his  servant 
and  overseer  slain  by  Indians, 
286  ;  leader  of  insurgents,  287 ; 
proclaimed  a  rebel  and  pursued  by 
Berkley,  289  ;  marches  into  wilder 
ness  and  massacres  tribe  of  Indians. 
289  ;  elected  burgess,  arrested,  and 
released,  289  ;  sues  for  pardon.  290 : 
restored  to  council,  291 ;  Berkley 
issues  secret  warrants  for  his  arrest 
48  (753) 


754 


INDEX. 


and  he  escapes,  292  ;  re-enters 
Jamestown  and  extorts  a  commis 
sion,  293 ;  countermarches  against 
governor,  299 ;  calls  convention, 
301  ;  exterminates  Indians,  307 ; 
marches  upon  Jamestown,  308 ; 
puts  governor  to  flight  and  burns 
Jamestown,  310 ;  dies,  311 ;  pun 
ishment  of  his  adherents,  313,  317, 
320,  321,  322. 

Bacon,  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Nathaniel 
Bacon,  Jr.,  312,  329. 

Bacon,  Nathaniel,  Sr.,  member  of 
council,  292  ;  member  of  court-mar 
tial,  315  ;  auditor,  327  ;  president  of 
council.  344 

Bacon,  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Nathaniel 
Bacon,  Sr.,  344. 

Bacon  Quarter  Branch,  421. 

Baltimore,  George,  Lord,  visits  Vir 
ginia  ;  procures  grant  of  territory  j 
from  Charles  the  First,  183. 

Baltimore,  Cecilius,  Lord,  patentee  of  ! 
Maryland,  employs    Leonard   Cal-  I 
vert  to  settle  a  colony  there,  189  ; 
character  of  Baltimore's  grant,  191.  , 

Baltimore,  Benedict,  Lord,  377. 

Banister,  Colonel  John,  725. 

Baptists  in  Virginia,  Blair's  letter  re 
specting,  554. 

Barges,  battle  of,  738. 

Barlow,  Captain,  29. 

Barradall,  Edward,  434. 

Barren,  Commodore  James,  679. 

Barren,  Captain  Richard,  679-80,  738. 

Barren,  Lieutenant  William,  679. 

Barren,  Captain  Samuel,  723,  738. 

Batt,  Captain  Henry,  his  expedition 
across  the  mountains,  268. 

Baylor,  Colonel,  668,  691. 

"  Bear  and  Cub,"  extract  from  Acco- 
mac  records,  261. 

Behn,  Mrs.  Atra,  317. 

Bonnet,  Richard,  a  non-conformist, 
removes  to  Maryland,  212,215  ;  par 
liamentary  commissioner,  216  ;  with 
Clayborne  reduces  Maryland,  222  ; 
governor  of  Virginia,  223 ;  agent 
at  London,  233. 

Berkley,  seat  on  James  River,  163. 

Berkley,  Sir  William,  governor,  200  ; 
issues  proclamation  against  non 
conformists,  203;  captures  Ope- 
chancanough,  204  ;  visits  England, 
204 ;  generosity  to  royalist  refugees, 
215;  surrenders  colony,  217  ;  goes 


into  retirement,  222 ;  generous 
treatment  of,  225 ;  elected  gover 
nor,  242  ;  errors  regarding  his  elec 
tion,  243 ;  Charles  the  Second  sends 
new  commission  to,  248  ;  emolu 
ments  of,  252-53  ;  again  visits  Eng 
land,  252  ;  superintends  Albemarle 
colony,  267  ;  his  statistics  of  A7ir- 
ginia,  271 ;  his  imbecile  conduct  in 
regard  to  the  Indians,  281 ;  refuses 
to  give  Bacon  a  commission,  287  ; 
proclaims  Bacon  a  rebel,  288  ;  re 
leases  Bacon  from  arrest,  289 ; 
issues  secret  warrants  to  arrest  Ba 
con,  292  ;  Bacon  extorts  commis 
sion  from,  295  ;  summons  (Glouces 
ter  militia,  298  ;  escapes  to  Acco- 
mac,  299  ;  returns  to  Jamestown, 
306  ;  escapes  from  Jamestown,  310  ; 
his  recall  and  death,  223. 

Berkley,  Lady  Frances,  224. 

Bermuda  Island.  Sea-Venture  wreck 
ed  on  coast  of,  94. 

Bermuda  City,  125. 

Bermuda  Hundred,  107,  112,  117. 

Bevcrley,  Robert,  clerk  of  assembly, 
persecution  of,  335-G-8. 

Beverley,  Robert,  author  of  History 
of  Virginia,  359. 

Birkenhead  discloses  plot,  263. 

Blackbeard,  the  pirate,  396. 

Blair,  Rev.  James,  Commissary,  pro 
cures  college  charter,  346  ;  presi 
dent  of  college,  347 ;  his  controversy 
with  Andros,  356  ;  his  controversy 
with  Nicholson.  368 ;  his  contro 
versy  with  Spotswood,  400  ;  his 
death  and  character,  434. 

Blair,  John,  president,  553 ;  his  letter 
concerning  the  Baptists,  554. 

Bland,  Giles,  304,  320. 

Bland,  Theodorick,  speaker,  244. 

Bland,  John,  264. 

Bland,  Colonel  Theodorick,  Jr.,  has 
charge  of  convention  troops,  694. 

Bland  genealogy,  670. 

Bland,  Richard,  his  "Letters  to 
Clergy,"  509 ;  a  burgess,  535  ;  his 
"  Inquiry  into  Rights  of  Colonies," 
549 ;  member  of  committee  of  cor 
respondence,  570  ;  delegate  to  con 
gress,  630  ;  member  of  committee 
of  safety,  624;  death  of,  670. 
!  Boiling,  Colonel  Robert,  marries  Jane 
llolte,  122. 

Booue,  Daniel,  595. 


INDEX. 


755 


Boston,  257  ;  Culpepper  visits,  329  ; 
port  bill,  574 ;  affairs  at,  666. 

Botetourt,  Lord,  governor,  556,  558  ; 
his  death,  559. 

Boucher,  Rev.  Jonathan,  his  opinions 
on  slavery,  526. 

Braddock,  Edward,  General,  his  ex 
pedition  against  Fort  Du  Quesne, 
471  ;  defeat,  475  ;  death,  480. 

Brandywine,  battle  of,  685. 

Braxton,  Carter,  interposes  to  stop 
Henry's  advance,  612  ;  member  of 
committee  of  safety,  624;  his  Ad 
dress  to  the  Convention,  646;  signer 
of  Declaration  of  Independence, 
652  ;  sketch  of,  662. 

Breckenridge,  432,  490. 

Brent,  Captain,  284. 

Bridge,  Great,  battle  of,  635. 

Bryan,  Butler,  Miss,  marries  Gov. 
Spotswood,  408. 

Bucke,  Rev.  Mr  ,  95,  98,  117. 

Bullet,  Thomas,  501,  594,  635. 

Bullet,  Cuthbert,  594. 

Burden's  grant,  428. 

Burgoyne,  General,  surrenders  at  Sa 
ratoga,  686. 

Burnaby,  Rev.  Andrew,  his  account 
of  Virginia,  502  ;  his  opinion  on 
the  disputes  between  assembly  and 
ministers,  511. 

Burras,  Anne,  first  Christian  married 
in  Virginia.  65. 

Burwell,  Lewis,  President,  450. 

Butler's  Account  of  Virginia,  169-70. 

Byrd,  Captain  William,  421. 

Byrd,  Colonel  William,  Sr.,  of  West- 
over,  purchases  records  of  Virginia 
Company,  174;  auditor,  341;  his 
generosity  to  Huguenots,  370  ;  runs 
dividing  line,  41-4  ;  his  opinion  of 
people  of  New  England,  415  ;  plans 
Richmond  and  Petersburg,  421;  his 
death,  435;  epitaph,  436. 

Byrd,  Colonel  William,  Jr.,  of  West- 
over,  commands  a  Virginia  regi 
ment,  500  ;  member  of  council,  610. 

Byrd,  Mrs.  Maria,  of  Westover,  her 
correspondence  with  Arnold,  712. 

CABELL,  COL.  WILLIAM,  member  of 
convention  of  1776,  624,  626  ;  mem 
ber  of  committee  of  safety,  624; 
sketch  of,  626. 

Culvert.  Sir  George,  first  Lord  Balti 
more,  183,  189. 


'  Calvert,  Leonard,  commands  expedi 
tion  for  planting  colony  in  Mary 
land,  189. 

;  Camden,  Gates  defeated  at,  698. 
Camm,    Rev.  John,    opposes  "  Two- 
Penny  Act,"  509,  514. 
Campbell,    Colonel   William,  defeats 
Ferguson  at  King's  Mountain,  699, 
700  ;  at  the  battle  of  Guilford,  718; 
joins  La  Fayette,  735. 

'  Campbell,  Lieutenant-Colonel,  killed 
at  Eutaw  Springs,  745. 

;  Campbell,  Colonel  Arthur,  690. 
Carr,  Dabney,  571. 

|  Carrington,  Paul,  member  of  com 
mittee  of  safety,  624;  sketch  of, 
624-25. 

Carrington,  Edward,  625. 
Carter,  John,  238,  264. 
Carter,  Robert,  President,  412. 
Carter,  Charles,  of  Shirley,  member 
of  first   council   under  republican 
constitution,  651. 

Carter,  Colonel  Landon,  509. 

Carthagena  expedition,  417. 

Gary,  Colonel  Archibald,  555,  646 ; 
member  of  committee  of  corres 
pondence.  570;  reports  preamble 
and  resolutions  of  independence, 
646  ;  chairman  of  committee  to  pre 
pare  declaration  of  rights  and  plan 
of  government,  648. 

Charles  the  First,  his  colonial  policy, 
175-79  ;  disallows  assemblies,  179  ; 
desires  one  to  be  called,  181 ;  ap 
points  council  of  superintendence, 
187 ;  grants  Clayborne  a  license, 
188  ;  reinstates  Harvey,  195  ;  his 
government,  197  ;  his  letter  to  as 
sembly,  201 ;  overthrown  at  Nase- 
by,  204;  executed,  212. 

Charles  the  Second,  restoration  of, 
244 ;  transmits  new  commission  to 
Berkley,  247 ;  grants  territory  of 
Virginia  to  Arlington  and  Culpep 
per,  274. 

Charleston,  South  Carolina,  founded, 
330. 

Charta,  Magna,  recognized,  237. 

Charter  granted  to  London  Com 
pany,  35  ;  new  one,  76  ;  dissolved, 
174;  Virginia  obtains  a  meagre 
one,  326. 

Chelsea,  seat  of  Austin  Moore;  387. 

Cherokees,  party  of,  visit  Williams- 
burg,  450  ;  in  Sandy  Creek  expedi- 


750 


IXDEX. 


tion,  400 ;  reduced  to  submission, 
672  ;  invaded  by  Shelby,  692. 

Cliesapeakes  town  discovered,  23. 

Chesapeake  Bay  supposed  to  have 
been  discovered  by  Spaniards,  19 ; 
Newport  enters,  38;  Smith  explores, 
55,  60 ;  discovered  by  English,  188  ; 
explored  by  Pory,  188 ;  naval  action 
in,  743. 

Chickahominy  River,  45. 

Chickahominies,  110. 

Chicheley,  Sir  Henry,  appointed  to 
command  expedition  against  In 
dians,  280  ;  governor,  328,  332. 

Christanna,  Fort,  384 

Church  at  Jamestown,  52,  101;  of 
England,  conformity  to,  required, 
151  ;  condition  of,  in  Virginia  in 
1601,  249  ;  laws  concerning,  255  ; 
in  Virginia,  Rev.  Morgan  Godwyn's 
account  of,  277  ;  statistics  of,  331 ; 
condition  of,  354 ;  dissent  from, 
438;  ministers  of,  oppose  "Two- 
Fenny  Act,"  509. 

Clarke,  General  George  Rogers,  cap 
tures  St.  Vinceunes,  691-92,  713. 

Clayborne,  Colonel  William,  secretary 
of  Virginia,  effects  settlement  on 
Kent  Island,  188  ;  his  contest  with 
Maryland,  189,  192  ;  convicted  of 
high  crimes,  escapes  to  Virginia, 
goes  to  England.  192  ;  expels  Cal- 
vert  from  Maryland  and  usurps  go 
vernment,  20o ;  one  of  commis 
sioners  for  reducing  Virginia,  216  ; 
assists  Benuet  in  reducing  Mary 
land,  222  ;  authorized  to  make  dis 
coveries,  225 ;  with  Beuuet  seizes 
government  of  Maryland,  230  ;  dis 
placed  from  office  of  secretary,  254; 
burgess,  281 ;  member  of  court- 
martial,  315 ;  genealogy,  324. 

Cohees,  424. 

Coin,  current,  350,  444. 

Collectors,  351,  354. 

College  of  William  and  Mary,  345-47, 
361-64,  376,  437. 

College,  Hampdeu  Sidney,  founded, 
677. 

College,  Washington,  founded,  677. 

Commencement  at  William  and  Mary, 
361. 

Commissary,  his  power,  374. 

Committee  of  correspondence,  570. 

Committee  of  safety,  624. 


Commonwealth  of  England,  212. 

Company,  Virginia,  175. 

Congress  meets  at  Philadelphia,  579, 
618. 

Constitution  of  Virginia,  648. 

Convention  troops  quartered  near 
Charlottesville,  094;  removed,  708. 

Convention  called  by  Bacon,  300. 

Convention  meets  at  William sburg, 
575  ;  second,  meets  at  Richmond, 
599,  624 ;  meets  at  Williamsburg, 
644 ;  proceedings  of,  644-4« ;  in 
structs  delegates  in  congress  %  to 
propose  independence,  646. 

Convicts,  269. 

Convocation,  368,  400. 

Corbin,  Colonel  G.,  member  of  coun 
cil,  610. 

Corbin,  G.,  Jr.,  member  of  council, 
610. 

Corbiu,  Henry,  264. 

Corbin,  Colonel  Richard,  deputy  re 
ceiver-general,  611. 

Corbin,  John  Tayloe,  645. 

Cornstalk,  Indian  chief,  585,  587,  589. 

Cornwallis,  Lord,  invades  Virginia, 
726 ;  pursues  La  Fayette,  728 ; 
marches  to  Point  of  Fork,  729 ; 
commits  devastations,  733 ;  retires 
to  lower  country,  735  ;  pursued  by 
La  Fayette,  735  ;  fortifies  York- 
town,  is  besieged  and  capitulates, 
742-45. 

Correspondence,  committee  of,  570. 

Council,  351. 

Counties,  190. 

Court  of  claims,  351 ;  county  courts, 
352 ;  general  court,  352 ;  courts 
closed,  620. 

Cromwell,  Oliver,  dissolves  Long  Par 
liament,  225  ;  declared  Protector, 
225;  his  tolerant  views,  231;  let 
ters.  230-31 ;  death,  240  ;  Virginia 
during  his  protectorate,  242. 

Cromwell,  Richard,  succeeds  to  pro 
tectorate,  240 ;  recognized  by  as 
sembly,  241 ;  resigns,  242. 

Cropper,  Colonel,  740. 

Culloden  prisoners,  340. 

Culpepper,  Thomas,  Lord,  governor- 
iu-chief,  328,  331,  333,  336. 

Cummings,  Rev.  Charles,  690. 

Curtis,  Edmund,  220. 

Custis,  Martha,  Washington  marries, 
504, 


INDEX. 


757 


DALE,  SIR  THOMAS,  governor,  his  code  j 
of  martial  law,  104;    founds  town' 
of  Henrico,  105  ;  bis  expedition  up 
York    River,    108 ;     proposes    to 
marry    a   daughter    of   Powhatan, 
Ho;  takes  Pocahontas  to  England, 
116. 

Dandridge,  Captain  Nathaniel  West,  ! 
40!).  418,  422. 

Pandridge.  John,  504. 

Dandridge,  Martha,  marries,  first,  ' 
John  Parke  Custis;  and  secondly.  ; 
George  Washington,  504. 

Pandridge,  Bartholomew,  (144,  651. 

])are,  Virginia,  first  Christian  child  : 
born  in  Virginia,  2(5. 

Pavies,  Rev.  Samuel,  settles  in  Han 
over  County,  44(1 ;  his  zeal  and  elo 
quence,  44f,  434;  visits  Great  Bri 
tain.  4^2  ;  his  allusion  to  Washing 
ton.  18'};  patriotism  and  influence, 
483,  40S. 

Pawson,  Rev.  Thomas,  president  of 
\Viiliam  and  Mary,  505. 

Peane.  Silas,  702-3. 

Declaration  of  Rights,  G48. 

Declaration  of  Independence,  652; 
Virginia  signers  of,  652. 

Declaration.  "Mecklenburg,  615. 

Delaware,  Lord,  first  governor  of  Vir 
ginia,  77.  90,  101,  103,  126. 

Delaware  River,  name  of,  126. 

Delaware  City.  126.  313. 

Delaware.  Lady,  presents  Pocahontas 
at  court.  119. 

Dennis.  Captain,  commissioner  for 
reducing  Virginia,  216 ;  compels 
colony  to  surrender,  217. 

Dictator,  alleged  scheme  of  appoint 
ing,  676. 

Digges.  Edward.- governor,  233;  agent 
at  London.  236. 

Digges,  Dudley,  233. 

Disputes  between  colonies  and  mother 
country,  530. 

Diuwiddie,  Robert,  governor,  452  ; 
dissensions  between  him  and  as 
sembly,  454;  his  correspondence 
with  Washington,  493,  496  ;  letter 
to  Fox,  494;  succeeded  by  Blair, 
494,  498. 

Discovery,  early  voyages  of,  17. 

Dissenters,  202,  211,  371-73,  438, 
446. 

Dividing  line,  414. 

Drake,  Sir  Francis,  24. 


Drummond,  William,  266,  294,  299, 
302-3,  307-8,  316.  321. 

Drummond,  Sarah,  303. 

Drysdale,  Hugh,  governor.  411. 

Dunmore,  Lord,  governor,  569  ;  dis 
solves  assembly,  570,  573  ;  his  In 
dian  war,  582  ;  indignation  against, 
588  ;  his  proclamation,  607  ;  re 
moves  powder,  607  ;  his  proceed 
ings,  608-10;  offers  *"the  olive 
branch,"  618;  retires  aboard  the 
Fowey,  619  ;  correspondence  with 
assembly.  619;  his  predatory  war 
fare,  63*2  ;  driven  from  Gwynn's 
Island,  665;  retires  from  Virginia, 
665;  subsequent  career,  665. 

Dunmore.  Lady,  arrives  at  Williams- 
burg,  572;  retires  aboard  the  Fo 
wey.  612  ;  returns  to  Williamsburg, 
618  ;  embarks  for  England,  623. 

Dutch,  the,  England  at  war  with,  264. 

Du  Qucsne,  Fort,  Braddock's  expedi 
tion  against,  471  ;  captured  by 
Forbes,  and  called  Fort  Pitt,  502. 


r.  LORD  HOWARD  OF,  Gov 
ernor,  336  ;  his  corruption  and  ty 
ranny.  342. 

Elizabeth,  Queen,  names  Virginia,  22. 

Elizabeth  River.  59. 

Episcopate,  American,  560. 

Eutaw  .Springs,  battle  of,  744. 

FAIRFAX,  WILLIAM,  435,  457. 

Fairfax,  Thomas,  Lord,  458. 

Fairfax,  Bryan,  574. 

Farmingdale,  122. 

Farrar's  Island,  104. 

Fauquier,    Francis,    governor,    508  ; 

his  death,  553. 
Ferguson,  Colonel,  killed   at   King's 

Mountain,  698,  700. 
Ferrer,  Nicholas,  deputy  treasurer  of 

Virginia    Company,    170,    174-76, 

187. 

Ferrer,  John,  171,  187,  226. 
Forbes,  General,  captures   Fort   Du 

Quesne,  502. 
Fontaine,  John,  387. 
Fontaine,  Rev.  Peter,  his  opinion  on 

slavery,  494. 
Francisco,  Peter.  733. 
Franklin,  Benjamin,  473,  652,  702. 
Fredericksburg,  Smith  visits  site  of, 

59  ;  volunteers  assembled  at,  608. 
Free  Trade  established,  245. 


758 


INDEX. 


Free  Church  of  Scotland,  disruption 

of,  367. 

Fresh,  great,  560. 
Frv,  Colonel,  463-65. 

GAP,  DUTCH,  105. 

Gates,  Sir  Thomas,  governor,  35,  77, 
94-8,  102-4,  111. 

Gazette,  Williamsburg,  419. 

Gates,  Horatio,  serves  under  Brad- 
dock,  472  ;  Burgoyne  surrenders 
to,  686  ;  defeated  at  Camden,  698. 

Geography,  physical,  of  Virginia,  426. 

Germans  settle  valley  of  Shenandoah, 
431. 

Germanna,  residence  of  Governor 
Spotswood,  381,  404. 

Germantown,  battle  of,  685. 

Gilbert,  Sir  Humphrey,  19. 

Gilbert,  Bartholomew,  29. 

Girty,  Simon,  593. 

Godvvyn.  Rev.  Morgan,  his  account 
of  church  in  Virginia,  277. 

Gondomar,  Count,  19,  169,  176. 

Gooch,  William,  governor,  414 ;  com 
mands  Virginia  regiment  in  Car- 
thagena  expedition,  417  ;  his  cha 
racter,  449  ;  his  interview  with  dis 
senters,  440 ;  his  measures  against 
them,  441 ;  resigns,  448. 

Gookin,  Daniel,  164. 

Gosnold,  Bartholomew,  35  ;  his  voy 
age  to  New  England,  28  ;  his  death, 
43. 

Governor,  powers  of,  350. 

Gravesend,  Pocahontas  dies  at,  120. 

Greene,  Nathaniel,  General,  715. 

Greenspring,  plundered  by  rebels,  308 ; 
assembly'held  at,  322. 

Grenville,  George,  introduces  stamp 
act,  538. 

Griffin,  Rev.  C.,  384. 

Grymes,  John,  member  of  council, 
446  ;  taken  prisoner,  665. 

Guilford,  battle  of,  718. 

Gwynn's  Island,  Duumore  driven 
from,  665. 

HAKMJYT,  RICHARD,  115. 

Hall,  Carpenter's,  congress  meets  in, 

579. 

Hamor,  Ralph,  visits  Powhatan,  112. 
Hampden  Sydney   College   founded, 

677. 
Hanover    presbytery,    memorial    of, 

673. 


]  Hansford,  one  of  Bacon's  adherents, 
executed,  314. 

Hariot,  Thomas,  23-4. 

Harrison,  Benjamin,  of  Surry,  654. 

Harrison.  Benjamin,  of  Brandon,  mem 
ber  of  first  council  under  republican 
constitution,  651. 

Harrison,  Jr.,  Benjamin,  of  Berkley, 
member  of  committee  of  corres 
pondence,  570 ;  delegate  to  con 
gress,  681 ;  signer  of  Declaration, 
652  ;  his  family,  654-56. 

Harrison,  John,  delegate  in  congress, 
681. 

Harvey,  Sir  John,  governor,  182 ; 
visits  Calve rt,  191 ;  gives  away  large 
tracts  of  Virginia  territory,  193 ; 
his  corruption  and  tyranny,  193; 
deposed  and  reinstated  195. 

Hatcher,  William,  228. 

Hawley,  Major  Joseph,  of  Massachu 
setts,  601. 

Heurico,  town  of,  105. 

Henry,  Prince,  109. 

Henry,  Rev.  Patrick,  521. 

Henry,  John,  father  of  Patrick  Henry 
the  orator,  520 ;  his  map  of  Vir 
ginia,  521. 

Henry,  Jr.,  Patrick,  his  speech  in 
"  Parsons'  Cause,"  515 ;  early  life 
and  education,  519 ;  his  resolutions 
against  stamp  act,  538 ;  Mason's 
opinion  of,  573  ;  member  of  conven 
tion,  538-42  ;  member  of  congress, 
579 ;  his  resolutions  for  putting 
colony  in  state  of  defence,  599  ;  his 
speech,  600;  captain  of  Hanover  vo 
lunteers,  611 ;  recovers  compensa 
tion  for  powder,  612  ;  Dunmore's 
proclamation  against,  613 ;  his 
popularity.  614;  colonel  of  1st  Vir 
ginia  regiment,  627  ;  resigns,  641 ; 
indignation  of  troops,  641 ;  mem 
ber  of  convention  of  1776,  644; 
elected  first  governor  of  independ 
ent  Virginia,  650 ;  alleged  scheme 
of  making  him  dictator,  676. 

Hill,  Colonel  Edward,  (the  elder,) 
speaker,  228  ;  defeated  by  Ricahe- 
crians,  233 ;  re-elected  speaker,  239 ; 
disfranchised,  297  ;  his  death,  361. 

Hillsborough,  Earl  of,  558. 

Hobkirk's  Hill,  battle  of,  727. 

Holloway,  John,  speaker,  415. 

Hopkins,  William,  lawyer,  416. 

Horrocks,  Rev.  James,  562. 


IXDEX. 


759 


Howard,  Lord  of  Effingham,  337,  342. 
Howe,  Colonel,  assumes  command  of 

Virginia  troops  at  Great  Bridge, 

636  ;  occupies  Xorfolk,  638. 
Howe.  Sir  William,  evacuates  Boston, 

667. 

Hudson  River  discovered,  60. 
Huguenots,  369. 

Hunt,  Rev.  Robert,  38,  43,  51,  52. 
Hunter,  Robert,  appointed  governor, 

captured  during  voyage,  375. 

L\DIA.\S.  seen  at  Cape  Henry,  39  ;  as 
sault  Jamestown,  42;  Smith  cap 
tured  by,  46  ;  tribes  of,  discovered 
by  Smith,  47  ;  Smith  erects  fort  as 
refuge  from,  74 ;  manners  and  cus 
toms  and  character  of.  85  ;  exter 
mination  of,  50,  167  ;  general  act 
relating  to,  255  ;  number  of,  in  Vir 
ginia,  268-69  ;  incursions  of,  280, 
4s6,  4'.)2  ;  Piscataway  besieged, 
285  ;  murders  committed  by,  286  ; 
tribe  of,  massacred  by  Bacon,  289; 
Bacon  marches  against  South-side 
tribes,  307 ;  Spotswood  reduces 
tribes  of,  380 ;  Captain  McDowell 
slain  by,  431 ;  treaty  with  Six 
Nations  of,  433  ;  treaty  of  Lancas 
ter,  with.  433  ;  battle  with,  at  Point 
Pleasant,  584 ;  Logan's  speech,  590 ; 
Boonc's  rencontres  with,  595-98  ; 
Cherokee  sue  for  peace,  672. 

Ingrain  succeeds  Bacon,  313. 

limes,  Colonel,  469,  496,  632,  710. 

JAMES  THE  FIRST,  king,  issues  letters 
patent,  35  ;  his  cruel  treatment  of 
Raleigh,  134,  156  ;  jealous  of  Vir 
ginia  Company,  169 ;  death  of, 
175. 

James  the  Second  succeeds  to  throne, 
339,:  his  despotism,  341 ;  abdicates, 
342. 

Jamestown,  landing  at,  41 ;  assaulted 
by  Indians,  42  ;  destroyed  by  fire, 
51  ;  scarcity  of  provisions  at,  75  ; 
abandoned  by  colonists,  98  ;  they  re 
turn  to  it,  98  ;  church  at,  101 ;  con 
dition  of,  124  ;  Bacon  enters,  293  ; 
situation  of,  309 ;  burnt  by  rebels, 
310  ;  seat  of  government  removed 
from,  358. 

Jarratt,  Rev.  Devereux,  biographical 
sketch  of,  563. 

Jefferson,  John,  172. 


Jefferson,  Peter,  604. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  meets  with  Pat 
rick  Henry,  524 ;  member  of  com 
mittee  of  correspondence,  570;  his 
"Summary  View,"  575  ;  notice  of, 
603  ;  marries  Martha  Skelton,  606  ; 
author  of  preamble  to  Declaration 
of  Rights,  650  ;  author  of  Declara 
tion  of  Independence,  652  ;  member 
of  committee  of  revisal,  676 ;  gover 
nor,  708-11 ;  attempt  of  British  to 
capture,  732. 

Jeffreys,  Colonel  Herbert,  governor, 
323  ;  his  proceedings,  326-28  ;  suc 
ceeded  by  Chicheley,  328. 

Jones,  Rev.  Hugo,  357,  382. 

Jones,  Joseph,  delegate  to  congress, 
681. 

Jumonville,  M.  De,  death  of,  464. 

KEMP,  RICHARD,  governor,  204. 
Kent  Island,  196. 
Kenton,  Simon,  593. 
King's  Mountain,  battle  of,  699. 
Kinloch,  Francis,  732. 
Kiquotan,  (Hampton,)  66,  104,  139, 
319. 

LA  FAYETTE,  MARQUIS  DE  LA,  722, 
735,  737,  743,  747,  748,  751. 

Land,  grants  of,  350. 

Lane,  Ralph,  governor  of  Raleigh's 
colony,  23. 

Laneville,  611. 

Lancaster,  treaty  of,  433, 

Laud,  Archbishop,  189,  199. 

Lawrence,  Henry,  241. 

Lawrence,  Richard,  259,  294,  293-99, 
302.  311,  316,  317. 

Laydon.  John.  65. 

Lee,  Richard,  264. 

Lee,  Richard  Henry,  his  opinions  on 
the  "Two-Penny  Act,"  512  ;  a  bur 
gess,  537  ;  proposes  separation  of 
offices  of  speaker  and  treasurer, 
544;  sketch  of  his  early  life,  577, 
moves  resolution  of  separation  from 
Great  Britain,  652 ;  biographical 
sketch  of,  659 ;  charges  against, 
681 ;  he  demands  an  inquiry,  682  ; 
his  defence  and  honorable  acquittal, 
682-84. 

Lee,  Francis  Lightfoot,  signer  of  De 
claration,  652 ;  notice  of,  662 ; 
tenders  his  resignation  as  delegate 
in  congress,  682. 


r60 


INDEX. 


Lec,  Thomas  Ludwcll,  member  of 
committee  of  safety,  624. 

Lee,  Arthur,  biographical  sketch  of, 
701. 

Lee,  William,  American  commissioner 
at  Vienna  and  Berlin,  704. 

Lee,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Henry,  bio 
graphical  sketch  of,  745. 

Lec,  General  Charles,  GG4,  608,  688. 

Leslie's  invasion,  707. 

Lewis,  John,  pioneer  of  Augusta,  428. 

Lewis,  Andrew,  defeats  Indians  at 
Point  Pleasant,  585-86  ;  sketch  of, 
588  ;  his  brothers,  589  ;  appointed 
brigadier-general,  641 ;  expels  Dun- 
more  from  Gwynn's  Island,  665. 

Lewis,  Colonel  Charles,  killed  at  Point 
Pleasant,  585. 

Loan  office  scheme,  539. 

Logan,  speech  of,  590 ;  sketch  of, 
590-93  ;  his  death,  706. 

Loudoun,  Lord,  appointed  governor- 
in-chief  of  'Virginia,  500. 

Loudoun,  Fort,  in  Virginia,  494. 

Loudoun,  Fort,  in  Tennessee,  492. 

Ludwell,  Thomas,  264  ;  agent  at  Lon 
don,  276  ;  his  death,  358. 

Ludwell,  Colonel  Philip,  member  of 
council,  291 ;  captures  Giles  Bland, 
306;  quarrels  with  Jeffreys,  327: 
sent  to  England  to  prefer  com 
plaints  against  Effingham,  342,  344. 

Lyons,  James,  attorney  for  plaintiff  in 
"  Parsons'  Cause,"  516. 

MADISOX,  CAPTAIN,  166. 

Madison.  Jr.,  James,  biographical  no 
tice  of,  704. 

Makemie,  Rev.  Francis,  371. 

Manhattan.  111.  151. 

Manakintown,  370. 

Manakin  Indians,  289. 

Marriage,  the  first  in  Virginia,  65. 

Marshall,  Colonel  Thomas,  685. 

Marshall,  John,  ('chief  justice,)  635, 
713. 

Mary's,  St.,  in  Maryland,  settled,  190. 

Mary's,  Mount,  St..  settled  by  Gookin, 
164.' 

Mason,  George,  draughts  non-impor 
tation  agreement,  558  ;  member  of 
committee  of  safety,  624 ;  author 
of  declaration  (or  bill)  of  rights. 
648  ;  author  of  constitution  of  Vir 
ginia.  648  ;  member  of  committee 
of  revisal,  67o  ;  genealogy,  648. 


!  Massacre  of  colonists  by  Indians  in 
1622,  160. 

j  Massacre  of  colonists  by  Indians  in 
1644,  203. 

Massacre  of  tribe  of  Indians  by  Bacon, 
289. 

Massawomecks,  tribe  of,  58. 

Matthews,  Captain  Samuel,  209,  212  ; 
governor,  234  ;  agent,  234,  236,  238 ; 
his  election  as  governor  declared 
void.  238;  re-elected,  238. 

Matthews,  Thomas,  284. 

McRoberts,  Archibald,  566. 

Maury,  Rev.  James,  plaintiff  in  "  Par 
sons'  Cause,"  515. 

Maynard,  Lieutenant,  his  engagement 
with  Blackbeard,  396. 

McDowell,  Ephraim.  429. 

McDowell,  Captain  John,  431. 

Meade,  Colonel  Richard  Kidder,  aid- 
de-camp  to  Washington,  689  ;  the 
Meades  of  Virginia,  689. 

Mechanics,  condition  of,  350. 

Mecklenburg  Declaration,  615. 

Mencudez,  Pedro,  18. 

Mercer,  Colonel  George,  487,  543. 

Mercer,  James,  member  of  committee 
of  safety,  624. 

Mercer,  General  Hugh,  mortally 
wounded  near  Princeton,  668  ;  no 
tice  of,  668-69. 

Merchants,  350. 

Methodists  appear  in  Virginia,  562. 

Middle  Plantation,  188. 

Minge,  James,  clerk  of  assembly,  281, 
301. 

Ministers,  249.  374.  696. 

Monacan  Indians,  63. 

Monmouth,  battle  of.  688. 

Moumouth's  adherents  sent  to  Vir 
ginia,  339. 
j  Monongahela,  battle  of,  474. 

Moore,  Austin,  of  Chelsea,  387. 

Moore,  Bernard,  of  Chelsea,  inarries 
daughter  of  Governor  Spotswood, 
408. 

Moore,  Lucy,  married  to  Speaker  Ro 
binson,  548. 

Moore's  Creek  Bridge  in  North  Caro 
lina,  battle  of,  640. 

Morgan,  General  Daniel,  notice  of, 
686  ;  his  victory  at  Cowpens,  715. 

Morris,  Samuel,  dissenter  in  Hanover 
County,  439. 

Morrison,  Francis,  governor,  252 ; 
agent,  275. 


INDEX. 


761 


Morquez,  Pedro  Menendez,  explores  J 
.  Bay  of  Santa  Maria,  (Chesapeake,) 

18. 
Mounds  in  Virginia,  85. 

NAXSKMOXD,  59. 

Navigation  act,  218,  248. 

Navy,  Virginia,  (578. 

Necessity,  Fort,  405. 

Neck,  Northern,  248,  274. 

Neuroes  introduced  into  Virginia, 
144. 

Negroes,  number  of,  in  1049,  20G. 

Negroes,  number  of,  in  1670,  272. 

Negroes,  number  of,  in  1714,  383. 

Negroes,  number  of,  in  175G,  494. 

Negroes,  duty  on  importation  of,  dis 
allowed,  412. 

Negroes,  loss  of,  during  British  inva 
sions,  733. 

Nelson,  President  "William,  G54. 

Nelson,  Thomas,  653. 

Nelson,  Secretary  Thomas,  051,  G53, 
747. 

Nelson,  Jr.,  General  Thomas,  his  edu 
cation,  G53  ;  member  of  convention, 
653;  member  of  congress,  653;  his 
letter  urging  independence,  645 ; 
signer  of  Declaration,  652  ;  sketch 
of.  653  :  his  family,  653-54  ;  com 
mands  militia  during  Arnold's  in 
vasion,  71.0;  commands  militia  at  j 
sie^'e  of  York.  747  ;  notice  of  him 
and  his  family,  653. 

Nelson,  Judge  Hugh,  of  Belvoir,  731. 

Newport,  Captain,  sails  for  Virginia, 
38  ;    lands  at  Jamestown  and  ex-  j 
plores   the   River   Powhatan,   41 ; 
visits    Powhatan,    50  ;    returns    to  ' 
England,  53;    arrives  with  second  j 
supply,    61  ;     explores     Monacan 
country,  63  ;  embarks  for  England, 
65. 

Nicholas,  Robert  Carter,  elected  trea 
surer,  547  ;   member  of  committee  | 
of   correspondence,    624 ;   member  j 
of  convention,  600,  602. 

Nicholson,  Colonel  Francis,  gover 
nor,  344 ;  succeeded  by  Andros, 
347  ;  again  governor,  358 ;  his  ty 
ranny,  358  ;  his  complaints  against 
Virginia,  363;  his  speech  to  assem 
bly,  365  ;  his  controversy  with 
Blair,  368  ;  is  recalled,  3G9  ;  notice 
of  his  career,  369. 

Non-importation  agreement,  558. 


Norfolk  incorporated,  420 ;  burnt,  640. 

Northy,  Attorney- General,  367. 

Norwood,  Colonel,  his  voyage  to  Vir 
ginia,  213  ;  despatched  by  Sir  Wil 
liam  Berkley  to  Holland,  215. 

Nott,  Edward,  governor,  375. 

OHIO  COMPANY,  452. 

Opechancanough,  captures  Smith,  46  ; 
seized  by  Smith,  71 ;  visits  James 
town,  124;  his  hypocrisy,  161; 
heads  a  second  massacre,  203 ; 
taken  prisoner  by  Berkley,  and  dies, 
204. 

Opitchapan  succeeds  Powhatan,  130. 

Orders,  general,  642,  652. 

Ovid  translated  at  Jamestown  by 
George  Sandys,  152. 

PAGE,  JOHN,  member  of  council,  347, 
503. 

Page,  Matthew,  347. 

Page,  Mann,  Jr.,  682. 

Page,  John,  of  Rosewell,  member  of 
council,  614;  member  of  committee 
of  safety,  624 ;  member  of  first 
council  under  the  republican  con 
stitution,  651 ;  commands  party  of 
militia  during  Arnold's  invasion, 
712. 

Pamunkey,  or  Pamaunkee,  Indian 
name  of  York  River,  47. 

Pamunkey,  residence  of  Opechanca 
nough,  47. 

Pamunkey  Indians,  293. 

Parishes,  371. 

Parliament,  Long,  199,  215. 

'•Parsons'  Cause,"  507. 

Paspaheghs,  39, 103 ;  chief  of,  Smith's 
rencontre  with,  73. 

Patriot,  the,  capture  of,  738. 

Pendleton,  Edmund,  his  early  life  and 
education,  535 ;  opposes  Henry's 
resolutions,  541 ;  member  of  com 
mittee  of  correspondence,  570  ;  de 
legate  to  congress,  575  ;  member  of 
committee  of  safety,  624;  president 
of  convention,  644 ;  member  of 
committee  of  revisal,  676. 

Percy,  Captain  George,  governor,  63, 
66,  70,  73,  75,  97,  102. 

Petersburg  incorporated,  438 ;  skir 
mish  at,  720;  General  Phillips  occu 
pies,  720  ;  his  death  at,  722  ;  Arnold 
commands  at,  722  ;  Cornwallis  ar 
rives  at,  726. 


762 


INDEX. 


Philadelphia,  congress  meets  at, 
579. 

Phillips,  General,  prisoner  of  war, 
694;  invades  Virginia,  719;  com 
mits  devastations,720-21;  his  death, 
722. 

Pianketank,  59. 

Pilgrims  land  at  Plymouth  Rock,  144. 

Pirates,  act  against,  360. 

Pirate  captured,  361. 

Piscataway,  siege  of,  284. 

Plague  in  London,  265. 

Plantagenet  Beauchamp,  210. 

Plantation,  Middle,  300,  358. 

Plymouth,  landing  at,  144. 

Pocahontas  rescues  Smith,  48  ;  enter 
tains  him  with  a  dance.  62  ;  dis 
closes  to  him  a  plot,  67;  made  pri 
soner  by  Argall,  107 ;  John  Rolfe 
marries,  109  ;  baptized,  115  ;  visits 
England,  116  ;  recommended  to  the 
queen  by  Smith,  118  ;  Smith's  in 
terview  with,  118;  presented  at 
court,  119 ;  her  death,  son,  and  de 
scendants,  120,  122. 

Point  Pleasant,  battle  of,  582,  584. 

Point  Comfort.  59,  188. 

Population  of  Colonies,  362,  383, 450. 

Population  of  Virginia,  272. 

Porterfield,  Colonel,  mortally  wound 
ed  at  Camden,  698. 

Pory,  John,  139,  172,  188. 

Post-office,  348. 

Potomac  River,  56. 

Pott,  Dr.  John,  governor,  convicted 
of  stealing  cattle,  182-83. 

Powder,  Dunmore's  removal  of,  607. 

Powhatan,  name  of  river  and  seat,  41, 
42. 

Powhatan  Indians,  confederacy  of, 
269. 

Powhatan,  Indian  chief,  visited  by 
Newport  and  Smith,  41,  49 ;  re 
leases  Smith,  48 ;  coronation  of,  63 ; 
Smith  visits,  at  Werowocomoco, 
65;  "  Powhatan's  Chimney,"  built 
for  him  by  English,  68  ;  Werowo 
comoco  his  residence,  68  ;  consents 
to  marriage  of  Pocahontas,  109  ; 
Hamor's  interview  with,  112  ;  death 
of,  and  character,  129. 

Presbyterianism,  origin  of,  in  Han 
over,  439. 

Preston,  432,  491. 

Pretender,  437. 

Printing  in  Virginia,  273,  418.  419. 


Puritans,  English,  come  over  to  Vir 
ginia,  144. 

Puritan  ministers  from  New  England 
visit  Virginia,  302. 

QUAKERS,  244,  261,  396. 
Quiyoughcohauocks,  chief  of,  39. 

RALEIGH,  SIR  WALTER,  his  efforts  to 
colonize  Virginia,  21 ;  introduces 
tobacco  at  court,  25  ;  anecdotes  of 
his  using  tobacco,  25,  153  ;  notice 
of  his  life  and  death,  132-36. 

Raleigh,  Lady,  133,  134,  135. 

Raleigh,  City  of,  in  Virginia,  char 
tered,  26. 

Raleigh,  the,  573. 

Randolph,  Sir  John,  speaker,  420 ; 
his  death,  424. 

Randolph,  William,  424. 

Randolph,  Peyton,  king's  attorney - 
general,  535';  replied  to  byDavies, 
447  ;  opposes  Henry's  resolutions, 
542  ;  speaker  of  house  of  burgesses, 
630;  delegate  to  congress,  575; 
president  of  congress.  579  ;  member 
of  committee  of  correspondence, 
624;  his  death,  629. 

Randolph  genealogy,  629. 

Randolph,  John,  attorney-general, 
630. 

Randolph,  Edmund,  630. 

Randolph,  Beverley,  630. 

Randolph,  John,  of  Roanoke,  630. 

Randolph,  the  frigate,  blown  up,  688. 

Rappahannock  River,  57. 

Ratcliffe,  John,  39,  43,  45,  53,  65. 

Read,  Colonel  Clement,  member  of 
convention  of  1775-6,  625. 

Reekes,  Stephen,  pilloried,  199. 

Revenue,  353. 

Revolt  threatened,  275. 

Ricahecrians,  Colonel  Edward  Hill 
defeated  by,  199,  233. 

Rice,  Rev.  Dr.  John  H.,  82. 

Richmond,  town  of,  laid  off,  421  ;  in 
corporated,  433 ;  convention  meets 
at,  599 ;  seat  of  government  re 
moved  to,  710  ;  entered  by  Arnold, 
710. 

Roanoke  Island,  22,  23,  26,  226. 

Roanoke  River,  24. 

Roanoke,  or  Rawrenoke,  Indian  shell- 
money,  56,  113. 

Roanoke,  John  Randolph  of,  631. 

Robinson,  John,  president,  449. 


INDEX. 


763 


Eobinson.   John,    Jr.,  speaker,  535 ; 

his  defalcation,  544,  546  ;  his  family, 

548. 
Kockbridge  County,  first  settlers  of, 

423. 
Rolfe,  John,  marries  Pocahontas,  109  ; 

member  of  council,  139. 
Eolfe,   Thomas,  son   of  Pocahontas, 

122. 

Rolfe,  Henry,  122. 
Rolfe,  Jane,  marries  Colonel  Robert 

Boiling,  122. 

SAFETY,  committee  of,  624. 

Sandy  Creek  expedition,  489. 

Sandys,  Sir  Edwin,  144, 149, 151, 176. 

Sandys,  George,  treasurer  in  Virginia, 
151 ;  translates  Ovid  at  Jamestown, 
152. 

Scarburgh,  Edmund,  excites  disturb 
ances  in  Eastern  Shore,  226 ;  his 
proceedings  as  surveyor-general  in 
establishing  boundary  line,  259. 

Scarburgh,  Colonel  John,  342. 

School,  East  India,  158. 

Scotch-Irish  settlers  of  "Western  Vir 
ginia,  423,  429. 

Sea- Venture,  the,  77,  94. 

Secretary,  office  of,  352. 

Shakespeare's  Tempest,  99. 

Shcnandoah  Paver,  389. 

Shenandoah  valley,  425,  431,  505. 

Sheriffs,  353. 

Sherwood,  Grace,  tried  for  witchcraft, 
382. 

Shirley,  107,  126. 

Silk  in  Virginia,  158. 

Simcoe,  Lieutenant-Colonel,  722,  729, 
735. 

Six  Nations,  treaty  with,  433. 

Slaves,  baptism  of,  267. 

Slavery,  negro,  remarks  on,  145,  528. 

Smith,  Sir  Thomas,  treasurer  of  Vir 
ginia  Company,  37. 

Smith,  Robert,  264.  266. 

Smith,  Captain  John,  his  early  life 
and  adventures,  30,  34 ;  his  life  in 
jeopardy  at  Isle  of  Mevis,  38 ;  one 
of  council  of  Virginia.  39;  excluded 
from  council,  41 ;  restored  to  coun 
cil,  43 ;  has  charge  of  colony,  44 ; 
explores  the  country,  45 ;  taken 
prisoner  by  Opechancanough,  46 ; 
rescued  by  Pocahontas,  48 ;  ex 
plores  Chesapeake,  55  ;  president, 
60 ;  his  energetic  administration, 


64 ;  visits  Powhatan,  66 ;  seizes 
Opechancanough,  71 ;  encounters 
chief  of  Paspahegh,  73 ;  builds 
fortlet  on  Ware  Creek,  74;  his 
efforts  to  quell  disorders,  80 ;  his 
return  to  England,  80  ;  descendants 
still  living  in  England,  83  ;  his  epi 
taph,  83. 

Somers,  Sir  George,  35,  77,  94,  97, 102. 

South  Carolina  solicits  aid  from  Vir 
ginia,  391. 

Southampton,  Earl  of,  treasurer  of 
Virginia  Company,  149, 175-77. 

Sovereignty,  declaration  of,  238. 

Spencer,  Nicholas,  president,  336. 

Spilman,  Henry,  141. 

Spotswood,  Alexander,  governor,  his 
lineage  and  early  career,  378  ;  dis 
solves  assembly,  379  ;  assists  North 
Carolina,  380;  establishes  Indian 
school,  384;  visits  Christanna,  385  ; 
his  Tramontane  expedition,  387 ; 
institutes  Tramontane  order,  390  ; 
his  disputes  with  burgesses,  393-99; 
he  dissolves  assembly,  394;  com 
plaints  against,  398;  displaced, 
404 ;  review  of  his  administration, 
404;  manufacturer  of  iron,  405;  sub 
sequent  career,  death,  and  family, 
404-10. 

Stamp  act,-  534,  538,  543  ;  repeal  of. 
544. 

Staunton  incorporated,  438. 

St.  John's  Church,  599. 

Starlins,  Captain,  738. 
I  "  Starving  Time"  at  Jamestown,  93. 
!  State  House,  Philadelphia,  congress 
meets  in,  618. 

Statistics,  206,  271,  331,  349,  382. 
443,  471. 

Steg,  Thomas,  2 16. 

"Stint"  of  tobacco,  265. 

Stith,  Rev.  William,  president  of  Col 
lege  of  William  and  Mary,  and 
author  of  History  of  Virginia,  437, 
482. 

Stobo,  Captain,  467-68,  504. 
1  Stone  House,  the  old,  on  Ware  Creek. 

,  74- 

I  Stone,  deputy  governor  of  Maryland, 

228. 

Strachey,  William,  102,  106. 
Stratford,  577. 
\  Stuart,  house  of,  243. 
Studley,  birth-place  of  Patrick  Henry, 

519. 


764 


INDEX. 


Stukeley,  Sir  Lewis,  122. 

Stuyvesant,  Peter,  Berkley's  reply  to. 
246. 

Suffolk  burnt  by  the  British,  697. 

Summer  Islands.  102,  109. 

Surrender  of  Virginia  to  Common 
wealth  of  England,  217. 

Surrender  of  Burgoyue,  686. 

Surrender  of  Cornwallis,  749. 

Swift,  Dean,  desires  to  be  bishop  of 
Virginia,  377,  562. 

Swift  Run  Gap,  388. 

Syme,  Colonel  John,  519. 

TABB,  Jonx,  member  of  committee  of 
safety,  624. 

Tarleton.  Lieutenant-Colonel,  715, 
729,  731,  734,  750. 

Tayloe,  John,  member  of  first  council 
under  republican  constitution,  651. 

Tea,  duty  on,  568. 

Tempest,  Shakespeare's,  99. 

Temple,  Colonel  Benjamin,  713. 

Thompson,  Rev.  John,  409. 

Tobacco,  or  Uppowoc,  how  used  by 
Indians.  24 ;  Lane  introduces  into 
England,  25 ;  anecdotes  of  Ra 
leigh's  smoking,  25,  153 ;  culture 
of,  commenced  by  colonists,  117  ; 
new  mode  of  curing.  125  ;  cultiva 
tion  of.  discouraged  by  government, 
151 ;  James  the  First's  aversion  to, 
and  his  "  Counterblast,"  153-57  ; 
Charles  the  First  aifects  monopoly 
of,  180  ;  sole  staple  of  Virginia, 
181 ;  "  stint"  of,  265  ;  low  price  of, 
281,  332  ;  plant-cutting,  333  ;  reve 
nue  from.  331 ;  "  Two-Penny  Act," 
507  ;  destroyed  by  the  British,  733. 

Toleration  act,  373. 

Tomocomo,  119. 

"Two- Penny  Act,"  507. 

Totopotomoi,  233. 

Trade,  free,  established,  245. 

Tuckahoe-root,  75,  87. 

Tuckahoe,  a  seat  on  James  River,  604, 
631. 

Tuckahoes,  a  name  given  to  inhabit 
ants  of  Eastern  Virginia,  424. 

Tucker,  St.  George,  672. 

Tyler,  John,  revolutionary  patriot, 
723. 

Tyler,  John,  President,  724. 

UTTOMATTOMAKKIX,  119. 


VALLEY  OF  VIRGINIA,  first  settlers  of, 
423,  429,  488. 

Valley  Forge,  Washington  at,  687. 

Van  Braam,  Jacob,  461,  466,  468, 
504. 

Varina,  104-5. 

Vernon,  Admiral,  417. 

Vernon,  Mount,  417,  505. 

Vestries,  354. 

Virginia,  state  and  condition  of,  349 ; 
opposes  stamp  act,  538 ;  becomes 
independent,  648. 

Virginia,  name  given  by  Queen  Eliza 
beth,  22. 

Virginians,  habits  of,  495. 

WADDELL,  REV.  JAMES,  "the  Blind 
Preacher,"  521. 

Walker,  Dr.,  731. 

Walker,  John,  731-32. 

Wallace,  Rev.  Caleb,  674. 

Washington,  Colonel  John,  a  burgess, 
281 ;  commands  militia  at  siege  of 
Piscataway  Fort,  285. 

Washington"  Captain  Lawrence,  417, 
452  ;  his  views  on  religious  freedom, 
454 ;  in  Carthagena  expedition. 
417. 

Washington,  George,  his  lineage.  457  : 
early  life,  457  ;  surveyor,  458-59  ; 
major,  460 ;  despatched  on  mis 
sion  through  wilderness,  461; 
lieutenant-colonel,  465 ;  surprises 
French  party,  464 ;  surrenders  at 
Fort  Necessity,  466  ;  resigns,  470  ; 
aide-de-camp  'to  Braddock,  472  ; 
heroism  at  battle  of  Monongahela, 
477 ;  his  account  of  the  defeat, 
479;  commander-in-chief  of  Vir 
ginia  forces,  486 ;  visits  Boston. 
487 ;  Dinwiddie's  correspondence 
with,  496;  member  of  assembly, 
503  ;  marries,  503  ;  receives  thanks 
of  assembly,  504 ;  reports  non-im 
portation  agreement,  558 ;  attends 
meeting  of  burgesses,  571 ;  member 
of  congress,  575,  580  ;  chosen  com 
mander-in-chief  by  congress.  621 ; 
his  conduct  of  affairs  during  revo 
lutionary  war,  665-68,  686-87,  742, 
746,  748,  751. 

Washington,  Colonel  William,  716, 
718-744. 

Washington  College  founded,  677. 

Weedon,  General  George,  685. 


INDEX. 


765 


Werowocomoco,   48,    6G,  71-2,  108,  j 

129-30. 

West  Point,  126,  313,  316,  320,  327.   i 
West,  Captain  John,  195. 
West,  Francis,  Governor,  180. 
West,  Sir  Thomas,  Lord  Delaware,  96.  , 
Whitaker,  Rev.  Alexander,  106,  109, 

115.  117. 
White,  Captain   John,  Governor    of  | 

City  of  Raleigh,  in  Virginia,  26. 
Whitefield  preaches  at  Williamsburg,  | 

438,  445. 

William  and  Mary  proclaimed  in  Vir 
ginia,  343. 
William  and  Mary  College,  345-47,  ! 

361-64.  376.  437. 
William   the    Third,   death   of,   362 ; 

succeeded  by  Anne,  362. 
Williamsburg,  City  of.  seat  of  govern-  ' 

ment  removed  to.  35S  ;  descriptions 

of.  444.  502  ;   disturbances  at,  607  ; 

Cornwallis   quartered  at,  735  ;   La  ( 

Fayette  quartered  at.  743. 
Winchester  first  settled,  427,  493.        | 
Wingfield.  Edward  Maria,  first  presi-  j 

dent  of  council,  41,  43. 


Winston,  Sarah,  mother  of  Patrick 
Henry,  519. 

Winston,  William,  520. 

Withe,  artist,  23-4. 

Wives  for  colonists,  146. 

Woodford,  Colonel  William,  appoint 
ed  to  command  second  Virginia 
regiment,  627  ;  sent  against  Dun- 
more,  633  ;  refuses  to  acknowledge 
Colonel  Henry's  superiority  in  com 
mand,  633  ;  has  command  at  battle 
of  Great  Bridge,  635. 

Wormley,  Captain  Ralph,  214. 

Wormley,  Ralph,  610,  645 

AVythe,  George,  a  burgess,  537  ;  bio 
graphical  sketch  of,  656. 

YEARDLEY,  SIR    GEORGE,    Governor, 

117.  180. 

Yeardley.  Lady  Temperance,  180. 
Yeardley,  Captain  Francis,  his  letter 

to  Ferrar,  226. ;   Roanoke  Indians 

visit,  226  ;    purchases   territory  in 

North  Carolina,  227. 


